Sentier Géologique, or Geology Trail

Since David was educated as a Geologist, we jumped at the chance to go for a Geology hike in the Beaujolais hills north of Lyon.   We rented a cute little Fiat 500 (bright yellow) and drove, with a backpack and picnic lunch, about 25 kilometers to the village of Chasselay where everyone was to meet at 9:15.  What with the usual formalities involved in picking up our car, at the FranceCars agency near us, we arrived in Chasselay with only a few minutes to spare.

Chasselay Village Gate

We joined the group of about dozen, plus our leader Nicole, and set off up the hill.  This was a marked hike with a series of eight stops with descriptive panels explaining the geologic history of what we were seeing on the trail.  In addition to the geology, we also walked through very scenic woods, with occasional views across the lovely Beaujolais countryside.

Our Leader & Group at one of the Signs

It was an interesting group – all people who were new to us, all French, mostly couples.  We each chatted with various people during the day – everyone was very friendly and curious as to how we came to be in France and in Lyon. 

David and Sign

The geology was interesting – we were in an area mostly from the Jurassic Era when the region was covered at times by seas of varying depths.  Many shellfish fossils were observed and our leader had other types of fossils in her backpack that she had found on other outings in the area.

After a couple of hours, we reached the top of the hill, which sits, by the way, on a buried military command-and-control center for the French air force, and we looked at the views and found a grassy area on which to sit and eat our picnic lunches.  [Surprisingly, we were the only ones to have included a bit of wine with our lunch!] 

The Group Having Lunch

Military Area - No Photos!

After lunch, we took a different route down the hill to our cars and convoyed off to another village, St Jean-des-Vignes and its museum of the geology of the area.

The museum was a small, well-done facility exhibiting mostly minerals and fossils from the nearby area.  We had a volunteer guide who explained things in great depth.  The museum is near a limestone quarry run by Lafarge, a French worldwide cement company.  They often uncover fossils in the course of their excavations, and when that happens, the experts are called in.  They also bring amounts of fossil-rich rock to an area outside the museum where children can make their own discoveries.  Seems to be a great partnership.

One of the highlights of the museum, and this could only happen in France, was a wine tasting, presumably to show the effect of the terrain on the wine!  Our guide led this also, explaining the wine, how to taste, and what to look for.  We enjoyed two excellent Beaujolais wines, a red and a white.  A perfect way to end our visit.

Wine Tasting - Museum Guide in Center, Walking Guide to Right

We spent a full day hiking and learning and generally enjoying ourselves.  With a rental car, we had to leave just a bit early, before the walk through the botanical garden adjacent to the museum, but we certainly got in most of the activities.