Bivouac in the Vercors

The Pied Vert mountain leaders take you out into nature for full immersion, over an evening or a weekend. Near Villard-de-Lans, Autrans, Corrençon-en-Vercors, La Chapelle-en-Vercors or Lans-en-Vercors, summer and winter.

Why bivouac with Pied Vert?

• Gear provided: tent, inflatable mat, cookset, stove. You don't need to buy anything for your first night outside
• Spots known by locals: our leaders live in the Vercors and know the best places, the water points and the rules for each zone
• A mountain meal included: your guide cooks on site with local products, on the fire or on the stove depending on regulations

A bivouac in the mountains

A bivouac means 2 days to celebrate the mountain, climb up to a summit, immerse yourself in the trails of the Vercors wildlife, or enjoy the colours of a sunset over Grenoble.

A bivouac can be arranged at any time of year. It could be in winter in an igloo, or in summer under the stars.

You might live this experience of a night outside with your family, your children or with friends. Maybe on holiday during a stay in the Vercors, or for a special occasion such as a birthday, or an unusual small wedding in Isère or Drôme.

Our bivouacs adapt to your wishes. Our favourite ingredients:

• an approach walk of an hour to a day to warm up, in easy nature outing mode
• a camp set-up: sleep under canvas, under the stars, in an unguarded refuge or a self-built shelter. In winter, the hike is on snowshoes and the night in an igloo
• if it's early, we keep our legs busy with playful options: land-art, navigation challenge or tracking wildlife. If wildlife is the theme of the weekend, we set up a hide to watch the fauna at sunset
• an introduction to fire-lighting with Bushcraft / Woodcraft techniques
• a mountain dinner with local specialities and, when the season allows, wild edible plants to enrich the meal

We'll go through the necessary gear with you. Where stocks allow, this can be included in the service: headlamp, inflatable mat, sleeping bag suited to the cold, hiking backpack, stove / cookset, and binoculars for a bivouac more focused on wild mountain fauna. More about equipment.

We can start from your accommodation (hotel, refuge, campsite, etc.) or from a bus stop (green travel).

You can also offer a bivouac as a gift with a nature gift card.

Reviews of our hiking & bivouac outings

Frequently asked questions

Is bivouacking allowed in the Vercors?

Bivouac is allowed over most of the Vercors, including the Hauts Plateaux nature reserve, provided you respect the rules: set up between 7 pm and 9 am, no fire in the reserve, no waste. Your leader knows the rules zone by zone and picks compliant spots.

Do I need to bring my own bivouac gear?

No. Pied Vert provides the essentials (tent, mat, cookset, stove) where stocks allow. You bring your hiking clothes, a warm jacket and a water bottle. The detail is confirmed at booking.

Can we bivouac with children?

Yes. We adapt the approach walk and the programme to the age of the children. Building a shelter, lighting a fire and watching the stars are strong moments for families.

What happens if it rains?

Your leader watches the weather closely and adjusts the spot (forest shelter, unguarded cabin) if conditions demand it. A bivouac in the rain with good gear remains an adventure, but we can also postpone if the weather is really poor.

Behind the scenes

Educational approach

We invite participants to discover some wild-life techniques, focusing on autonomy, safety and respect for the environment, while building cooperation within the group:

• Where to bivouac? Setting up a comfortable, low-impact camp, learning to leave no trace
• How to prepare and light a fire? Choosing the right spot, the right wood, the size and shape of the hearth
• Trying various fire-cooking techniques: on embers, on a spit, in a salt crust, on stone
• Identifying wild plants and cooking them
• How to wash on a bivouac? Good practices to keep watercourses clean
• How to pack a backpack properly and travel light

This bivouac may give you greater autonomy to head out solo on another adventure. Or perhaps, having tasted the comfort of a guide-supported logistics and the discoveries of wild and human heritage, you'll head off well prepared for other mountains.

Equipment and gear

The mountain leader running the outing will go through the essentials for the mountain dinner and the bivouac with you: cookset, cutlery, headlamp, mat, backpack and sleeping bag. Where stocks allow, this gear can be included in the service.

Participants should plan for clothing suited to hiking (clothes and boots), a 30 to 40 L backpack with a warm jacket (fleece, down jacket), a water bottle (1 L minimum) and a small personal first-aid kit (contents depending on your medical needs). A hat and a pair of gloves are always useful at the bottom of your bag.

More about the gear for a summer mountain bivouac.

Notes

Departure and return times are agreed at booking.

The bivouac spot is set by the guide based on the season, the rules and where you're staying in the Vercors massif, within the Regional Nature Park: Villard-de-Lans, Rencurel, Autrans, Corrençon-en-Vercors, La Chapelle-en-Vercors, Vassieux, Lans-en-Vercors. If you have specific wishes, do mention them to the guide who'll be with you.

Many areas have rules to preserve the wild spaces. So, if we head onto the Hauts Plateaux reserve for a bivouac with the ascent of the Grand Veymont, we swap campfire embers for the flame of a stove (gas, petrol or alcohol).

Looking for a complete experience? Consider the bivouac as one stage of a mini trek during a hike of 2 to 3 days in the Vercors.

Other horizons: bivouacs in the Alps and the Pyrenees

Our taste for mountain adventure has led us to explore the massifs around the Vercors. We could head out for a hike and a bivouac in the Chartreuse, on Belledonne or in the Dévoluy. Maybe we'll even tickle the edges of the glaciers in the Écrins.

If you want to leave the Alps, Yann can show you his home range, the Pyrenees.

Discover also

For a day or half-day option, our activities in Villard-de-Lans: