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Im looking for some amazing places to camp down the bottom half of france. The best place would next to mountains that can be hiked with amazing views and water falls and creeks and such. Does anyone know of any good camping ground that have this??

If you want mountain camping in the south of France, how about the Pyrenees? There is a lot to see in this park -- for waterfalls, see Gavarnie Falls.

While there is no camping inside of the park, there is camping available in the towns that surround it, notably, Gavarnie. Yes, camping there will feel a little like you are camping in a public park, but it is relatively cheap and acts as a good base.

This is a good starting resource...the site does a decent job of providing points of interest accessible while camping as well as helping you to find camp sites to suit your budget and interest.

I tend to think of camping in France as a different experience than camping in the States -- here it is all about big spaces and feeling rustic. French camping is less about that and more about amenities and grassy, flat spots situated next to swimming pools and not far from great cafes. Though I'm sure there are others out there that may disagree, my experience of camping in France has been that way.

Happy trails!

that's good info amazingjulesverne - like umm..cheese, i have been looking forward to hiking and camping in the pyrenees for years. i know they have mountain chalets there to sleep in for the longer hikes, but so far in my research i haven't uncovered any info regarding tent camping, and if it can be done anywhere in the pyrenees. here in the states in most national parks there are designated campgrounds, but you can pretty much camp anywhere you want s'long as you don't make a fire or ruin the landscape (no impact camping, which i practice) - and what i'm wondering is can you do this in the pyrenees without any hassle?

On the Spanish side, in Ordesa Park, one can camp above 6500 ft without a problem.

On the French side, officially, the law is that camping is not allowed in the national parks. The way that the Grand Randonee routes are organized are in sections -- each portion of the trail is broken into parts that can be accomplished in one day. At the end of that day, you reach a place where you can spend the night, with accommodations ranging from a designated campground to a hotel. Because the trails are so extensive and so populated with people, France has decided that the best way to preserve the wilderness in the parks is to prohibit back country camping.

If you prefer to just hike into the mountains and camp where ever you like, you can do so as long as you are not inside the confines of any national park. Your tent is allowed to be up only over night and then you must pack it and move on. Also, all camping must be done at least an hour away (on foot) from any road.

While other people may say that they have camped all over the national parks in the back country without any problems, IMO, it isn't worth the risk.

hmmmm, thanks ajv -i figured there were only chalets available to stay in when hiking the grand randonee (are reservations necessary to stay in these?)plus, if there are amenities available at these posts along the trail, then can one do without a tent altogether and bring only snacks for food? i've had it in my mind that one could hike say, from the atlantic to the mediterranean with a 45 lb pack complete with tent and food for a couple weeks or so, but if it's not necessary to carry so much weight and stay at chalets and eat store-bought food along the way, so much the better! packing all that food is what really ways down the pack.

No, you really don't need to pack a ton of food. I would say that you should pack enough for 2 full days of hiking to be economical, but you certainly don't need to be stocked up as though you were going into the wilderness for 145 days. Are you thinking about doing GR 10?

It is a very wise idea to make reservations in the hotels along this route, as they do get very busy in the summer. Most of the smaller places (which would be cheaper and tend to be family run) fill up the fastest and require reservations 4-6 months in advance.

You will need a tent for at least a few places, though you could get by with a bivy if your plan is to just camp occasionally. There are only about 5 stops along the way that only offer camping, with more formal accommodations available everywhere else.