In-depth guide · CampingSpirit
From Grenoble through the Gorges de la Bourne, the Combe Laval and the Col de Rousset down to Die, Grignan and Nyons: around 400 km from limestone plateau to olive groves, with height barriers, rock tunnels and a close look at closure times.
The spirit of the route
The Vercors is a fortress of limestone, and the roads into it are breaches in its walls. In the Bourne gorge the rock hangs over your roof, at the Combe Laval the carriageway clings like a ledge to a 600-metre wall, and in Pont-en-Royans the houses cling above the green water. Up on the plateau it smells of hay and spruce, Villard-de-Lans cattle graze the meadows, and in the background lie the Hauts-Plateaux, which no road may enter. Then the tunnel at the Col de Rousset – and on the other side, a different country: pale limestone scree, box trees, Clairette vineyards, later rows of lavender, truffle oaks and the olive groves of Nyons. From your sliding door you see mist in the gorges in the morning and warm light on the walls of Grignan in the evening. A route for low gears, short stages and early starts.
Stage-by-stage plan
1Stage 1: Grenoble to Villard-de-Lans (approx. 35 km)
- The drive
- From Grenoble to Sassenage and up the D531 through the Gorges du Furon (Gorges d’Engins) to Lans-en-Vercors and Villard-de-Lans at just over 1,000 m. A well-built mountain road with long climbs and a few hairpins, no critical narrow points. Around 50 minutes of driving; the alternative via Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte (D106) is steeper and narrower.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Grenoble: take the cable car up to the Bastille – views of Belledonne, Chartreuse and the northern edge of the Vercors, which you will drive up next.
- Cuves de Sassenage: karst caves with a stream at the mouth of the Furon gorge, with guided tours in summer.
- Corrençon-en-Vercors, south of Villard: starting point of the trails to the northern entrance of the Réserve naturelle des Hauts-Plateaux (Cabane de Carrette) – on foot only.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: In Villard-de-Lans, the municipal aire camping-car des Bartavelles on the edge of town, within walking distance of the centre, with service facilities; check the fee and season beforehand. With electricity and sanitary facilities: Camping L’Oursière right in the village. In Lans-en-Vercors, the Aire de service de l’Aigle offers a service station. For a day in Grenoble, Camping Les 3 Pucelles in Seyssins at the foot of the Vercors is a good choice, with a tram connection (line C from Seyssins); check opening times and the route to the stop beforehand. Seyssins lies within the ZFE.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Do not plan to overnight on street parking in Grenoble itself – height barriers, car parks and short parking limits make it impractical. On the plateau the basic French rule applies: parking yes, camping no; the cross-country skiing and hiking car parks around Villard and Corrençon often have signs prohibiting motorhomes overnight. In the Réserve naturelle des Hauts-Plateaux vehicles are excluded altogether, bivouacking is allowed only on foot between 5 pm and 9 am, and dogs are banned there even on a lead.
- Insider tip for campers
- ZFE Grenoble-Alpes Métropole (27 municipalities): for cars, Crit’Air 5, 4 and unclassified vehicles are excluded; for Crit’Air 3 (according to one source a transition period until 30 June 2026) the information is inconsistent. Stricter levels apply to light commercial vehicles and lorries. Whether your motorhome is classed as a car (M1) or a commercial vehicle is stated in the registration document – clarify this with the Métropole in advance. The zone covers Grenoble and neighbouring municipalities such as Sassenage, Seyssins, Échirolles, Meylan and Saint-Martin-d’Hères; the A480, A48, N87 and A41 expressways are exempt. The safest solution: leave the motorhome at a park-and-ride on the tram network (check the height first) and take the tram into the city. Fill up and shop before the climb – it is more expensive on the plateau.
2Stage 2: Villard-de-Lans to Pont-en-Royans (Gorges de la Bourne) (approx. 35 km)
- The drive
- From Villard, take the D531 downhill into the Gorges de la Bourne: sections that feel single-track under rock overhangs, short tunnels and galleries, guide walls right at the edge of the carriageway. Closed to vehicles over 3.5 t (height sign 3.50 m). Around La Balme-de-Rencurel and Choranche the valley widens, then Pont-en-Royans. A good hour of pure driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Pont de la Goule Noire: a bridge over the Bourne where karst springs gush from the rock face.
- Grottes de Choranche: show cave with thousands of fine stalactite tubes above an underground lake, car park at the access road in the Choranche basin.
- Pont-en-Royans: the “hanging houses” above the Bourne, best photographed from the bank below the bridge or from the panoramic path above the village; also the Musée de l’Eau.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Aire de camping-car Pont-en-Royans on the edge of the village with service facilities and electricity, close to the river; also the Camping municipal Les Seraines below the village on the Bourne. Further up the valley in Choranche are Camping Gouffre de la Croix and the small Camping municipal des Millières, both fairly basic and open in season only.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): There are no suitable places to park in the Bourne gorge; the lay-bys are viewpoints, not car parks. In the centre of Pont-en-Royans the car parks are tight and not intended for motorhomes at night – use the aire.
- Insider tip for campers
- Roadworks 2026: from 7 September to 20 November 2026 the D531 at Les Jarrands is closed during the day (8:45 am–5 pm, from 8:30 am on Fridays); in the evening, at weekends and on public holidays traffic lights apply. If you travel in this period, plan to pass through in the evening or at the weekend, or divert via Méaudre (diversion according to the Vercors road information). Check the current situation at itinisere.fr or inforoutes.ladrome.fr – in the gorge there are repeated rockfall closures after rain and frost.
3Stage 3: Pont-en-Royans to Pont-en-Royans (Combe Laval and Goulets) (approx. 60 km)
- The drive
- A round trip: via Saint-Jean-en-Royans on the D76 up into the Combe Laval – a balcony road cut into the vertical wall, with short tunnels, hardly any passing places and a sheer drop into the Cholet valley. Closed to vehicles over 3.5 t (height sign 3.50 m). At the Col de la Machine you reach the plateau, then continue via Saint-Jean-en-Vercors and Saint-Martin-en-Vercors to the Barraques-en-Vercors and back to the Royans on the D518 through the Grands Goulets tunnel (height 4.40 m) and the Petits Goulets (height 3.90 m). Two to two and a half hours of pure driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Belvedere at the Col de la Machine: a view into the basin of the Combe Laval and onto the road you have just climbed.
- Les Barraques-en-Vercors: a view into the cleft of the Grands Goulets; the old road blasted into the rock is closed to cars, and traffic runs through the tunnels.
- Forêt de Lente: beech and fir forest on the plateau above the Col de la Machine, with forest paths for short walks.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: A second night in Pont-en-Royans – or, after the loop, in nearby Saint-Jean-en-Royans: there you will find the Aire Camping-Cars de Saint-Jean-en-Royans in the village, plus Camping les Bords de Lyonne on the river with electricity and sanitary facilities. For nut lovers: the Aire de Camping-Car Vercors Noix at a walnut farm in the surrounding area (Noix de Grenoble AOP).
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): At the car parks on the Col de la Machine and in the Forêt de Lente you park during the day; overnight this is acceptable only where there are no prohibition signs, and without camping behaviour. When there is a wildfire risk in high summer, fire bans and, where applicable, access bans also apply in the Vercors.
- Insider tip for campers
- Vehicles over 3.5 t do not drive the Combe Laval (height sign 3.50 m): you reach the Col de la Machine from the plateau side via Saint-Jean-en-Vercors and turn back there. On the D518 between Échevis and Sainte-Eulalie-en-Royans (also applies to stage 4), only one lane with traffic lights is open from 1 September to 30 October 2026 (works 7 am–7 pm, the lights stay on in the evening and at weekends; alternating section of 200 m at most, speed limit 50). In the Combe Laval, drive early in summer: cyclists and motorcycle groups are numerous there, and in the tunnels there is no room for two motorhomes.
4Stage 4: Pont-en-Royans to Die via the Col de Rousset (approx. 70 km)
- The drive
- On the D518, once more through the Petits and Grands Goulets onto the plateau, via La Chapelle-en-Vercors to Vassieux-en-Vercors, then to the Col de Rousset (around 1,250 m). The summit tunnel is the border between north and south: on the other side the road descends in numerous well-built hairpins into the Drôme valley and via Chamaloc to Die. Around 1.5 hours of driving, a long stretch in low gear on the way down.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Mémorial de la Résistance at the Col de la Chau above Vassieux: a memorial to the Vercors Maquis and the fighting of July 1944.
- Grotte de la Luire near Saint-Agnan-en-Vercors: a cave linked to the Résistance field hospital of 1944.
- Belvedere at the south portal of the Col de Rousset: the view down into the Die valley and onto the Glandasse – this is where the Drôme begins.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: In Die, the Camping de Justin on the river, within walking distance of the old town, with electricity, sanitary facilities and service facilities; further sites in the surrounding area such as Camping Le Glandasse or La Pinède. For motorhomes that don’t need electricity: the Saint-Éloi car park in town, which is designated as an aire de stationnement for motorhomes. On the way, Vassieux-en-Vercors has a municipal aire de services with service facilities.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): At the Col de Rousset there are large car parks at the small ski station; at night it is draughty there, and camping behaviour is not permitted. The Hauts-Plateaux border it to the east – reachable on foot, without a vehicle, without a dog, bivouac only between 5 pm and 9 am.
- Insider tip for campers
- The tunnel at the Rousset is unproblematic for ordinary motorhomes, but the descent to Die is long: use engine braking and let your brakes cool in the lay-bys. In Die, fill up with water and empty your waste before moving on. The market in Die is traditionally held on Wednesday and Saturday mornings – the centre is then full, so park the motorhome outside.
5Stage 5: Die to Crest via Saillans (approx. 35 km)
- The drive
- Down the valley on the D93 along the Drôme, through Clairette vineyards and past gravel banks to Pontaix, Saillans and Aouste-sur-Sye as far as Crest. A wide, quiet valley road with no narrow points, but with tight village streets in Pontaix. Around 45 minutes.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Clairette de Die: a tasting in a cave in Die or along the route – the sparkling wine made by the “méthode ancestrale”, with Muscat, ferments once in the bottle and is light and fruity.
- Saillans: a small village with lanes and swimming spots on the Drôme, starting point for hikes to the rock ridges of the Trois Becs.
- Tour de Crest: the tall medieval keep above the old town, with a view from the platform across the Drôme valley to the Vercors.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Crest: Aire camping-cars de Saint-Ferréol (multimodal site on the edge of the old town) with service facilities; Camping Les Clorinthes on the river with electricity and sanitary facilities. In Saillans, the Aire de Camping-Car des Chapelains with service facilities lies next to Camping Les Chapelains on the Drôme.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): On the gravel banks of the Drôme there are many bathers in summer; motorhomes overnight are not welcome there and are checked; part of the river bed belongs to the Réserve naturelle des Ramières. The Forêt de Saoû south of Crest belongs to the Département – park during the day in the designated places, do not overnight.
- Insider tip for campers
- The Drôme is a popular canoeing river with low water levels in high summer; empty grey water and the cassette only at service stations. The old town of Crest is steep and narrow – do not drive into it with the motorhome; the Aire Saint-Ferréol is close enough.
6Stage 6: Crest to Grignan via Dieulefit (approx. 65 km)
- The drive
- South through the hills of the Drôme provençale via Bourdeaux and Le Poët-Laval to Dieulefit, then via Montjoyer or Réauville to Grignan. Winding, narrow but easily driven country roads through oak woods, lavender and grain fields. A little under 1.5 hours of driving.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Le Poët-Laval: a medieval hillside village with the castle ruin of the Knights Hospitaller.
- Dieulefit: a pottery town with workshops and galleries, market day on Friday.
- Château de Grignan: a Renaissance château on the hill, closely linked to the letters of Madame de Sévigné; from the château terrace a wide view over the landscape of the Drôme provençale.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Camping de Grignan on the edge of the village, close to the château, with electricity and service facilities; also the Site de Rochecourbière south of the village as a pitch area for motorhomes. In Dieulefit: Camping Les Grands Prés on the edge of town.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Around the château and collegiate church (Monuments historiques) a camping ban applies within a radius of 500 m; the farm tracks to the lavender fields are also private land. In the wildfire season the massifs around Dieulefit are closed to access when the danger level is high.
- Insider tip for campers
- Lavender season: in the Tricastin and around Grignan and Valréas, lavender and lavandin usually bloom from mid-June to mid-July, and the harvest often begins as early as July. If you come in August you will see mown rows. Do not enter the fields, and do not park at the field edges – harvesters need the entrances. The distilleries in the region sell lavender oil directly.
7Stage 7: Grignan to Nyons (approx. 40 km)
- The drive
- East via Taulignan and Valréas (Enclave des Papes, a piece of the Vaucluse in the middle of the Drôme) and through the valley of the Lez and the Eygues to Nyons. Quiet country roads between vineyards, lavender and the first olive groves. A good 45 minutes.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Taulignan: a fortified village with a circular wall and towers.
- Nyons: the single-arched medieval “Pont Roman” over the Eygues and the old-town lanes at the Quartier des Forts.
- Olive mills and oil producers of the AOP “Huile d’olive de Nyons” made from the Tanche variety; a large weekly market on Thursday morning.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: The municipal aire camping-cars de Nyons is close to the centre with service facilities; check the fee and facilities on site. In the surrounding area, wine estates such as the Domaine Rocheville offer their own motorhome pitches for customers. With electricity: Camping Les Clos on the edge of town.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Nyons lies in an area with a high wildfire risk; in summer no overnighting in forest car parks in the Baronnies, and no stove outdoors either. On the Eygues, swimming spots are often closed to motorhomes overnight in summer.
- Insider tip for campers
- Optional detour: Vaison-la-Romaine lies a good 20 km to the south (Vaucluse), with large Roman excavations and the bridge over the Ouvèze – half a day is enough. You deliberately skip Mont Ventoux here. On market day in Nyons, avoid the town centre and head to the aire early.
8Stage 8: Nyons to Montélimar (or Buis-les-Baronnies) (approx. 55 km)
- The drive
- Via Valréas or Grignan west to the Rhône at Montélimar; simple country roads, town traffic at the end. About an hour. An alternative for anyone who wants to stay in the mountains: from Nyons around 30 km via Mirabel-aux-Baronnies and Pierrelongue into the Ouvèze valley to Buis-les-Baronnies, winding but well built.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Montélimar: nougat makers with demonstration production and shops; the nougat is made from almonds, honey – often lavender honey – and egg white.
- Château des Adhémar above Montélimar: a medieval castle with art exhibitions.
- Alternatively Buis-les-Baronnies: lime blossom, herbs and arcades on the square, with the rock ridge of the Rocher Saint-Julien above.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Montélimar: municipal Aire Camping-Cars on the edge of the town centre with service facilities; Camping de l’Île Blanc on the Rhône side with electricity and sanitary facilities. Buis-les-Baronnies: Camping Le Jalinier on the edge of the village or Les Éphélides, both with electricity and sanitary facilities, season roughly spring to autumn.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In Montélimar, no overnighting in supermarket or town-centre car parks – the aire is the legal and central solution. In the Baronnies the Drôme wildfire rules apply in summer, and standing at the forest edge is then taboo.
- Insider tip for campers
- For the journey home: the A7 from Montélimar is a toll road – motorhomes up to 3.5 t with a height of 2 m to under 3 m go in class 2, from 3 m or over 3.5 t in class 3. Supermarket petrol stations on the outskirts of Montélimar are usually cheapest and some also have GPL.
Camping practice & local rules
Wild camping & overnight parking
- In France a motorhome counts as a vehicle: it may park – overnight too, for a maximum of 7 days in the same place – wherever parking is allowed and no municipal arrêté prohibits it. Camping behaviour (stabilisers, awning, table and chairs, draining water) is prohibited outside campsites and aires.
- Wild camping is prohibited in sites classés, within 500 m of Monuments historiques (Grignan, Crest, Nyons) and near drinking-water abstraction points – in the karst region of the Vercors a frequent reason for bans. Many municipalities along the Bourne, Drôme and Eygues additionally restrict motorhome parking by arrêté or height barrier.
- Réserve naturelle des Hauts-Plateaux du Vercors: around 17,000 ha, the largest terrestrial nature reserve in mainland France, without roads and closed to vehicles of unauthorised persons. Bivouac on foot only, for one night and between 5 pm and 9 am, no open fire (stoves permitted), no dogs – not even on a lead.
- Wildfire: in summer the prefectures of Drôme and Isère set danger levels for their massifs; at the highest level, hiking and leisure activities in the massifs are prohibited (in early July 2026 this applied to 68 municipalities in the south of the Drôme), and at high levels parking in the forest and fires are also prohibited. Maps at risque-prevention-incendie.fr/26 (Drôme) and /38 (Isère), usually updated around 6 pm for the following day.
- You can legally overnight at campsites, municipal “aires de camping-car”, private pitches at wine estates and walnut farms (France Passion and similar networks) and at aires with an access card. Apps: park4night, Campercontact, Caramaps.
Waste disposal & supplies
- Service facilities are called “aire de services” or “borne”; the aires in Villard-de-Lans, Lans-en-Vercors, Vassieux, Pont-en-Royans, Saillans, Crest, Nyons and Montélimar are conveniently placed along the route. Payment is by token, coins or card, water is often chargeable, emptying is mostly free.
- Empty grey water and the cassette only at the service station – the Vercors is a karst mountain range, and waste water seeps directly into the groundwater of the springs in the Bourne and the Royans.
- Drinking water: look for “eau potable”; on the plateau there are fountains, in the Drôme provençale fewer in summer. Drive into the hills south of Crest with a full tank.
- Gas: French exchange cylinders (butane/propane) are available at petrol stations and supermarkets; foreign cylinders are not exchanged. GPL pumps for filling refillable tanks (Dish or Euronozzle adapter) are few and far between on the route – fill up in Grenoble or Montélimar.
Vehicle size & traffic rules
- Speed limits: motorhomes up to 3.5 t and combinations up to 3.5 t permitted gross train weight as for cars – 130/110/80 km/h, 90 where signposted, 50 in built-up areas; in rain 110/100/80. Motorhomes over 3.5 t up to 12 t: motorway 110, dual-carriageway expressway 100, other roads 80, built-up areas 50, with a speed disc at the rear. Combinations over 3.5 t: motorway and expressway 90, other roads 80.
- Vehicle and height limits in the Vercors: Gorges de la Bourne (D531) and Combe Laval (D76) closed to vehicles over 3.5 t (height sign 3.50 m); Petits Goulets 3.90 m, Grands Goulets tunnel 4.40 m. Check closures due to rockfall and roadworks at itinisere.fr (Isère) and inforoutes.ladrome.fr (Drôme).
- ZFE Grenoble-Alpes Métropole: the zone remains in place (the Conseil constitutionnel overturned the nationwide abolition on 21 May 2026); a Crit’Air sticker is compulsory, including for foreign vehicles. Which classes your motorhome needs – depending on whether it is classed as a car or a commercial vehicle – and whether a transition period still applies to Crit’Air 3, check with the Métropole before your trip; the A480, A48, N87 and A41 are exempt. Order the sticker only via the official website.
- Vehicles over 3.5 t need the “Angles morts” stickers on the sides and rear, foreign motorhomes too; fine €135. A high-visibility vest is compulsory for the driver and recommended for everyone, and a warning triangle must be on board.
- Tolls: the A48/A49 near Grenoble and the A7 as far as Montélimar are toll roads – class 2 up to 3.5 t and under 3 m height, class 3 from 3 m or over 3.5 t (two axles), class 4 with three axles. In mountain municipalities of Isère and Drôme, winter equipment is compulsory from 1 November to 31 March (winter tyres or chains/snow socks on board). Blood-alcohol limit 0.5 (new drivers 0.2); mobile phones and headsets at the wheel are prohibited.
CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist
- Your exactly measured vehicle height on a note on the dashboard – the Bourne and Combe Laval are limited to 3.50 m, the Petits Goulets to 3.90 m.
- Two handheld radios for guiding each other in the Combe Laval tunnels and under the rock overhangs of the Bourne, when oncoming traffic forces you to reverse.
- Crit’Air sticker, ordered in good time via the official website, and a tram ticket for Grenoble – the camper stays at the park-and-ride.
- Walking boots, head torch and bivouac gear for a night on the Hauts-Plateaux – without a dog, without fire, with water for two days, because there are hardly any springs up there.
- Cool box for Picodon goat’s cheese, olives and Clairette – the markets in Die, Dieulefit and Nyons are reasons to drive slowly.
- Light sun-shade mats for the windows: in the Drôme provençale summer temperatures rise well above 30 °C, and shady pitches are rare on the aires.
As of 2026-09. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go.
