What do the signs on French hiking paths mean?

Each type of trail has its own distinctive marker

Long distance hikes known as Grandes Randonnées (GR) are signposted in white and red. Sometimes this will be painted on, rather than a properly printed sign
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Did you know that 180,000 km of footpaths and trails across France are catalogued by hiking, horse riding and cycling federations? Here is our guide to the sign meanings.

Hiking federation La Fédération française de la randonnée pédestre leads the way when it comes to hiking paths.

These footpaths and trails tend to be categorised according to letters.

The colour-coded hiking trail signs are maintained by volunteers from the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre

GR: Long-distance hiking route through a region, with a number and usually a name, signposted in white and red. Sometimes this will be painted on, rather than a properly printed sign.

  • GR de pays: A circular route with just one name, to discover a country or geographical area. Marked in yellow and red.
  • PR: Circular or return walking or hiking route, less than a day's walk. Yellow colour with a name or number.
  • Change of direction: An arrow, in a colour that corresponds to the type of route.
  • Wrong direction: A cross in a colour corresponding to the type of route.
  • Horse riding routes: An orange rectangle.
  • Horse-drawn carriage routes: Two rectangles on 2 orange circles.
  • ‘La variante’ (variant/alternative route): Sometimes offered as an alternative route to the main route. May depend on season (e.g. during hunting season or during the summer), or the difficulty of terrain.
This sign, for the GR 653, can be identified by the white and red stripes and the number. It also happens to be the way for one of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage routes (the yellow and blue symbol), which ends in Spain.

Read also: GR, GRP, PR: What do the French hiking signs mean? 
Read also: MAPS: See routes of Dordogne’s new (and first) GRP hiking trails 

Biking

Cycling trails are known as ‘itinéraires VTT’ (vélo tout terrain, or mountain biking). 

They are signposted with two circles under a triangle. The colour depends on the type of trail.

  • Yellow triangle: Local loops

  • Brown: Regional nature parks

  • Red: Major routes of more than 80 km

  • Orange: Major tourist routes.

The direction of the triangle sign depends on the direction of travel:

  • Go straight on: Point of the triangle upwards and round at the bottom.

  • Go right: Point to the right.

  • Go left: Point to the left.

Local loops usually have a number to help differentiate them. 

The difficulty of the route (both physically and technically for riders) is shown by the colour of the number on the sign, or the background colour of the number. They use the same colour scheme as ski pistes.

  • Green: Very easy

  • Blue: Easy

  • Red: Difficult

  • Black: Very difficult.

Other mountain bike routes for other types of bike (enduro, downhill, electric mountain bike, Fat) have special signposting. 

The cycling federations la Fédération française de cyclisme, and the Fédération française de cyclotourisme can help when it comes to finding the best trails for your level and desired activity.