Circular walk between Neuvecelle and Saint-Paul

Starting point and access: small car park at the bottom of Parc de Neuvecelle.
From Neuvecelle town hall, on the edge of the D21, head up Avenue de Verlagny and follow the signs for Parc de Neuvecelle. Finish the journey on a gravel track leading to the car park, on the right after a detached house.

Red and yellow markings

(S/E) From the car park, enter the park through a metal gate, following the direction of Champange and Meillerie (signpost). You will immediately reach the edge of a reed bed on the left (information board).

No signposting

Take the boardwalk and walk alongside the reed bed on your right. At the end, continue along a footpath. At a T-junction, turn left and head uphill via a few short hairpin bends.

Red and yellow markings

(1) At the next junction (signpost, with a sign a few metres to the right), turn left and follow the^GRP® Littoral du Léman. Immediately ignore a path branching off to the right, climb slightly and then continue on roughly level ground. You’ll reach a junction (signpost on the left, small stone structure opposite on the right).

No signposting

(2) Then take a path that climbs to the right. After a steep stretch, you’ll come out onto a wide track; follow it to the right through a beautiful beech forest. Climb along the main track, which veers to the right then turns left. Walk alongside fenced-off meadows until you reach an isolated house and an old barn.

(3) Just past the barn, turn left onto a barely visible path (keep an eye out for this turn-off). Ford a stream and head uphill on the other side. Continue through the woods on a gently sloping path. You’ll come out onto a wide track; follow it to the right and uphill. Walk alongside a low wall on your right.

(4) At a three-way junction, turn right, leave the woods and walk between two meadows. Pass a beautiful house on your right and continue along a small road. Pass the Château Vieux farm on your left and take in the view of the church at Saint-Paul-en-Chablais and the peaks of Les Mémises and La Dent d’Oche. At a T-junction, turn left towards the church.

(5) At the foot of the church, take a stony path on the left. Pass a hairpin bend and walk alongside the church, situated on the hill to the right. After a second hairpin bend, continue along a grassy path.

(6) At the next junction (with a playground on the right, higher up), turn left and head north along a path between two meadows (superb view over Lake Geneva). Stay on the path and do not enter the meadows (signs indicate that this is private property, whilst the path is public). Walk alongside a woodland on your left and ignore a path branching off to the right across the meadow.

(7) Before reaching the bottom of the meadow, turn left and enter the woodland (take care to spot this turn-off). Head downhill, ignore a path on the left and pass an electricity pylon on the left. Continue down a steep sunken track and ignore all turn-offs to the right (not shown on the map).

(8) At a crossroads, turn right and continue downhill. Turn left onto the main track and ignore the faint paths branching off to the right.

(9) At a right-hand bend (old yellow markers on the left-hand side), turn left (take care to spot this turn-off). Two paths appear immediately: take the one on the right, which goes downhill (the one on the left disappears very quickly). Ignore a path on the right, then one on the left, and continue downhill. Walk past a house on your right and wade across a stream.

Red and yellow markings

At a three-way junction, turn left and head slightly uphill. At the next fork in the road, which you’ll come to shortly, veer to the right. Climb gently, cross a stream that runs across the path (footbridge) and rejoin a junction you passed at the start of the walk.

(2) Continue straight on along the marked path. At a junction (signpost), keep to the right.

No signposting

(1) At the next signpost (a signpost a few metres ahead), turn right and descend a few short hairpin bends. At the next three-way junction, veer to the right and rejoin the boardwalk alongside the reed bed. At the end, turn right to quickly reach the car park (S/E).

In dry weather, good trainers are sufficient for this short walk along well-maintained paths. In wet weather, wear walking boots. The route includes a few steep sections, particularly on the descent.

A detailed map is required (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Hike undertaken by the author on 2 August 2023.

- Neuvecelle Park (S/E), a natural area of ecological interest: please follow the guidelines.
- A pleasant forest walk.
- Superb panoramic views over Lake Geneva and the Mémises-Oche massif between (4) and (7).
- Church of Saint-Paul-en-Chablais (13th century) (5).