Chemin de Stevenson (GR70) — Lozère section

The Chemin de Stevenson, designated as the GR70, follows the route taken by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson on his 1878 walking journey through the Cévennes with his donkey Modestine, documented in his 1879 book Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes. The full route runs 272 kilometres from Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille in the Haute-Loire to Alès in the Gard, but the Lozère section — covering approximately 100 kilometres through the Gévaudan plateau, across Mont Lozère, and into the upper Cévennes — is considered the wildest and most dramatic portion of the entire trail. The route lies partly within the Cévennes National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Access to the Lozère section varies; a common northern entry point is Le Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas (accessible by car from Le Puy-en-Velay), while the Florac area marks the transition into the Cévennes valleys to the south. The Lozère section alone takes 5 to 7 days to walk at a comfortable pace, covering 12 to 20 kilometres per day, though individual stages can be walked using car access at road crossing points throughout. The section crosses three distinct landscapes: the volcanic Gévaudan uplands — granite moorland with long views to the Margeride and Aubrac — the summit plateau of Mont Lozère (1,699 m, the highest point on the entire GR70), and the deep-cut granite valleys of the upper Cévennes with their chestnut forests and historic silk-farming hamlets. Remarkable villages along the way include Langogne, Cheylard-l'Évêque, Le Bleymard, and La Bastide-Puylaurent. Accommodation along the route is provided by a network of gîtes d'étape and chambres d'hôtes; the Association sur le Chemin de Stevenson maintains an updated accommodation and services directory. The Mont Lozère summit plateau is exposed to Atlantic weather systems year-round; warm waterproof layers are essential regardless of season.