Arcier Springs Circular Trail

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

There’s not much else to add, really – at the top of the stairs, look carefully for the little path on the left
It’s best to do this route in dry weather, or else make sure you’re very well equipped
Otherwise, it’s a very pleasant walk
Not much else to add

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Nov 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, challenging route, completed in foggy conditions.
I’m taking on board all the comments from Mh and Toine (dated 6 June 2021) which are essential for the route;
and the two shy but very pretty goats with their long fleece!

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

Whilst the circular route is interesting as far as the springs, after that it’s an adventure! The signposting is very poor, or even non-existent, shortly after the springs. To continue without any markers, make sure you have an IGN map and a hiking GPS: this is the only way to avoid getting lost. The improvised circular route takes three hours and follows a pleasant, well-shaded forest path, ideal in hot weather. Gian

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Jun 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did this hike in grey, rainy weather. I’d advise you to wear good trainers or hiking boots for this walk. The path is really very slippery. Avoid smooth soles if you don’t want to take a tumble 😁.

After the wooden steps, the route is no longer signposted. You must take the path leading into the Forest Senescence area. From there, the route becomes rather unclear for about 500 metres. You’ll need to climb over or go round a few tree trunks.
The markings have been worn away (the bark has been scraped off, so you can still make out where they were).

For point 3, follow the route.
PS for point 3: don’t take the very narrow path that quickly disappears into the forest. Carry on straight ahead and on your left you’ll see a really wide, stony path. That’s the one to take. 😊

Hope these tips help 😊.

PS: we came across two goats roaming free. They’re friendly but wary of dogs 🙃. They don’t charge, so if you see them you can walk past them without any problems 🙃.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Apr 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Hike on 4 April in lovely weather. There were quite a few people out and about, and the area is very pretty at this time of year. The climb up the steps and beyond is quite a challenge. After the steps, the signposting disappears. There is an area of decaying woodland (marked on the PDF route map) which is dangerous, and it is from there that the markings disappear. Other hikers had carried on for two hours without ever finding the way back onto the circular route. We turned back. A shame. The markings are inadequate. The scenery is very beautiful.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Feb 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The section that starts at the spring and goes up the steps to the ridge is quite steep, and as we were walking through muddy terrain, it was quite a workout. A lovely hike.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Jul 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
Hike completed on 5 July 2020, in dry weather.
We couldn’t find any signposts on the climb after the steps, so we probably carried on too far. Then we turned left onto a path. After walking for a few minutes, we tried to take a forest track that went down to the left, thinking we were heading towards Arcier. But this track ended in several unmarked paths. In the end, after turning, we found ourselves on a path that took us to Corcelle. The short stroll had turned into a bit of a slog.
In my opinion, there’s a real issue with the signposting after the flight of steps – it’s unclear when you’re supposed to turn left.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Oct 26, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hike completed on 26 October. Everything went smoothly until just above the staircase (which has very high steps and a broken handrail). After that, there was just one signpost and then nothing more. We came to a sign warning that the path was strongly advised against due to a patch of decaying trees! So, we carried on climbing, thinking there would surely be another path further up, but we had to turn back (the path was very muddy and slippery, with fallen trees blocking the way). As there was no wind and the weather was fine, we took the path strongly advised against anyway, taking care not to linger under the trees which could fall on our heads. If there had been wind, we wouldn’t have taken it. After that, no more yellow and blue markings. We were supposed to find a marker on our right indicating the descent to the left. We never found that marker!! So we went further on and turned back when we reached the main track. There were no more markers until the signpost guiding us to the springs, on the left. We thought it was a lovely little walk, quite a workout all the same, but extremely poorly signposted and one that should be off-limits in windy weather.

Machine-translated

Thank you, Jean-Charles, for clarifying that. I had no idea what this rather ominous-sounding ‘senescence island’ might be. Wikipedia explains it as follows: ‘an area deliberately left to the natural course of events until the trees have completely collapsed (windfall) and the forest regeneration cycle begins anew. ” I’ve included this in the description.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : May 13, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,
We had a lovely walk on 12 May 2019 with my 5- and 8-year-old children. One slight downside: when we reached the top of the steps after the two springs, there was a sign warning that the path was strongly advised against for our safety due to a patch of loose soil. So we carried on climbing and then turned back; the path was very muddy and slippery but fun.
Thank you!

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Feb 25, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Thanks for this little walk with my pre-teens, for whom walking just for fun is a mystery! The site is really lovely.
It’s short, it’s a bit of a climb, but it’s still quite unique and we had a brilliant time.
I’ll be back on my own to do the circular loop
Thanks

Machine-translated