Usclats Gîtes › Amenities, activities and other information

On the GR7 near Combes.

The surrounding area is criss-crossed by hundreds of kilometers of paths and trails offering a variety of interesting walks for all levels of ability. Many officially maintained and marked routes can be found in the guide Hérault à Pied.

For those intimidated by the local hills, the Canal du Midi and the surrounding area provides a much flatter landscape with just as many opportunities for interesting and varied walks.

IGN Maps of the area can be purchased locally with ease.

For Garmin hand-held GPS owners, we can help you out with a highly detailed topographic map of the area.

TraceGPS.com has many suggestions for walks in the departments of Hérault, Aude and Tarn

Yaroslav Popovych and some friends check out the local roads.

The “piste verte”, a disused railway line, crosses towns and villages and offers 60km of safe, interesting and easy cycling. The Canal du Midi also provides flat easy cycling. For the more experienced cyclist, there is a network of quiet (and rather hilly) country roads.

Unlike the UK, there are very few places that are off-limits to bikes - including the vast tracts of forest that are everywhere here. Mountain bikers can enjoy the numerous forest trails and the FFC Mountain-Bike Centres of La Salvetat (11 trails 303km), Cabardes (9 trails, 284km) and Salagou (14 trails 270km) provide marked trails graded by difficulty.

TraceGPS.com and Utagawa VTT have details of some of the more popular trails at these sites and many more besides.

Bikes for hire are available in St Pons, Salagou, La Salvetat and various other locations.

Swimming

The mediteranean beaches of Serignan, Valras and Narbonne plage are about 70km away. There are several pleasant beaches along the river Orb. Also, the lakes of Vésole and Raviège offer excellent swimming. The lac de Vésole is only 20 minutes away. Finally, there is a municipal swimming pool in St Pons.

Golf

• Golf de Lamalou-les-Bains (9)
• Golf Mazamet La Barouge (18)

Various

Opportunities exist for caving, horse-riding, rock climbing, canoeing, fishing etc.

For more information, see:

• Office de Tourisme du Pays Saint Ponais
• Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Languedoc

Numerous cultural activities are available, many of them free (concerts, exhibitions, festivals, lectures, workshops on traditional local crafts etc.).

• Office de Tourisme du Pays Saint Ponais
• Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Languedoc
• Office de Tourisme de Mazamet

There are too many interesting places to visit to list them all, but here are a few suggestions:

• The Grotte de la Devèze and Museum of Caving in Courniou
• The old town of St Pons and the museum of pre-history
• The Maison du Souvenir and the medieval village of Hautpoul near Mazamet
• The old city of Carcassonne
• The Cathar Castles of Lastours, Montségur and many others.
• Oppidum d’Ensérune
• Rennes le Château

Getting here is fairly easy, but ‘easy’ isn't necessarily interesting or enjoyable. If you prefer the scenic route, we've prepared some maps that show tried and tested routes that avoid the traffic and take you through some wonderful countryside.

• From A9 Nîmes Ouest - via Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, Ganges, Lodève, Bédarieux
• More coming soon.

¹ Main Dealers.