A 206 km loop with about 5500 m of vert between Haute-Loire and Ardèche, tracing the route of Jean-François Régis, a Jesuit priest who died in Lalouvesc in 1640 after years spent crossing these plateaus on foot, often in winter, to reach farmers once the fieldwork was done. The trail follows his route in broad strokes and now carries standard GR waymarking (white-red blazes).
The most logical starting point is Le Puy-en-Velay, where most hikers doing the multi-day loop set off (but as with any loop route, there's no fixed start under FKT rules). From Le Puy, the track crosses the Loire at Coubon and climbs onto the Mézenc plateau toward Fay-sur-Lignon and Saint-Agrève, in the Haut-Vivarais. Lalouvesc is the central stop on the route, home to the basilica where Saint-Régis is buried. The way back cuts through the Meygal massif and the granite plateau around Montfaucon and Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid before dropping back down to Le Puy.
Terrain varies a lot: forest tracks, volcanic plateau paths, a few short stretches on small roads linking hamlets. Nothing technical, but the Mézenc plateau can get seriously windy and cold even in summer. It's known for the burle (violent snowstorms) in winter, and it was in one of these that Saint-Régis himself got lost and died.
Resupply is possible in the villages along the way (Le Puy, Saint-Agrève, Lalouvesc, Montfaucon-en-Velay, Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid...), but there are genuinely remote stretches across the plateaus. Therefore, check water sources before heading out, some can run dry in summer.
Get more details about this route at https://lechemindesaintregis.fr/
