• Since the various confinements, a new public has discovered a craze for hiking close to home, even without leaving the city.

  • The departmental committee of the French Rhône Hiking Federation offers several circuits to discover Lyon and its surroundings on foot, accessible by public transport.

  • The most seasoned can tread the 170 km of the GR 169 from June, which traces a large loop around the Lyon metropolis.

A sport for old, hiking?

So think.

With 27 million practitioners in France, hiking on a trail has never been so popular.

The return of sunny days pushes us to take out our backpacks and our notched shoes, in search of nature and gentle activity on a whim, without a trip or hotel to book.

Freedom at your fingertips, in short.

“There are more and more hikers”, confirms Gérard Lefebvre, president of the Trails Itineraries commission at the departmental committee of the French Hiking Federation of the Rhône.

“The population is increasingly young on the trails, but independently.

We are moving more towards individual practice, or in small groups, without going through clubs, ”he notes.

Smartphone applications allow a new public to take on the trails, "without having to walk with a group and a leader".

Even if joining a club retains its advantages: being guided to, precisely, avoid walking your nose on your smartphone...

The Covid-19 effect is no stranger to this new thirst for long-distance walking: “We have seen a strong upsurge in the practice of hiking following the confinements”, remarks Gérard Lefebvre.

“As people could no longer travel very far from home, it allowed them to rediscover their nearby land, and we felt a strong enthusiasm for hikes close to home, accessible by public transport.

In Lyon, in addition to various intramural routes, the Sentiers Itineraries commission recently created two routes along the painted walls and frescoes, the sheets of which are accessible free of charge on the FFR website.

of the Rhone.

A GR 169 of 170 km passing through 12 forts

Seasoned walkers will soon be able to spend several days roaming on a new long-distance hiking trail: the GR 169. Co-created with the metropolis of Lyon, this trail required two years of work to fix the route and the signage.

"In June, a new Topoguide will be released on the metropolis of Lyon, in which this new GR will be indicated", indicates Gérard Lefebvre.

“The route will go around the metropolis passing through 12 forts of the second crown.

The GR 169, a loop with a total length of 170 km, will leave from Irigny station and pass through 12 forts, including those of Irigny, Francheville, Saint-Genis Laval, Dardilly, Meyzieu, Saint-Priest, Bron, Feyzin, to Feyzin station.

"It's a peri-urban sector, an interesting territory because there are both heritage areas, agricultural areas and natural areas that you don't suspect", recognizes Gérard Lefebvre.

The path will be served by about sixty bus stops, which allows you to join it in a star shape from your home, depending on the mileage you want to cut down that day.

“It also allows you to follow it while roaming in 8-10 days, in stages, staying at a hotel for example.

A backpacking trip just a stone's throw from home: that's also going on an adventure.

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