Circular of Arcan to Grand Taureau

Park in the car park of the Arcan Nordic stadium.

(S/E) Walk carefully, snowshoes in hand, on the road that climbs to the Gounefay - Grand Taureau chalet. Leave the Jantets houses on your left. Continue along the road until you reach a large crossroads of roads and tracks.

(1) Leave the roads and turn right, climbing up into the field. Head north-northeast to reach a road at the Boulots farm.

(2) Keep to the right for a few dozen metres, then turn left and walk for a long time through the meadows. It is usually possible to follow existing tracks. Pass by Fort du Larmont Supérieur or Fort Catinat.

Continue in a north-northeast direction. Follow the road to reach the Gounefay chalet. Join the access road. Pass in front of the chalet. Just after, you will see signposts indicating snowshoe trails.

(3) Climb slightly to the left and gradually reach the Crête des Rochers du Larmont. Enjoy the beautiful views. Alternate between small ascents and descents here. Reach a crossroads with more signposts.

(4) Ignore the path called Dégringolade which descends to the left. Continue along the ridge. Leave it for a few metres to the right to avoid a passable but more difficult section. Join the road.

(5) Take it to the left to quickly rejoin the ridge. Continue along it, passing close to a shelter, then continue to the orientation table and the summit of Grand Taureau.

(6) Take the same route back to the road junction.

(5) Follow it to the left. Leave the forest and continue across the field to approach the Grange des Miroirs farm. Leave the road and turn right to find the signposts at the crossroads on the ridge.

(4) Take the second path on the right, the Dégringolade. It is a very good path but can be hard on weak knees. Marked^GR®® then Grande Traversée du Jura (GTJ).

After the first hairpin bend, ignore the paths branching off to the right and left to reach a new trail junction.

(7) Stay on the GTJ100 by turning left. Pass close to the Grange Ferry and further on reach the Chasal du Creux crossroads. Leave the GR®5 on your left and continue for a few metres.

(8) Leave the farm entrance on your right and take the^PR®® on your left, which is also the Yellow Blue discovery trail but not necessarily easy to spot. You will soon reach another crossroads.

(9) Leave the^PR®® (yellow and blue markings) on your right. The path descends, crosses a bridge, then climbs again. Ignore a path that branches off to the left and continue to the memorial stone.

(10) Turn left. From here, you have two options:
- the simplest is to take off your snowshoes and follow the road,
- otherwise, following the suggested route, and in order to avoid the traffic of cars coming down at the end of the day on weekends, cut across the field, passing to the right of^{the first} building you come to. However, there are two barbed wire fences to cross.

Whichever option you choose, return to the Arcan car park (S/E).

At Gounefay, there is a large car park, restaurant, picnic area, toilets and ski slopes.
It is advisable to know your way around or have a GPS, especially for the return from La Dégringolade.
Some sections are marked for snowshoeing, others are marked for summer, and others are unmarked. There are no tracks, except those left by hikers who have passed before you.
Return from (4) very little or no traffic.
Shelter just before the summit: basic, with two benches for four people each, no table.
The route passes through pastures to Gounefay.

In summer, see the Grand Taureau route here.

Between (2) and (3) Fort Catinat

(4) La Grange des Miroirs farm (altitude 1225 m). Almost all of the scenes in the film "Les Granges Brûlées" were shot here in 1973.