Around the smugglers

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Nice hike, challenging start followed by a pleasant walk through the French and Swiss Jura forests.
The only downside is the last section on tarmac (about a kilometre and a half to get back to the starting point)

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Date of your route : Apr 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

We found it more interesting to do the hike in the opposite direction because the last descent is quite technical, especially on wet ground (roots, stones).
So, in the opposite direction: the first climb is gradual and easy, with the roots acting as steps. Then, once you've passed La Roche Champion, there's a long stretch which is quite pleasant as it's quiet and in the forest.
The detour to the Rendez-vous des Sages is not particularly interesting, unless you want to learn more about the smugglers from the information panels. The chalet has been renovated and is not open.
Return to the hamlet of Les Buffards via an easy descent, but with stones on the path, which is not very pleasant.
The last part of the hike is through the forest to Chapelle des Bois.

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Hello,

I don't know which app you used to follow the route. It was mapped on the IGN 1:25,000 map and correctly follows the paths without what you refer to as "straight lines".
As mentioned several times, map reading is almost essential when hiking. It allows you to be very precise and, if necessary, saves you from making small "navigation" errors.
Best regards
Skiroll

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Date of your route : Aug 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The route is mapped out on the app using straight lines rather than following the paths exactly. This makes intersections ambiguous and prone to errors. A shame.

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Date of your route : Jun 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this beautiful hike, which we were able to follow thanks to the GPX route.
As it had rained heavily over the last few days, we decided to do the route in reverse as we had read that there were some slippery sections with exposed roots. We made the right decision!
We missed the start of the GR trail... but we quickly found it again by climbing into the woods.
Very beautiful views.
We stopped for a picnic near the "Rendez-vous des sages" hut, a historic landmark.
It was a lovely walk.

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Date of your route : Nov 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful hike. Encounters with chamois. One downside, however: the end of the hike. We were told that the descent would be physically demanding but not dangerous. Personally, I didn't feel comfortable on this descent... lots of roots, very wet and very steep. I felt reassured to have walking sticks but still wasn't completely at ease.

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Date of your route : Aug 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did it backwards, skipping the forest section at the start, which we already knew. So, climbing from Chapelle des Bois, La Madone, the climb is fine despite large trees that have been cut down or have fallen... the climb is difficult on the rocks just before reaching Roche Champion, despite the handrail (I found the last section difficult, as a tree had fallen on the last part of the handrail and the step is very high and not very wide; the section on the humus was very slippery, but I managed it better last year). We had a picnic near the cross, with a magnificent view of the Mortes and Bellefontaine lakes. Then we headed for point 3, an easy, well-marked path, although a bit long. We skipped the Chemin des Sages because we were tired (we're not getting any younger, so we'll do it next year!). We stopped for a snack at the top of Chez Buffard and then wandered through the field below because it was milking time and the cows had a small corridor marked out by an electric fence (I'm not sure) and they were all passing through it to get to their barn... We returned to Chapelle des Bois through the forest, which was very refreshing on this beautiful, hot day...

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Date of your route : Jul 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice hike.
The alternating ups and downs prevent monotony between 3 and 5
The descent, which is quite physically demanding, is picturesque

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Date of your route : Mar 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The circuit is very pretty, the view from the Champion Rock is superb, BUT
it was impossible to descend from the rock to Chapelle des Bois on 10 February.
The GR5 marked on the route descends via a very narrow path on the side of a ravine that was completely icy. Perhaps feasible for an experienced and well-equipped mountaineer, but not for a hiker.
A second path downhill about 1 km back started off well but ended after 10 minutes on a very steep, icy descent with a cable that wasn't enough to convince us.
The result was a quick U-turn to retrace our steps without getting stuck in the snow at nightfall.
In the end, it was more frightening than harmful, but we covered 24 km!

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Date of your route : Aug 25, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike, worth doing...

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Date of your route : Jan 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

After the Rendez-vous des Sages, we didn't dare go through Switzerland to get to Roche Champion, as we didn't have a 25,000 scale Swiss map. A few details, such as the elevation and the layout of the path, would have prevented us from having to go back down to the previous fork and take this long, not exactly flat, route!
As for the descent from Roche Champion to Chapelle des Bois, we were particularly glad to have small crampons on our feet!

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Date of your route : Jun 26, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Circuit completed during a heatwave. The tree canopy provided welcome shade from the heat.
The advice to bring water with you is not just a warning. The view at the foot of the cross is very pretty and the descent is probably more difficult if the ground is wet.

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Date of your route : Jun 10, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Very good hike, however, at one point along the route to the hamlet, the directions are unclear at the end of the first forest road after the farm at the end of the road. Take a right at the intersection. It's a shame there isn't a sign indicating the way to the hamlet at Buffard's house, but after that, everything is fine.

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Hello,
Yes, you can follow the Swiss route. But then you won't see the most interesting part of the border wall with its 18th-century boundary markers.

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Date of your route : Nov 05, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb hike

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