Circular route around La Dôle

Circular route from the village of Saint-Cergue to La Dôle, 1,677m, the second highest peak in the Swiss Jura. Ascent via the summit of La Barillette then the Col de Porte. Descent via the Chalet de la Dôle and the Le Vuarne valley.

There are numerous options to shorten the entire circular loop, as it consists of three separate circular loops. Can be done in summer or winter (snowshoes).

Details

320518
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.87 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 743 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 739 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,669 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,043 m

Photos

Description of the walk

The start is at the car park on Place Sy-Vieuxville in Saint-Cergue.

Yellow markings (hiking) along the entire route, sometimes supplemented by pink markings (hiking + snowshoes).

(S/E) Leave the car park via the lower exit (roundabout) and turn right towards Nyon. Take the second street on the right and follow it to a car park at the start of the “Balade de Beatrix”.

(1) Follow the path south-eastwards (passing several signs and information boards for the Balade de Beatrix) until you reach a meadow. Take the path uphill through the middle of the meadow, passing a shelter and picnic table, and continue through the forest until you reach a tarmac road.

(2) Follow this road to the left until you reach a shed, then take the path on the right (yellow markings).

(3) After passing a few large chalets, turn right onto a path that heads back into the woods. You’ll come out onto a track; follow it to the start of a wide path, marked by a large pink sign indicating “la Dole/Le Vuarne”.

(4) Follow this path westwards and climb gently up to a tarmac road. Turn left onto it for a few metres until you reach a four-way junction.

(5) Take thefirst path on the left (south). At the junction, turn left and, at the next junction (elevation 1338), turn right. Climb a fairly steep slope to the Barillette restaurant.

(6) Follow the tarmac road and pass the radio and television transmission masts.

(7) At the junction with another tarmac road, take the grassy path opposite (west). As the path descends, you can already see the Chalet des Apprentis on a hillock opposite. Follow the path that goes round the other side of the wall to reach it.

(8) Turn left onto the path and head for the Col de Porte (wooden cross), passing beneath the Col de Porte hut.

(9) Turn left and go round a few rocks. The yellow-marked path splits in two: take the path on the right (the path on the left runs closer to the cliff) to reach the other side. The path climbs gently towards La Dôle (keep an eye out for the large white aviation radar dome). From the flat summit, on a clear day, admire Mont Blanc and the Alps, as well as the whole of Lake Geneva.

(10) After the summit, follow the path south-south-west along the ridge. Descend slightly to a junction with a sign for “Chalet de la Dôle”.

(11) Then turn left (south) and go round a valley (beautiful views of the slopes of La Dôle, where you may spot a few chamois). Return to the meadows around the Chalet de la Dôle via a slightly steeper descent.

(12) Continue north-north-east and return to the mountain pasture and the Chalet des Apprentis.

(8) Go round the Chalet des Apprentis on the right, cross the low wall (steps), then descend along a steep track to reach a valley.

(13) At the junction, follow the “le chemin des crêtes”, continue north and descend the valley. The first section is stony, then you’ll find a grassy path through the pastures leading to a farm.

(14) Head east along a tarmac road down to a junction you passed on the way there.

(5) Turn left (north-north-east) onto the path leading down. Cross the tarmac road and continue north-north-east to the Refuge de la Barillette.

(15) Continue north on a road, then turn right onto a track (follow the yellow signs for Saint-Cergue). Join a road again, follow it eastwards and pass a campsite.

(16) At the crossroads, continue eastwards along a small road, keeping parallel to the main road. This will take you to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,047 m - Tourist Office car park
  2. 1 : km 0.26 - alt. 1,060 m - Car park
  3. 2 : km 1.25 - alt. 1,137 m - Route
  4. 3 : km 1.61 - alt. 1,145 m - Guinfard
  5. 4 : km 2.36 - alt. 1,171 m - Pink sign
  6. 5 : km 3.49 - alt. 1,269 m - Crossroads of the circular loop
  7. 6 : km 4.59 - alt. 1,458 m - La Barillette
  8. 7 : km 5.51 - alt. 1,524 m - La Barillette
  9. 8 : km 6.79 - alt. 1,486 m - Chalet des Apprentis
  10. 9 : km 7.32 - alt. 1,550 m - Cole de Porte
  11. 10 : km 8.19 - alt. 1,668 m - La Dôle - View of the - Lac Léman
  12. 11 : km 8.65 - alt. 1,622 m - Junction for Chalet de la Dole
  13. 12 : km 10.16 - alt. 1,444 m - Near the Chalet de la Dole
  14. 13 : km 11.43 - alt. 1,418 m - Crossroads
  15. 14 : km 12.12 - alt. 1,321 m - Le Vuarne
  16. 15 : km 13.77 - alt. 1,171 m - Barillette Mountain Hut
  17. 16 : km 15.05 - alt. 1,099 m - Crossroads
  18. S/E : km 15.87 - alt. 1,046 m - Tourist Office car park

Notes

Parking: Park in the large car park next to the Tourist Office:
- First section: time-limited (Blue Disc),
- second section: no time limit.

Wear suitable clothing for the mountains.
- It is often windy on the Dôle ridge.
- In wet weather, the stones on the paths can become slippery.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
User 26925884

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We only did the first loop and the climb up to La Barillette and back for the view. Beautiful view of Lake Geneva between points 1 and 2, even more beautiful at point 6. It took us 45 minutes to an hour, including a break, to go from point 5 to point 6 and back, walking at a leisurely pace (the descent was much faster!)the first loop took us about 2 hours, so 3 hours in total for this part of the hike with the return trip to La Barillette. The forest is beautiful, as are the views. We also did the first loop on snowshoes in winter, which we also recommend as it was very beautiful!

Please note that there is a charge for parking at the start! It's not very expensive; we paid around £2 (equivalent in CHF) for 4 hours.

We saw a free car park at point 15.
The starting point is in Switzerland, so be careful on the roads depending on where you're coming from. You may need a vignette. We were coming from Les Rousses and didn't need one.

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yoyogan
yoyogan

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Beautiful views of Lake Geneva from the summit. Possibility of shortening if problems arise.

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MINOMICHEL
MINOMICHEL

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

I know the route well. This day I modified a few sections to vary the viewpoints. It's still a very pleasant walk.
note that today in the Cuvalou part of Cran it was 35 degrees with a strong hot wind and there were a lot of hikers.

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LDMV
LDMV

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Nice final climb to La Dôle with views of Lake Geneva and the Alps.

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milla70
milla70

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

superb hike - beautiful views of the léman lake and the alpine chain the folded relief as you descend to st Cergue
and the beautiful dry-stone wall that you walk alongside for quite a while

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