Mâlain loop

Discover the witch village of Mâlain, its castle and the village of Prâlon.

Details

26961
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.35 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 196 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 199 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 446 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 315 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Mâlain (21410)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.324402° / E 4.79526°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3022ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park near Mâlain church, rue Maurice Béné.

(S/E) Continue up this street to the junction with rue Boudrot. Turn left and continue along rue de Sercey for around 80m. This street then splits into 2. Turn right (ruelle de Sercey).

(1) 200m further on, take the right-hand path (chemin des Courrières). Passing the Fontaine aux Loups, the path splits into 2 again. Take the right-hand path again and follow the edge of the forest towards Prâlon.

(2) At the end of this field path, turn left to go down into the village of Prâlon (chemin de la Corveotte).
At the crossroads, turn right onto the small road that leads to Fontaine St Bernard.

(3) At the fountain, turn back and take a small track on your left past a farm building, before entering the forest.
Continue straight on until you reach the village of Mâlain.
Reach a large crossroads of paths at hill 432.

(4) Take the downhill path opposite to enjoy a beautiful view of the château.
As you enter Mâlain, join the crossroads at a wash-house.

(5) Then turn right into rue Boudrot, past the wash-house, then left into rue des Ferrettes, then left again into rue Mialet to discover the alleys decorated for the Witches' Festival, held every over year in June. Return to the wash-house crossroads.

(5) Continue along rue du Four towards the château. You can also see it from the back, giving you another view of the building and a beautiful view of the village.

(6) Descend along a faint path (when you go up to the château, the path is on the left in the hairpin bend, just before the other path on the left that leads behind the château). Reach the pumping station (rue du Dessus Rd104G).

(7) Turn right. 250m further on, at the junction of Rue des Vignes and Rue de la Ferme, turn right into the latter. Right again on rue Gaudot. Then right again on rue Maurice Béné to reach the church car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 344 m - Car park near the church
  2. 1 : km 0.68 - alt. 340 m - Carrefour Fontaine aux Loups
  3. 2 : km 3.45 - alt. 326 m - Turn left to go down into the village
  4. 3 : km 4.17 - alt. 326 m - Saint-Bernard fountain
  5. 4 : km 5.89 - alt. 434 m - Carrefour 432
  6. 5 : km 6.55 - alt. 386 m - Entrance Mâlain
  7. 6 : km 8.08 - alt. 423 m - Carrefour Château
  8. 7 : km 8.28 - alt. 396 m - Carrefour Pumping Station
  9. S/E : km 9.35 - alt. 344 m - Car park near the church

Notes

Wash-house, Fontaine aux Loups and Fontaine St Bernard are nondrinkable water points.

Worth a visit

(6) Can be visited for a few euros

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 19 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
Chabanis
Chabanis

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike, mostly through forest, with no difficulty

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barges21
barges21

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

nice walk, no difficulties
nice view of the castle

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nyl
nyl

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It's a lovely route to take at the beginning of April, when nature is in full bloom, offering us pictures in full bloom, both around Mont Chauvin and in the two villages we pass through. There were some charming surprises along the way in Malain.
It's an easy route to follow, which my group really enjoyed. Many thanks to the author.

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souche.jeanlouis
souche.jeanlouis

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great walk the day after the witches' fair, the village was still all decorated.
In Prâlon, we had difficulty finding an interesting picnic spot. If we had waited until we got to Fontaine St Bernard, we would have been able to enjoy a beautiful spot.
Despite using the smartphone application, we were unable to follow the suggested route. We don't regret it though, because we managed to do a complete tour of the château, which was unfortunately closed that day.

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Cyberbarit
Cyberbarit

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Good, easy, varied, curiosity source St Bernard, founder of Vitraux, traditional villages, château de Mâlain...

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Roger21
Roger21

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A must-do tour, especially for getting back into shape. Easy access with no difficulties whatsoever. Finally, a visit to the castle is a must when it's open.

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MC21490
MC21490

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with varied scenery. The climb up to the castle is a bit steep. Perhaps there are other routes? Lovely walk in the sunshine with beautiful autumn colours.

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wiloucaramel
wiloucaramel

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hiking in fine sunshine. The path to Pralon was a little muddy. To climb up to the château, we took a different route: at the start of the rue du four, we climbed up to the château via a path on the right: leave the first path pointing in the direction of Easter and take the one 10 metres further on. All along this little path up to the castle you'll find some nice metal structures.

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coberon
coberon

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 06, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Lovely walk along very well-maintained paths.
Very pleasant village of Mâlain with its castle and old houses.

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keby
keby

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

a pleasant, easy walk through an enchanting village

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mmjl
mmjl

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did this tour to introduce my 7-year-old daughter to hiking.
We were careful to keep up with her pace, stopping three times to have something to eat, and keeping her interested in the flowers, insects and landscapes we encountered. We had no trouble at all, and she really enjoyed the visit to the castle.

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gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thanks bri21
This variant was not indicated but it's not bad at all
I've added this to the description (about 80 m)

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bri21
bri21

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 21, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

In the description, in (S/E) "continue along rue de Sercey" I would add: "for about 80 m".
We took the first fork in the road to the right, and reached the summit of Mont Chauvin. Of course, we could have worried about the climb a bit earlier! We almost halved the walk! on the other hand, the walk to the château is very interesting, with a magnificent view over the valley. We'd do it all again.

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bysance
bysance

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 07, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

lovely walk and beautiful setting

do it again

thank you

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Chavirot
Chavirot

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A fine walk with no difficulties.

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