Château de la Roche

The trail offers views of the Doubs valley and ends with a descent to Saint-Hippolyte from La Chapelle du Mont, passing by the site of the Château de la Roche.

Details

60019
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.64 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 531 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 523 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 714 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 384 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Depart from the car park of the old railway station towards the supermarket.

(S/E) Go around the station and head to the square behind it (information boards). Follow Rue de la Gare a few metres to the left, then take Rue de la Baumotte on the right towards the campsite.

(1) Almost at the end of the sports field, take the marked path that climbs to the left (GR®5White-Red).
Continue along the track on the right to reach the Grosse-Roche farm.

(2) Continue straight ahead and follow the yellow-red markings into the woods. Climb up towards the cliffs to reach the Château de la Roche estate and its cave.

(3) Shortly afterwards, at the crossroads, take the path on the left towards Chamesol, marked yellow-blue. Cross the meadow and then, towards the building, take the forest path that more or less follows the edge of the woods to the top of the ridge.

(4) At the entrance to the forest, turn left towards Saint-Hippolyte via Viatons (signposted).

(5) Continue to follow the yellow-blue markings at the edge of the forest, following the small road to the left.

(6) At the junction with the D121, take the white-redGR®5 trailon the left through the pasture and then through the undergrowth to the Chapelle du Mont chapel, then follow the winding path to the village.
Walk past the cemetery and follow the road to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 384 m - Car park at the old railway station
  2. 1 : km 0.51 - alt. 387 m - Path on the left. Viewpoints over the - Doubs (rivière)
  3. 2 : km 2.2 - alt. 494 m - Grosse-Roche farm, opposite
  4. 3 : km 3.03 - alt. 577 m - Crossroads, on the left
  5. 4 : km 3.92 - alt. 714 m - Crossroads, on the left
  6. 5 : km 6.21 - alt. 679 m - Road, on the left
  7. 6 : km 7.67 - alt. 673 m - D121/D147 crossroads
  8. S/E : km 10.64 - alt. 384 m - Car park at the old railway station

Notes

Drinking water point at La Chapelle du Mont.
The trail can be quite muddy in wet weather.
On the way back, along the edge of the plateau, you will come to several rather vertiginous viewpoints and, if you are lucky, you may spot a chamois on the rocks.

Worth a visit

Doubs Valley.
Dessoubre Valley.
Pliers museum in Montecheroux.

 Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 18 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Titjojo
Titjojo

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, classic hike with beautiful views, pleasant at this time of year because there are lots of flowers.

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Edvil
Edvil

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent hike, enjoyed in glorious sunshine on this spring day.
Be careful, though, as the route is not very precise.
We missed the cave.
To get there, you have to take the winding path on the left, just after the old mill.

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Tanukii
Tanukii
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely hike with superb views and varied landscapes! However, the route is very vague and poorly marked. We mainly had to follow footprints (helped by the winter conditions). Fallen trees block the path in many places, making progress difficult, and the lack of signposting meant that we missed the cave. In short, the landscapes are worth seeing, but you have to work hard to admire them 😅

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Sardine*
Sardine*

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant walk on the sunny side in winter. The views are very pleasant

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Lydie25
Lydie25

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We just missed the caves, which was a shame
but it was still very pretty and invigorating with all the forest, as well as some very nice views, and we saw a chamois
A restorative hike

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maxcaviso
maxcaviso

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

access to the cave is not mentioned in the description. A path branches off to the left after the farm but is blocked by crosses and there are no signs, so we didn't take it, but it must have been the access route.
The GPS track does not follow it!!! On the ridge, if you follow the GPS track, you end up jumping off a cliff. The author's GPS track is unreliable.
The first part and the return via the ridge are nice, but then there's a lot of road.

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Sandra25200
Sandra25200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Quite a steep hike but magnificent views of the landscape
Caves and waterfalls await you. Many kilometres in the shade.
Caution: Terrain may be slippery and muddy if it has rained in the previous days.
Route very well explained

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Ninne
Ninne

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike almost entirely in the shade

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Sev90170
Sev90170

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 24, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike. Time: 4 hours 10 minutes, including time spent descending into the cave.

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luANDRE
luANDRE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

we walked in the opposite direction to the description so that we could be at the cave for lunch, setting off at 9.30am.
in hot weather, a snack at the entrance to the cave was much appreciated; we took out our jumpers!
the descent to the underground river at the bottom of the cave is very slippery; watch your head at the start of the descent, as the ceiling is low; don't forget your torch.
Coming down from the cave, take a small path on the right at the foot of the cliff to reach the underground river's resurgence and back.
the path is slippery in wet weather, but also very slippery in very dry weather.
the route is very shady, which is much appreciated during heat waves.

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MomoZaik
MomoZaik

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Good directions, well signposted, the cave at Château de la Roche is vast and really nice to visit (be careful not to slip if you go down into the cavern), lovely views, we enjoyed it.

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mtph
mtph

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very interesting route on a beautiful day. Access to the cave is not recommended in wet weather due to the risk of slipping and falling. The route is well marked. There is one difficulty at the chapel, where the return path is not very well marked. Recommended hike.

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isamiGo256
isamiGo256

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 08, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

a very beautiful hike with sunshine and stunning views: the Château de la Roche, waterfalls, cliff tops, and the Mont chapel.

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jacquet nadine
jacquet nadine

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely walk in cool, grey weather. It was a shame about the views, but visiting the cave, with the magical sound of an underground stream in the background, made up for it.

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lauremi
lauremi

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 28, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb hike, even though we missed the cave for some reason.
The first part of the trail to the small tarmac road was superb, but it became a little less pleasant after that. The views from the heights are simply magnificent. The small waterfall and the chapel on the mountain only added to this walk, which completely lived up to our expectations. Thank you, Bibi

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