Maisons Fortes viewpoint: a circular walk from Le Chevelu

Start at the car park behind the bakery in Saint-Jean-de-Chevelu, accessible from the Route de Yenne (D1504).

(S/E) Return to the road, turn right towards the roundabout. Go round it on the right and take the Route du Tunnel opposite.

(1) After about a hundred metres, turn right just before the stream onto the path that crosses a small wood and some meadows before joining the Route du Vernatel.

(2) Turn left to follow this road. Cross the bridge over the stream, then take the path on the right leading directly up to Vernatel.

(3) Walk through the hamlet, taking the path on the left at the junction, and continue along the Chemin des Pierres Plates. Walk uphill to the Belvédère des Maisons Fortes.

(4) Head down towards the Hôtel-Restaurant de la Source and pass it on your right.

(5) After the spring, take the path on the right and follow it until you reach the junction with the path leading to the Col de la Vacherie.

(6) Ignore that path and carry on straight ahead. Keep heading in the same direction as you wind your way down through the forest, pass La Perrière and reach a crossroads at the edge of the woods.

(7) Take a track on the right and head towards Les Peysses.

(8) Turn left at a 90° angle, continue to the road and you’ll soon reach the junction just before a few houses.

(9) Follow the road to the right for a good hundred metres, then leave it and take a path on the right.

(10) At the junction, carry on to the left, rejoin the road you left earlier and follow it to the right, passing through Les Blancs. Head towards Leysin.

(11) First turn right then left onto Chemin des Saules. Continue to the junction at the entrance to Saint-Paul.

(12) Turn right onto Chemin du Martinet, pass through the hamlet and carry on straight ahead along the path which goes through a small wood and leads to a junction.

(13) Carry on straight ahead, rejoin the tarmac road and turn left to join Route de Saint-Paul (D921c).

(14) Cross it carefully, continue straight ahead for about a hundred metres, then turn right towards Saint-Jean-de-Chevelu. Join the D921c, go about fifty metres to the left, then turn left into the path to return to the car park (S/E).

To begin with, you cross a housing estate, then pass through woodland, along a road and across pastures to Vernatel. The climb to the viewpoint is steep; after that, the path is relatively flat before descending towards Saint-Paul-sur-Yenne.

Panoramic view of the Chevelu Lakes, with views towards Billième, Jongieux, Chapelle Saint-Romain and the Rhône.