Hi. Can anyone recomend some nice quiet campsites and areas for canoeing in the ardeche. We will be going in August so are keen to avoid the very busy parts.
Thanks
Michael
Thanks
Michael
South of France Camping/Canoeing
- Thread starter mikew
- Start date
robin wood
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Quiet in the Ardeche in August you have to be kidding.
I'll second that
We were there this summer and it's a total nightmare. The trouble is down there a lot of the sites don't take advanced bookings, they say just turn up but our experience was we either couldn't get in or they were offering us a dusty pitch on the corner of a track somewhere.
The popular areas like the pont d arc are are real dumps anyway in full season, I said we should go back but probably in Autumn time.
We had scheduled a 4 night stop in the Ardeche but after just one day we packed up and drove down to Chamonix. Tuquoise glacial rivers, miles of forest tracks and a stunning campsite right under the shadow of Mont Blanc. Camping Mer de Glace if you're ever down there.
I'd seriously look at camping a little further out and then driving to the decent canoe spots. The rivers are full of kids, inflatables and families fishing so it takes the edge off it really.
Try looking at the Dordogne area if you want the same scenery but without the crowds.
Last edited:
Scots_Charles_River
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
The Ardeche is busy in July too but drive 10-20mins from the river and it's quiet.
I'd second the Camping Mer De Glace site, quiet when full and excellent views, facilites and close to Praz for a walk in for food.
Nick
I'd second the Camping Mer De Glace site, quiet when full and excellent views, facilites and close to Praz for a walk in for food.
Nick
I was surprised to see they shut for the winter, I could have sworn I was talking to the girl there who said they were open all year round.
Quite fancied a break over there doing some walking and winter camping.
Not sure if its the same all over France, but we went to Mur de bretagne, Brittany in early April and found a place. Even closed, and an inability to speak fluent French, offering money even to a closed site is still the universal language!
Really friendly and helpfull as well.
Really friendly and helpfull as well.
Quiet in the Ardeche in August you have to be kidding.
I had a chuckle when I read that too
The French 'silly season' is 14th July to the 15th August, usually with a week either side being pretty busy too. 14th July is Bastille Day.
However, early season in the Ardeche is superb - if you can get away at the beginning of June then definitely go for it.
The last time we went was in 2005 - Here - excellent camp site for tents, caravans or they have their own chalets. There's a nice Auberge across the river run by the people who own the camp site (try the caillettes and have a glass of jupiler and a few pastis for me please!) - seriously good value early season, the most expensive bit will likely be the channel crossing. The river separating the camp site from the village of Le Gua is La Beaume, which can be a trickle when there's been no rain and not the most 'canoeable' looking bit of water there is - when it's running at 'normal' levels, it's great for swimming, fishing and, I'd imagine, canoeing. It's also only a few hundred yards away. What you need in terms of authorization to canoe I don't know, fishing permits were available from the auberge.
The only drawback is it's a ways away from what modern man tends to regard as essentials - eg:
#Nearest Supermarket: Joyeuse, although Rosieres is a little larger 13kms to 15kms depending on which you choose.
#Best café: Café du Midi in Les Vans - although I couldn't tell you why, it's just a great place to sit and watch the world rush around from while drinking beer.
#Nearest fuel: Rosieres supermarket or a tiny garage in Lablachere approx 15kms
If you do go, the definitely visit the Musée de la Chataigne (Chestnut Museum) in Joyeuse - it's tiny and I honestly thought we'd have seen it in 30 minutes - but it was so interesting we were still there 2 hours later. The Bois de Paiolives is worth a wander around in too, it's an olive 'forest' planted in Roman times. Orgnac, grand site de France is well worth going to (take a jumper - it gets cold) as it makes Wookey Hole look a bit pale when it comes to cave deposits.
Similar threads
