Sapoz Wood and Pré Février

This walk through the hills above the small village of Fresse will allow you to enjoy a pleasant woodland atmosphere and some unexpected views of this little-known valley.
Please note: as this is mainly a woodland walk, the Club Vosgien’s route description and signposting will help you find your way without difficulty, provided you pay attention to changes in direction...

Details

2190468
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.67 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,037 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,024 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,956 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 2,005 ft

Description of the walk

Head to the hamlet of Sapoz, between Montaujeux and Montvilliers. Park on the lay-by near the small crossroads where logs are often stored.

(S/E) Set off due east towards Montvilliers. At the first fork, take the tarmac forest track that climbs to the left. Continue along this easy track through lovely woodland.

(1) Turn right, leaving the track to join the route marked with a Yellow Rectangle, and head uphill along this marked path through the woods.

(2) In this vast clearing – a former fallow meadow, now partly replanted with spruce trees – look for the small path on the left, which climbs rather steeply at first. Continue along this path and make a short detour along the edge of the woodland to reach the small summit at 901 m, the highest point of the walk, offering panoramic views. Head back down, following the path.

(3) You’ll come to a flat area and a crossroads. Go straight on at the first junction, leaving the level path towards Belfahy on your left and a path leading downwards, signpostedGR®59, on your right. Fifty metres further on, take the first path on the right, which follows a long, gently sloping descent, almost straight ahead at the start. The path then curves to the right, heading due north and then north-east.

(4) After descending this easy path, which offers some lovely views, join theGR®59through the woodland and follow it to the left to continue the descent. Leave the GR®.

(5) In the hamlet of Montvilliers, turn right onto the road that climbs, passing several houses on the left, and follow this road as far as Le Sapoz. Here again, the road passes beneath beautiful trees after running alongside meadows that are in bloom in spring. You’ll cross the track you took at the start on your right and reach the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 2,021 ft - Le Sapoz
  2. 1 : mi 0.97 - alt. 2,431 ft - Marked path on the right
  3. 2 : mi 1.92 - alt. 2,792 ft - A small, inconspicuous path to the left
  4. 3 : mi 2.42 - alt. 2,762 ft - Crossroads. Near the source of the - Le Raddon de Fresse (rivière) - Affluent du Rhône par l'Ognon
  5. 4 : mi 3.26 - alt. 2,372 ft - Back on the GR59
  6. 5 : mi 3.9 - alt. 2,005 ft - Montvilliers
  7. S/E : mi 4.67 - alt. 2,021 ft - Le Sapoz

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

3.7 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.4 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
le saut de bonneille
le saut de bonneille
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

As I’ve read from other walkers, we too couldn’t find the first route, which turns immediately to the right and is normally marked with a Yellow Rectangle
I think it’s a shame that, despite several comments, nothing has been done to correct this for other walkers
A couple walking behind us couldn’t find it either
So we had great difficulty finding the route at the start, which is a real shame because the route is lovely at level 3

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LAULAU2201
LAULAU2201

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk
Missing signposts

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JFGHA
JFGHA

Well done – you’ve realised that by not picking the flowers, everyone will benefit… Picking flowers really ought to be banned, given everything our poor natural world – or what’s left of it – is already going through…

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philray70
philray70

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 17, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Waypoints 1: We either didn’t see or didn’t pay attention to the signposted path we were meant to take on the right. Never mind – a path further up put us back on the route. In the end, it was perhaps 500 metres further, but with a gentler gradient than the path we’d missed.
A classic walk with an ascent in the first half, rewarded by a lovely view at an altitude of 900 metres, followed by a descent in the second half. At that time of year, we were able to spot (without picking them) a species of orchid along the descending path and even on the way back – most likely the early purple orchid (Orchis mascula).

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Rando70
Rando70

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Please note that route outages are common after winter. If you encounter any problems, please notify the relevant local authorities.

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JFGHA
JFGHA

It’s been a while since I last went up there; the spruce trees must have grown… They were meant to end up as Christmas trees but have clearly been forgotten, which is a real shame. Yet another view that’s disappearing…

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plidenantes
plidenantes

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Our first attempt was generally successful, but:
- we didn’t spot the ‘small path on the left marked with a Yellow Rectangle’ and set off straight down a pleasant forest track signposted ‘towards the Belfahy circuit’. A happy mistake!
- we couldn’t find the path that was supposed to be at the end of the aforementioned forest track. After wandering about in the woods for a while, we eventually found a path marked with a Yellow Rectangle that led us to our destination,
- the short detour towards the 901-metre summit allowed us to discover a giant anthill, a picnic spot, and then the (tiny) 901 marker, but there was no panoramic view, as the 360° vista was blocked by magnificent trees.

But the walk is well worth it, and we’ll definitely be doing it again!

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