Objective la Borne au Lion, major site of the French Resistance, a beautiful story to discover.
From La Faucille, head for Mijoux on the GR9 (red and white), downhill on the ski slope.
Once in Mijoux, stay on the GR9 via rue Royale, the route passes to the left of the church, then climbs to the right of the road, continue on this path until you reach the intersection at la Goulette, continue straight ahead on the yellow PR (caution: tricky passage).
Head for “la Loge”, the path through the woods is wide and rolling. You’ll come to an intersection of 3 paths, take the one furthest to your left (still marked in yellow).
This part of the path is finer and a little more technical, follow it to the “cabane de chasse”. Go back up to the Croaby crossroads.
Here, turn left (the path is not too visible for 20 m.) and you’ll come to a bicycle crossing. Cross it and follow the path until you reach Bellecombe by the “Humberts”. Turn left on the “Charpille” road towards “les 3 cheminées”, where you’ll find the GR 509, passing through “la Guinette”.
At “Mignatte” go straight on (PR in yellow) through the Bretta and you’ll find the combe des Closette and GR 509- GTJ, continue on this path to the Col au Merle, then the Borne au Lion (a place rich in history).
Continue on this road until you reach the Simard crossroads, where you go straight on towards Les Molunes. Before reaching this village, pick up the GTJ mountain bike on your left, and continue on this route to the village of Le Manon.
Take the road to Lajoux, exit the village on the right. Take the GR path in front of you towards Trécombe. From here, descend to Mijoux.
Return to La Faucille along the same path you took on the outward journey.
Itinerary details
Description
GPX audio navigation is highly recommended. In places, the markings are not very visible.
Don’t miss: the Borne Lion, a historic passageway between several kingdoms and a major site of the French Resistance. Colonel Romans-Petit set up a hospital to care for the French resistance.