VAN-COMPARATOR Guide
The Ardèche gorges by campervan: Pont d’Arc, balcony road and river
The panoramic gorge road, the Pont d’Arc, the canoe descent and the bivouac rules of the nature reserve: southern Ardèche in a campervan, two hours from Lyon.
By Clément Lacaille, editor of Van-Comparator · updated
A 54-metre stone arch spanning the river, thirty kilometres of limestone canyon, a balcony road strung with viewpoints: the Ardèche gorges pack into one campervan day what other regions spread over a week. Two hours from Lyon, this is the best-value escape in south-east France.
The panoramic gorge road
The D290 links Vallon-Pont-d’Arc to Saint-Martin-d’Ardèche along the canyon rim: a dozen laid-out viewpoints (Serre de Tourre, La Madeleine, Ranc-Pointu…) whose car parks accept motorhomes in the daytime. Drive it early, in the Vallon → Saint-Martin direction: sun at your back, bends the right way round, tour coaches still asleep. The Pont d’Arc itself is admired from the managed beach below — dedicated car park, shuttles in summer.
The canoe descent, the other point of view
The van stays at the campsite while you run the river: 8 km (half a day, €20-30 per person) or 32 km over two days with a night at one of the two regulated bivouac sites in the nature reserve (Gaud and Gournier, booking mandatory). Outside those two sites, bivouacking is banned throughout the reserve — and that rule genuinely is enforced. The wider picture is in our guide to wild camping in Europe.
Where to sleep with the van
Supply is plentiful and civilised: some fifty campsites between Vallon and Saint-Martin (€15-45 a night by season and standard), stopovers at Ruoms, Vallon and Saint-Remèze. In July-August, book ahead: this is one of the busiest valleys in France. Add the Aven d’Orgnac cave and Chauvet 2 on heatwave days — a guaranteed 14 °C underground.
Practical notes
- Best period: May-June (high water, broom in flower) and September. August: crowds and low water.
- Budget: campervan €75-130/day out of Lyon, semi-integrated €95-170.
- Dimensions: the D290 takes all vehicles, but the perched villages nearby (Balazuc, Vogüé) are visited from the car parks outside.
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