Walk south of Frahier and Chatebier

Park in the car park of the Frahier et Chatebier village hall next to the town hall.

(S/E) Head to the right as you leave the village hall (south-east) and join Rue de Chavanne. Turn left.

(1) After 50m and before the N19, turn right into Impasse du Lizain. Walk past the stadium, cross the small stream and join Rue du Moulin.

(2) Turn right and follow the road for about 1 km to the Étang de la Goutte Héron.

(3) After the last houses, turn left onto the path that crosses the pastures and enters the forest. At the top of the hill, turn left onto the village path. Further on, ignore a path on the left.

(4) Turn left onto the tarmac road. After 50m, take a path on the left that runs alongside the road and leads onto Rue des Soyeux. Turn right and continue straight on at the next junction.

(5) Turn onto the path on the left 200m after the forest, just before the first houses in Petit Chatebier.
From this point onwards, it will be very useful to use the Visorando app, which will show your position on the map and make it easier to follow the route.
Pass a path on the left and enter the forest. At the next junction, turn right, pass a path on the left, then one on the right and a final one on the left. You will then arrive on a much wider path.

(6) Follow it to the left to reach the tarmac road.

(7) Turn left onto it and, a few metres further on, take the path on the right. Cross the Bois du Brigaumont and turn right onto the tarmac road leading to the RN19.

(8) Cross the N19. Take particular care, as there is traffic.
Follow the path opposite leading to the Rougeot farm, then turn right onto the path heading towards Evette Salbert. Enjoy the beautiful view of the southern slopes of the Vosges.

(9) When you reach the forest, turn left onto a small path that joins the old Haute-Saône Canal, which runs underground right beneath your feet.
Once you reach the canal, follow it as far as Frahier and Chatebier.
As you reach the canal, on your right, it enters an underpass. Several bridges allow you to cross over or under the road.

(10) At the^5th bridge, turn left onto Rue du Canal. At the end of this street, turn left onto Rue de Belfort (N19). 100m further on, take great care when crossing at the pedestrian crossing. Continue for 50m, turn right onto Rue des Champs and head for the village hall car park (S/E).

Start in Frahier et Chatebier in the village hall car park or the town hall car park (right next door).
Address: Place de la Mairie, 70400 Frahier et Chatebier.

This walk is not signposted.
Between points (5) and (6), the Visorando app will be very useful for following the route.

(10) If you have a little time, you can continue straight on and, 1 km further on, you will come across the Port du Canal.

Frahier and Chatebier
Don’t miss the three 19th-century wash-house fountains and the Neo-Gothic church completed in 1857.

Haute-Saône Canal

After the 1870 war, the link between Nancy and Montbéliard could no longer pass via the Canal de l’Est and the Rhône-Rhine Canal due to the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine by Germany.

It was decided to build a canal running south of the Vosges
The declaration of public utility for the canal, signed by the Minister of Public Works, C. de Freycinet, dates from 1879. Construction work began in 1883.
A ninth attempt to fill the canal from the Champagney Reservoir took place in 1933. As water losses were enormous, it was decided to abandon the project.
A port was built at Frahier and Chatebier, which came into service in 1926, along with a lock made of Vosges sandstone. It is supplied with water from the Champagney Reservoir. It has never been used. A picnic area allows visitors to enjoy this pleasant spot.
For more information on the construction of the canal, see the website Lanoir M, Le canal de Montbéliard à la Haute Saône, Annales de Géographie, 1931:

or the Wikipedia website: