The GR 70, also known as the Chemin de Stevenson or the Robert Louis Stevenson Trail, is a
Grande Randonnée
The GR footpaths are a network of long-distance walking trails in Europe, mostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. They go by the following names: french: link=no, sentier de grande randonnée, vls, link=no, Groteroutepad, nl, L ...
(long-distance footpath) that runs for approximately through the French departments of
Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire (; oc, Naut Léger or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche ...
,
Lozère
Lozère (; oc, Losera ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, ...
and
Gard
Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille to
Saint-Jean-du-Gard
Saint-Jean-du-Gard ( oc, Sant Joan de Gardonenca) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.
History
This city of the Cévennes, first mentioned in a 12th-century papal bull (''San Johannis de Gardonnenca cum villa''), was very muc ...
. It follows approximately the route taken by
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
in 1878, a journey described in his book ''
Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes
''Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes'' (1879) is one of Robert Louis Stevenson's earliest published works and is considered a pioneering classic of outdoor literature.
Background
Stevenson was in his late 20s and still dependent on his par ...
''.
Although it is not on the formal route, many hikers begin at
Le-Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France.
Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its ca ...
and walk to Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille via a section of the GR 430. Similarly, many walkers continue beyond the official end-point of Saint-Jean-du-Gard to
Alès
Alès (; oc, Alès) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie regions of France, region in southern France. It is one of the Subprefectures in France, su ...
via sections of the GR 61 and GR 44 D. Both of these cities have railway stations.
The route was formally adopted by the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre (French Hiking Federation) in 1994, and by 2007 an estimated 6000 hikers walked its full length each year. A dedicated organisation, the Association Sur Le Chemin de Robert Louis Stevenson, promotes the trail and maintains an accommodation list.
Route
''Places marked with an asterisk are not on the formal route, but are often included by those walking the GR 70.