(1) Departure: Park at the car park 250 m after the Col de Menthières sign. Take the small white path opposite the road leading to the Biolaz gîte.
(2) Follow the white track to a farm. Go around it to the left, staying on the GRP® Grand Tour de la Valserine, signposted in yellow and red.
(3) At the first junction, turn right towards “la Pelaz / la Poutouille”, still on the GRP®. The path runs mainly through woodland.
(4) At the track, turn left in a hairpin bend, then negotiate a right-hand bend. Continue until you reach another junction at the entrance to the Haute Chaîne du Jura nature reserve.
(5) Turn left and follow the path towards la Pelaz / la Poutouille. The marked path leads to the Combe de la Pelaz.
(6) Go right up a steep path to reach an open viewpoint over the Grand Crêt d’Eau and the Retord plateau. The path alternates between forest, undergrowth and valleys.
(7) Arrive at the unguarded Poutouille refuge, an ideal place to take a break in a wild and isolated setting.
(8) Return by the same route to the car park.
Itinerary details
Description
Along the way, you’ll come across a succession of viewpoints: the Grand Crêt d’Eau dominates the landscape at the start, before gradually revealing magnificent panoramas of Mont-Blanc, the Alps, the Lake Geneva basin and nearby Geneva.
This tranquil route, far from the hustle and bustle, offers a wonderful immersion in the open landscapes of the Jura crests.
Part of the route crosses the Haute Chaîne du Jura National Nature Reserve, a protected area where nature has its own rules: stay on the signposted paths and respect the regulations.
Please note: from 15 December to 30 June, the trail passes through an area of undisturbed wildlife. Visitors are only allowed on the condition that they stay strictly on the signposted route and do not stray from it.