Sainte-Baume Parking Area
The start of the loop to the summit of Cap Roux
The story
The Estérel gets its red color from rhyolite, a rock of volcanic origin. The Estérel State Forest covers about 6,000 hectares. It is part of Natura 2000, a European network of protected natural sites. Since 1996 the massif has been protected as a landscape. From the parking area, stairs lead to a chapel in the rock, and beyond it to a spring with drinking water. Nearby, off the loop, is the Sainte-Baume cave, where the hermit Saint Honoratus lived.
Visiting
A separate path leads to the cave, about 45 minutes there and back. On the climb there is an exposed section above a drop.
On the trail
- Cap Roux: Short Loop — 4.3 km, 2 h
Photos
Sources
- Estérel Côte d’Azur, official routes — “Le petit tour du Cap Roux” (4.3 km, moderate, 2 h, 380 m of ascent)
- Saint-Raphaël town hall and ONF — “Estérel State Forest” board (6,017 ha, Natura 2000, protected landscape since 1996, rhyolite)
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