The owners of the private land the route crosses had the waymarking taken down (from October 2025) in the face of the influx of visitors; the trail is officially advised against in 2026. There is no barbed wire and no toll, but the route is no longer waymarked across the forest section, the approach to the Cadières and the start of the descent: navigation becomes tricky. The reopening hoped for the summer of 2026 did not happen: as of 6 October 2026, the tourist office still shows the route as “temporarily closed to the public”, with negotiations under way and no date.
Source: France Bleu (ici.fr) + OT Castellane-Verdon (castellane-verdon.com), verified on 5 July 2026, closure reconfirmed on 6 September 2026 (banner 'hike currently closed, trail unmarked' still online, hoped-for summer 2026 reopening did not happen); closure reconfirmed on 6 October 2026 (same banner, page still dated 5 June 2026).
A Verdon hike
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Current conditions (weather, water releases, fire risk, closures) to check before you go — see the state of the Verdon.
Current conditions unavailable offline — checking them is mandatory before you set out. Last synchronised: 6 October 2026.
No source agrees on these figures. Rather than silently picking one, we show the value we kept, where it comes from, and why we chose it — the other published values stay visible. We don’t erase contradictions, we explain them.
Value kept after cross-checking the sources. The other values come from GPS tracks or from route variants.
Value kept after cross-checking the sources. The other values come from GPS tracks or from route variants.
The Cadières de Brandis are the best-rated hike in Castellane on AllTrails (4.7/5, 392 reviews) — a dolomitic ridge where three large rocks draw giant chairs above the valley. But since late 2025, the waymarking has been removed: before you set off, you need to know exactly where things stand.
Verified on 5 July 2026 with France Bleu Provence and the Castellane-Verdon Tourist Office; closure reconfirmed on 6 September 2026, then on 6 October 2026, on the tourist office’s website.
In the face of the influx of visitors, the owners of the private land crossed by the route had the waymarking taken down (from October 2025). In practice: no barbed wire and no toll, but no markings left across the forest section, the approach to the Cadières and the start of the descent. Navigation becomes tricky and the trail is officially advised against, and the tourist office shows it as closed to the public. A reopening was hoped for the summer of 2026: it did not happen, and no date has been announced. For the current situation, ask the Castellane tourist office.
From the col des Lèques (on the RN 85, the route Napoléon), the climb led up to the dolomitic ridge of the Cadières de Brandis:
| Data point | Value used | Other values seen | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | 7.6 km | 7.8 · 7.84 · 8.2 | The figure on the PNR/OT fact-sheet. The 8.2 km comes from GPS tracks (AllTrails). |
| Elevation gain | 415 m | 410 · 416 · 487 | The PNR/OT figure. The 487 m is an AllTrails track. |
| Duration | 3 h 30 min to 4 h | — | The tourist office and blogs agree. |
The etymology and the history of the site do not appear in the sources audited. We are following the announcement of a reopening: as of 6 October 2026, no date has been given.
Data cross-checked and verified on 2026-07-05, closure reconfirmed on 2026-09-06, then on 2026-10-06 (castellane-verdon.com, page updated 5 June 2026): ici.fr (France Bleu Provence), OT Castellane-Verdon (PNR fact-sheet), AllTrails, Komoot, Visorando, Buena Vista Rafting, Aérogliss. No invented data: a missing field is flagged as such.
The waymarking has been removed and the trail is officially advised against. The owners of the private land the route crosses had the waymarking taken down (from October 2025) in the face of the influx of visitors. There is no barbed wire and no toll, but the route is no longer waymarked (navigation is tricky). The reopening hoped for the summer of 2026 did not happen: the tourist office still shows the route as closed to the public, and negotiations with the landowners are announced as under way, with no date. Check with the Castellane tourist office before you plan anything.
Spectacular dolomitic rock formations: three large main rocks at around 1,500 m altitude, forming giant “chairs” (cadièro = chair in Provençal).
Yes, on a lead (AllTrails data).
Les Cadières de Brandis from the col des Lèques: 4.7/5 with 392 reviews on AllTrails — but the trail no longer has any waymarking.
3 h 30 min to 4 h for the classic loop of 7.6 to 8.2 km from the col des Lèques (415 m of elevation gain).
The 8 sources this page relies on, one click away. We would rather you be able to contradict us than ask you to take our word for it.
7 of these 8 links responded during our last check, on . The other is a site that blocks automated checks: it opens normally in a browser, but we do not claim to have checked it. A broken link is removed, never left in place.
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