Aspremont Mont Chauve Circuit
From Aspremont to Mont Chauve and back
This circuit starts from Aspremont, one of the famous “perched villages” of the Cote d’Azur, and climbs up to Mont Chauve at 853m to give spectacular views of the Baie des Anges and the “collines”, or hills, surrounding Nice.
Although not extremely tough, the trail takes in all sorts of terrain; from rocky singletrack to set a trail runner’s heart a-flutter, to open plateaus filled with wild flowers and butterflies.
The route starts off just beside the childrens playpark and football pitch that you pass when entering the village. Wooden hiking signs point the way to Mont Chauve via a path that runs alongside some allotments and comes out on to a long driveway. When the driveway turns into a gravel path look to your right for another hiking signpost - this is where you’ll pick up the start of the trail.
Twisting uphill along a rocky path you’ll quickly gain enough height to be looking down on Aspremont from above. After 20 minutes or so the path flattens out onto a plateau where there are often goats grazing and you can see the city of Nice in the distance.
Take the path to your left up to the old fort if you want to reach the highest point of the hike; the fort itself is nothing spectacular and a bit disappointing, don’t be expecting turrets or drawbridges, but the hike up there is worth the effort anyway for the fantastic view.
Once you’ve started the descent look out for the turn-off to La Baisse de Guigo, it is signposted about halfway down. Follow this road until just before it bends round to the right, look to your left and you’ll see another signpost pointing to a path that scoots off into the bushes.
La Baisse de Guigo is another flattish meadowy area and is great for wildlife spotters - the lavender and other wild flowers make it a haven for birds, bees and butterflies. It is also hunting land though, so take care during September to December. Don’t panic and dive for cover every time you hear gunfire though, there is a military training facility nearby and you can often hear loud bangs from the shooting range.
After you come through the Baisse de Guigo keep a keen eye out for yellow paint markers on trees and/or rocks - they are not very obvious and there are a few route deviations where you could easily end up on the wrong trail. The correct route makes a bit of a dog leg back up towards Aspremont.
This final stretch is downhill, quite steep and very rubbly underfoot - if you are as prone to stumbling as yours truly then hiking poles might not be a bad idea. You’ll pass through a shady forest area before coming back to the driveway from where you started.
I definitely recommend taking the bus to Aspremont rather than driving; parking is limited in this small village and the bus stops right in the centre, just a few minutes from the start of the hiking trails. For just 1.50€ each way, the bus is a cheap and convenient option. You can take the 62 from JC Bermond in Nice centre, or the 76 from Place de la Fontaine.
Distance: 8.5km
Time: 2.5 hours
Google Maps: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:%2F%2Fwww.mapmyfitness.com%2Froutes%2Fkml%2F484736226%2F
