Country:
District:
Park near the church in Abbaye-en-Grandvaux (several car parks).
(S/E) Cross the road and take the street that runs alongside the cemetery (GR®® markings). At the corner of the cemetery, turn right onto a path that climbs diagonally up through the pastures. Go through the fence and continue climbing into the forest.
Cross a small tarmac road and continue along the path opposite. Further up, rejoin the road and follow it to the right for 200 m until you reach a nice crossroads.
(1) Leave the road and theGR®® and turn left. Take the forest track on the right (signposted: Sapin Président). Continue along this good track until you reach a fork.
Warning: I have just been informed (today, 6 February 2025) that the Grande-Rivière President Tree is dying and will most likely be felled this spring by the ONF. The tourist office and the ONF have apparently already begun to remove the signage.
(2) Continue straight ahead and find a path on the left signposted: Sapin Président. This fir tree is about ten metres further on.
(3) Return to the track and follow it backwards for about 200 metres until you reach a fork marked by a large clearing on the right.
(2) Take the forest path that branches off to the right. At the first intersection, take the fork to the left, and at the second, take the right. Further on, you will come to an intersection with large stones opposite, a beautiful fir tree marked with a red dot, and a clearing on the left. Walk a few steps up to the left to find a beautiful forest path: take it on the right (yellow markings). At the edge of the forest, you will arrive at the old hermitage, which has been converted into a lodge (with a beautiful picnic area and shelter).
(4) Leave the hermitage, heading south, along the tarmac road. Pass the hamlet of Les Frasses. Leave the road coming from the left. Continue to the three-way junction.
(5) Leave the road coming from the left and continue straight ahead, crossing the hamlet of Les Frasses-en-bas and reaching a crossroads 100 m further on.
(6) Continue right along the forest road marked with a no entry sign. At elevation 956, you will find the yellow markings again at an intersection.
(7) Continue straight ahead until you reach the edge of the forest, marked by large sheds and material depots.
(8) After the last shed, take the forest track that climbs sharply to the right, passing under a small hut. Almost 200 m further on, turn left, find another track that you take on the left before quickly leaving it on the right to take a path (yellow markings) that leads to the summit dominated by the statue of the Virgin Mary and a very beautiful viewpoint.
(9) Walk back a few steps to the signpost and turn right towards Château-des-Prés. When you reach a large tarmac square, cross it and take a path that runs alongside the fences of the houses. You will rejoin the tarmac road at a bend.
(10) Leave the road immediately on the right via a path (yellow markings) that leads to the village. At the road, turn right towards the main road. Follow it to the right. Pass in front of the town hall (large covered playground open in case of bad weather) and the church, and you will arrive at a roundabout.
(11) Leave the main road, which turns right, and continue straight ahead on the road opposite, the D28, towards Prénovel. When the road turns left, opposite a beautiful fountain-drinking trough, continue straight ahead on the forest road that climbs towards the forest. Shortly after reaching the pass, you will come to a crossroads (elevation 947).
(12) Take the track on the right, which quickly leads to the D437. Cross it and take the well-marked path almost opposite. After about 100 m, the path meets a forest track: turn left. The track undulates near the ridge for over a kilometre before reaching a forest road.
(13) Take a few steps to the right, then turn left onto a good forest track (follow the yellow markings). You will arrive at the Belvédère du Moulin: a picnic area (two tables) with a beautiful view of the lake.
(14) Descend the fairly steep path to the left of the viewpoint. When you reach a road, follow it to the left for a few metres to find the path that descends (less steep on this section). Cross the D 437, then turn into the first street on the right, which quickly turns into a grassy path and descends gently to join the road around the lake.
Continue along this road towards the north-east (lake on your left) until you return to the church (S/E).
Visorando member
Easy 
Tourist office
Difficult 
Association / Club / Walk leader
