Calanques hike and kayaking advice for early May

Kayaking is a great way to see the Calanques, but it's sea kayaking so it is more strenuous than it looks: the Mediterranean is usually quiet, but it's not as still as a lake. If you do it, I suggest doing it from Cassis (Port Miou), from where kayaking to En Vau is reasonably short.

There are no restaurants on that side, though. If you want restaurants you have to head to Sormiou or Morgiou (I tend to prefer Morgiou for hiking, but the restaurant is better in Sormiou). But honestly, to me the main appeal of the restaurants is that if you book in them you can drive to Sormiou/Morgiou without hiking. If you're planning to hike, you might as well pack a picnic! Including plenty of water since none is available beyond the trailheads.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. You make such a good point about kayaking! And since you'll be there in May could still perhaps be a bit rough. I think we will explore hiking instead. And I see your point about driving to the restaurant versus hiking, but the novelty still might be enough for me lol the knowing my son, and it is his birthday, he would probably prefer a picnic. I'm gonna start exploring an all trails and see what the reviews have to say.

There are several fantastic hikes in the Calanques!

I have 2 favorites: one goes all the way to the shore and takes about 3 hours, the other stays high up on cliffs and is longer. Trail markings are on the ground, trail numbers are on the hiking map (IGN Parc National des Calanques) that you can buy locally, or on the official park map (link below).
My descriptions will be arcane without this map: https://www.calanques-parcnational.fr/sites/calanques-parcnational.fr/files/atoms/files/carte-gineste.pdf

I. Morgiou-Sugiton loop from Luminy. Avoid weekends and holidays. Check access restrictions to Sugiton. Map not essential but helpful. Not too strenuous but some technical passages (chains and ladders).

• park at the Luminy campus outside Marseille
• start out on the broad track heading south towards the sea, then bear right towards Morgiou.
• There are two ways down: one involves a scree slope (trail 7, solid yellow marks), the other involves a short downclimb with a fixed chain (trail 6a, dotted yellow). I prefer the latter but it skirts above Morgiou village so you'll have to take a short detour to see it
• continue along the shore on trail 6, red, towards Sugiton. It involves a climb up an inclined couloir, 15 ft or so, not hard in that direction (slippery when you go down), and a ladder down to the beach at Sugiton.
• Have a picnic there and explore the various short trails around the cove
• Walk up to the fire road and follow it to the top
• once at the top keep going left on a fire road at the edge of the cliff until it narrows and leads to steps to a viewpoint
• backtrack all the way to Luminy

II. Col de la Candelle, Devenson, En Vau. Quieter, barren, strenuous (most of the day) but not technical. Map essential.

• Park at Col de la Gineste and follow the main trail south (6 red) up, then down, and up again.
• at some point, trail 6 green heads off to the right for a softer climb eventually flattening due south to Col de La Candelle, a breathtaking viewpoint. Along the way, a diversion to the right could let you explore flat-topped Mont Puget for more views.
• head NE, curving to the ESE on the main red/white trail, then turn SE on the same trail climbing up to the Devenson cliffs.
• At some point the red/white trail heads off to the left away from the clifftop. If short on time, follow it. If not, keep going along the clifftop on the green trail (8). Lots of good picnic spots along the way, before the trail drops down in a dry valley and curves back north.
• you'll rejoin the red/white trail eventually, follow it up a ramp to the right, then keep going SE on a blue trail to Belvedere d'En Vau.
• Belvédère d'En Vau is the best viewpoint over the famous En Vau calanque, and being miles from any trailhead, it shouldn't be that busy. Do not attempt hiking down to En Vau from there: you will see faint trails, they are not safe.
• it's time to head back out on the blue trail (2), follow it back to the red/white trail and cross that trail to keep going on this blue trail. It will be very quiet, yet it is a beautiful climb on a ridge.
• You'll eventually reach a flatter area near Cap Gros, you can check it out a few minutes to the south for more views, but you might just want to go back to the car park via the red trail number 6. Be careful on the very steep path down from the ridge

Obviously there are many more, but to make this somewhat understandable I stuck to hikes using the marked trails!

Thank you so much for sharing your favourite hikes! It is very overwhelming looking at the old trails website.

The first one you mentioned; is that the one that has ancient prehistoric drawings in a cave? I was reading about that somewhere a long time ago and I only remember is it starts with an S!

I think I like the sound of the first one that you recommended just because it gets us to the water which I think we will want to do. I do realize we'd be missing one of the famous views though.

One hike I found an all trails, which I thought was interesting is the Marseilleveyre loop trail. Do you know that one? It's also about 3 to 3 1/2 hours and seems to go through forest and take us down to the Waters edge.

And one question I have for you please is to do with respect to what kind of footwear are you think we need to have? Again reading on all trails, some people seem to insist you need full hiking boots will others seem to suggest that running shoes are just fine. If we can avoid packing heavy hiking boots, I would prefer that, but I want to be safe as I know the trails can be tricky in some parts.

Thank you again for your advice and feedback! Jennifer

The cave paintings are in a cave whose access is now deep underwater, grotte Cosquer, near Morgiou. Not accessible (a replica can be viewed in Marseille, it's fun).

As for Marseilleveyre: stunning as well, but I did not suggest it because the trailheads require driving deeper into Marseille. If you don't mind that, there are lots of hiking options around there: the trail network is extremely dense.

Parking near Montredon, going up green trail 1 then yellow trail 1 to the top of Marseilleveyre, then descending to the east to Pas de la Selle and back to the starting point via yellow trail 2 (going through a small cave) is a fun 2.5 to 3-hour hike (it's steep). From Marseilleveyre, you can drop towards the sea for considerably longer hikes.

And if you're actually staying in Marseille, it makes sense to use public transport. Starting at the end of line 19 (La Madrague de Montredon), then following the main red/white 'GR' trail all the way to Col de Sormiou from where you head down to Les Baumettes to catch bus 23, is a beautiful, moderate hike along the sea - sometimes high up, sometimes at sea level.

Hmm. I hesitate to comment as I like to focus on the positive. The Côte d’Azur is beautiful with the Calanques being the star. It has a dark secret I wished I’d at least been aware of before going so I could act proactively.

The Calanques NP has a severe problem with toxic heavy metal contamination from the abandoned lead mines. They are currently trying to remediate the problem and add warning signage. Please google it to get accurate information. DW News just did a story about it.

The reason I mention this is that you speak of picnicking in the area and your son, though you don’t mention age. Kids in particular are high risk because they put their hands in their mouths and ingest the heavy metals. I’m not saying don’t go. Maybe rethink about where you picnic and how you’ll clean your hands before eating. Shower and change clothes after visiting. Clean your shoes after leaving. Those kind of things. Enjoy yourself. Sip a Kir Royale. Listen to the ocean.

The Calanques NP has a severe problem with toxic heavy metal contamination from the abandoned lead mines. They are currently trying to remediate the problem and add warning signage. Please google it to get accurate information. DW News just did a story about it.

This is in and above Saména, north of Les Goudes, on the slope of Beouveyre facing Marseille. The industrial remains are obvious, it is a small area where one typically just passes through on the steep climb to Beouveyre or at the very start of the main path from Montredon to les Goudes. No lead mines anywhere else AFAIK.