Refuge at Chaumette meadow
Refuge du Pré de la Chaumette
Refuge du Pré de la Chaumette - Thibaut Blais - Parc national des Ecrins
Champoléon

Refuge at Chaumette meadow

Fauna
Hut
Embed this item to access it offline

At the foot of  Sirac, this hike enables you to grasp the difference between the sunny and the shaded slopes of the mountain. 

After having walked from the foot of the Northern slope, the shadier slope, the refuge appears as a welcome resting place in the middle of a pretty meadow. The descent on the sunnier slope, which is oriented South, enables you to make the most of seeing the panorama of Drac Blanc valley and the surrounding mountains. 


Description

From the car park at Auberts, before the bridge that crosses the torrent, go up 200m to the crossroads, stay on this track. Turn right to cross the torrent to the left bank... The itinerary Pré de la Chaumette is indicated. On the track above the Prelles waterfall, three signposts signal the entrance in to the protected heart of the Ecrins National Park. Cross the torrent using the walkway and continue on to the Chaumette meadow refuge. To get back to the starting point, take the track on the right bank of the go along the sunny slope of the valley et cross the outward itinerary. Continue on for about 200 m and the hike is finished. 

  • Departure : Les Auberts, Champoléon
  • Towns crossed : Champoléon

4 points of interest

  • Hirondelle de rochers
    Hirondelle de rochers - Mireille Coulon - PNE
    Fauna

    Eurasian Crag Martin

    The Eurasian Crag Martin is dressed in beige tones. It is capable of real flying prowess, an indispensable quality for capturing the multitude of insects that it feeds on. In Spring, as soon as it has found a safe rocky ridge, the Eurasian Crag Martin tirelessly transports, mud and pieces of plants with its beak. With the help of this unique tool, it solidly fixes each element on to the rock thanks to a clever mixture of saliva and water.

  • Chamois femelle
    Chamois femelle - Albert Christophe - PNE
    Fauna

    Chamois

    An emblematic animal in the Alps, the chamois or « rock goat » has short curled horns. Like the Ibex, it is easy to observe through binoculars.  The goats and esterlons (young males aged one year) like to live in big herds ; in contrast, the billy goats stay quite isolated only rejoining the females during the mating season.. In the winter, the chamois need a lot of tranquility in order to conserve their reserve of fat which they need in order to survive...

  • Cincle plongeur
    Cincle plongeur - Robert Chevalier - PNE
    Fauna

    White Throated Dipper

    The White Throated Dipper is easy to observe as long as you are discreet. It lives beside mountain rivers and torrents. A little red and white bird with a short tail, it has a fine beak, and a white mark on the chin and the chest. . This astonishing sparrow has the particular skill of being able to walk on the bottom of the water against the current in search of food. It flattens itself down and clings on to the bottom with its claws, opens its eyes, which are protected from the flow by a fine membrane and spots: worms, larvae, little crustaceans and fish. 

  • Le refuge du Pré de la Chaumette
    Le refuge du Pré de la Chaumette - Marc Corail - PNE
    Hut

    Refuge at Chaumette Meadow

    The pastoral cabin at Champoléon was built by stockbreeders in 1921. It was in 1972 that the cabin was restored for the first time... Two years later, the French Alpine Club (CAF) took over its management in order to insure shelter for the increasing number of hikers of the GR54. Having become too cramped, the refuge was rebuilt in 1979 on the ruins of the hamlet and became the Chaumette Meadow. The decorative stones were cut on site at  Champoléon. The imposing Lauzes stones used to cover the roof underline the effort made to integrate with the landscape. Today flocks of sheep are brought up to the mountains at the end of June and are visited once a week.


Forecast


Altimetric profile


Sensitive areas

Along your trek, you will go through sensitive areas related to the presence of a specific species or environment. In these areas, an appropriate behaviour allows to contribute to their preservation. For detailed information, specific forms are accessible for each area.

Golden eagle

Impacted practices:
Aerial, , Vertical
Sensitivity periods:
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAug
Contact:
Parc National des Écrins
Julien Charron
julien.charron@ecrins-parcnational.fr

Golden eagle

Impacted practices:
Aerial, , Vertical
Sensitivity periods:
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAug
Contact:
Parc National des Écrins
Julien Charron
julien.charron@ecrins-parcnational.fr

Recommandations

In bad weather, return using the same itinerary on the left bank. 

Herd protection dogs

In mountain pastures, protection dogs are there to protect the herds from predators (wolves, etc.).

When I hike I adapt my behavior by going around the herd and pausing for the dog to identify me.

Find out more about the actions to adopt with the article "Protection dogs: a context and actions to adopt".
Tell us about your meeting by answering this survey.
Is in the midst of the park
The national park is an unrestricted natural area but subjected to regulations which must be known by all visitors.


Information desks

House of Champsaur

, 05260 Pont-du-Fossé

http://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr/champsaur@ecrins-parcnational.fr04 92 55 95 44

Information and documentation, temporary exhibitions. Sale of products and works of the Park. In the same space, home office Tourist High Champsaur. Free admission. All animations of the Park are free unless otherwise stated.

Find out more

Transport

Coach stop : Les Auberts


Access and parking

On the N85, take the direction to Pont de Fossé. After the village, continue on the D944, turn left on to the D944A, cross Borels/D472, les Baumes and les Clots. To finish turn slightly to the right to get to the car park at Auberts. 

Parking :

Les Auberts, before the bridge that crosses the torrent.

More information


Source

Parc national des Ecrinshttps://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr

Report a problem or an error

If you have found an error on this page or if you have noticed any problems during your hike, please report them to us here:


Trail news