Ardeche, France - family trips

[Rhys]

I'm off on a family holiday to the Ardeche region of France next week. We're not taking loads of kit but would like to do a couple of family friendly caving trips. We have two capable teenagers, but ideally won't want to be doing pitches as we haven't room in the car for piles of tackle. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[mrodoc]

It's over 30 years since I went there with a small family. Plenty of show caves in the area and resurgence systems in the gorge including the Grotte St. Marcel which has a walk in entrance - however that cave was locked but it might be worth enquiring re access. I also remember wandering into the Event de Peyrejal and that looks interesting. I am sure others can be more helpful!

 

[Leclused]

Grotte Saint Marcel : https://www.grotte-ardeche.com/reservation/speleologie.html

But there are a lot other caves.

on our clublist of european caves you can find some info about cave we've done during the years. With a small indication of how hard the cave was.

SC Avalon European Caves

The only thing you need to be aware of that during summer gaz levels become high and some caves can't be done. Especially blind pitches are to be avoided.

 

[CavingForLemons]

+1 for Saint Marcel, although you'll need to arrange access in advance

Event de Midroï is entirely horizontal caving, easy and fun, very wet so ideally a wetsuit trip/we took inflatables. It's on the bank of the river so very pretty and perfect for a post-cave swim/gear wash

Grotte Estevan to Grotte de la Barbette is also excellent if you dont mind minimal SRT (one 6m pitch at the entrance) and is a dry and incredibly pretty through trip. Some tight crawls, the group I went with loved it.

 

[Leclused]

Perhaps you could contact the local club for some info

Club speleo de Gorges de l'Ardeche

 

[Rhys]

Thanks. There's a few ideas there. Event de Peyrejal sounds a bit vertical, which is a shame. Estevan/Barbette sounds interesting. I imagine we could throw a ladder down the 6m pitch.

I had previously heard about high carbon dioxide levels in the area, so something to bear in mind.

 

[Leclused]

Thanks. There's a few ideas there. Event de Peyrejal sounds a bit vertical, which is s shame. Estevan/Barbette sounds interesting. I imagine we could throw a ladder down the 6m pitch.

I had previously heard about high carbon dioxide levels in the area, so something to bear in mind.

And if you want you can always take a look at our overview report of 25 years classical caving trip in France.

25 years caving in the south of France

Just search on Ardeche and you will find a small report of the trips. It's in Dutch but with google translate you might get an idea.

Some data will be outdated of course.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Have you ever done any scuba diving? If so I'd strongly recomend diving the entrance lake to Grotte du Gournier, a fantastic one-off experience. There always an airspace above you, so not really cave diving as we know it (back mounted cylinder rather than side mounted) but good visibility, lots of submerged formations and a very different take on cave exploring. Contact this chap who should be able to arrange it for you http://www.vercors-plongee.com/#/plongee-caverne/2967246

When I did the dive he brought along a motorised wheelbarrow to get the gear to the cave entrance

 

[Rhys]

We're staying about 150km from Grotte de Gournier, so it's not really convenient. And we're not divers. We did visit the entrance last summer and have been on normal caving trips there.

 

[Ship-badger]

Hi Rhys

 

[Ship-badger]

Hi Rhys. I did the cave above with my kids a few years ago, when they were perhaps 12 and 14. It's a pull-through trip, and they absolutely loved it. You do have to check that the bottom passage is not flooded before you do the trip, but that only takes 10 minutes. It did take me about half an hour to find the entrance, but basically look for the well-worn route. The cave is popular with tourist groups. The bottom entrance is right on the side of the road, so very easy to find.

 

[Rhys]

Thanks for all the suggestions. In the end we did the resurgence (natural) entrance of Event de Peyrejal and the nearby La Cotepatiere which has amazing big passages. Another day went to Grotte Estevan. Some really stunning formations to see in that one!

We also did Ave d'Orgnac showcave and I stuck my head in countless other caves that we spotted while canoeing, walking and running. A great area, if a bit hot over the last two weeks. Lots more to do on a proper caving holiday. Some great via ferratas too.