Route Bains – Hautmougey – La Colosse – Bains

An easy circular route visiting the Canal des Vosges and the “La Colosse” sandstone quarry.

Details

n°49742

Creation:
06 Feb 2014

Last update:
10 Jan 2024

Last review:
24 Nov 2024

Activity: Walking
Distance: 13.00 km
Average duration: 4h 20
Difficulty: Easy
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 209 m
Descent: - 199 m
Highest point: 366 m
Lowest point: 271 m

Country: France
City: Bains-les-Bains (88240)
Start/End: N 48.000172° / E 6.262198°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3419O
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Description of the walk

The route starts from the market square, Rue du Colonel Chavanne, in Bains-les-Bains.

(S) Head towards the social housing via Rue H. Martin, then turn left into Rue des Pâquerettes. Go up the stairs to reach Rue Lévy and follow it to the left for about a hundred metres.

(1) Turn right onto Rue du Chanot and continue straight on towards the Bois du Chanot. Take the first path on the right, then turn left after 400m and carry on straight ahead (the path through the Bois du Chanot is not signposted at all).
Join Chemin Noir.

(2) Turn right, cross the D164 (take care) and continue straight ahead towards the Pont du Coney, which also crosses the Canal des Vosges.

(3) Cross the bridge and turn right to climb the Roman road which passes in front of the restaurant and the holiday villa, towards Hautmougey. Turn right at the crossroads.

(4) Turn right again, then left 100m further on to cross a small stream. Follow a private forest track (please respect the flora and fauna) and walk alongside the canal to lock no. 27, known as “de la Basse du Pommier”.

(5) Cross the lock and follow the towpath on the left to lock no. 25.

(6) Cross the footbridge over the Côney to reach the entrance to the “La Colosse” quarry, turn right towards the Auberge des Carriers (a superb little restored house that served as accommodation for the quarry workers), climb up to the forest track then follow it to the right for about 2 km until the junction to descend towards La Forge Quénot.

(7) A few ruins come into view, representing the remains of an old forge established in the 17th century.
Continue on to cross a small wooden bridge, admiring the perfectly cut stones in the stream which, during the forges’ operation, were used to harness hydraulic power in the event of low water levels.
Follow the trail up to “La Basse du Pommier” and then head to the market square in Bains-les-Bains (E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 307 m - Place du Marché in Bains-les-Bains. Near the - Bagnerot (cours d'eau)
1 : km 0.39 - alt. 331 m - Turn right into Rue du Chanot
2 : km 2.38 - alt. 297 m - Chemin Noir, turn right towards the - Côney (rivière)
3 : km 3.38 - alt. 279 m - Coney Bridge and the - Canal de l'Est
4 : km 4.61 - alt. 320 m - Crossroads, turn right
5 : km 5.94 - alt. 290 m - Lock No. 27
6 : km 7.79 - alt. 284 m - Lock No. 25 – footbridge on the right
7 : km 9.46 - alt. 297 m - The Quénot Forge
S/E : km 13 - alt. 308 m - Place du Marché in Bains-les-Bains

Notes

Make sure you bring water for this hike.
You’ll be walking through stunning private and communal forests.
You must have the route marked on hiking map 3419O.

Worth a visit

The Pont du Coney, on the RD64, spans the Coney, a small river which flows into the Saône at Corre, 38km downstream, and the Canal des Vosges, which is the southern branch of the Canal de l’Est connecting the Meuse and the Moselle to the Saône over a length of 439km, built between 1875 and 1887.
The La Colosse Quarry, which ceased operations in 1951 and was used during the construction of part of the Canal de l’Est, but was particularly heavily utilised during the reconstruction of the Bouzey reservoir dam, which burst in 1895, claiming many lives.
The Quénot Forge, founded in the early 17th century, suffered the ravages of the Thirty Years’ War; it was subsequently rebuilt in the late 17th and early 18th centuries by the Rochat family.
The Lallement Pond, situated in Les Voivres, served as a reservoir for the Quénot forge’s hydroelectric power.
The Quénot Forge ceased operations following the more advanced technological developments at the Manufacture Royale de Bains.

Reviews and comments

3.8 / 5

Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.4 / 5

Ease of following the route
3.6 / 5

Route interest
4.5 / 5

nisu

24 Nov 2024 at 21:14 3600

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Some lovely sections, but also some difficult ones. The marked trails are not maintained, so finding your way isn’t always easy. (This is unrelated to Visorando)
The route description requires a lot of work and lacks precision; make sure to bring your GPS
All in all, it’s still a lovely hike

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nisu

21 Nov 2024 at 20:21 3600

Hello,
The latest reviews are from 2018.... What’s the situation in 2024? Is the route easy to follow? I’m thinking of exploring this area on Saturday 23 November.... so if anyone can tell me more about the route.
Thanks

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henri57

24 Sep 2018 at 21:21 7200

Hello,

Lack of markings on the first part of the route

The signposting is not managed by Visorando.

(Bring an IGN map).

When hiking, you need to have more than one string to your bow:

1. The route description
2. The map-to-description/terrain relationship using the Visorando map (IGN 1:25,000).
3. Checking your position using the Visorando GPS app or your own GPS.

See you soon

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clausse-francois@orange.fr

24 Sep 2018 at 08:29 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 01, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

There are no markings on the first section of the route (please bring an IGN map).

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gazok54

22 Aug 2018 at 21:22 7200

Thank you, strong54, for your suggestions

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strong54

20 Aug 2018 at 10:49 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello,
The description lacks detail.
The biggest issue is with the black track. It should have been made clear that it’s a tarmac road, because when you reach it, you might think it’s the D164 and then you’re completely lost! Once again, the compass and map saved us.
To reach Lock 27 from the forest track, we couldn’t find a ‘normal’ access point, so we had to make our way down through dense vegetation on a steep, slippery slope (quite a workout).
To improve the description at point 6 (which doesn’t appear in the guide), I would suggest: “cross the footbridge to go through the ‘La Colosse’ quarry, then turn right”; and the junction leading to La Forge Quénot looks more like a fork, though fortunately it’s clearly marked that you should go downhill.

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randonanard

19 Mar 2018 at 09:41 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 16, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely walk through woods and meadows...

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gazok54

26 Apr 2017 at 11:23 7200

Hello bat'carré
Signposting, waymarking and other signs are not the responsibility of Visorando. We have no control over these matters. What you should rate is the quality of the route description and the route line on the map, not the waymarking.

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bat'carré

26 Apr 2017 at 10:36 7200

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 21, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The route was poorly signposted at the start, which led us onto another route that was actually very interesting. As a result, we haven’t done the final part of the route yet; we’ll save that for another time, in the hope that the signposting will be improved.

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Peire275

07 Nov 2016 at 11:10 3600

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 15, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We ran into a few problems towards the end of the route, but everything went smoothly up to the base of Le Pommier, where we arrived after dark. The route goes straight ahead, but as we headed straight on, we ended up veering eastwards – we still haven’t worked out how that happened. We ended up walking an extra 4km in the dark to get back to our starting point.
The route description needs to be more precise towards the end.
Otherwise, the walk is lovely, especially along the canal and the section leading to the old quarries.

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bibi

17 Oct 2016 at 17:40 7200

Thank you for your feedback. What should we include, and where should it be added in the description?
Kind regards

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Peire275

17 Oct 2016 at 13:01 7200

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 15, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

We had a bit of trouble finding the right path after the quarryman’s house; we went astray by heading straight ahead as shown on the map and ended up heading east, making quite a detour before realising we’d gone off course.
Deserves more detail
But a lovely walk

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jym777

04 Apr 2016 at 18:59 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello everyone
We took this very pleasant route, with just one downside.
The section from the ‘Pont de Bains’ (which spans the Coney and the Canal) to the ‘Ecluse de la Basse du Pommier’ isn’t very well maintained, so you regularly have to step over trees and brambles.
The signposting remains very good.

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irma70

08 Jul 2014 at 10:02 7200

Thanks for your reply. I think your changes will be most welcome.
As I mentioned, I’ll do it again using the map you suggested. I have no doubt this walk will be a real treat and I’m sure I’ll be pleased with it next time. See you soon for more glowing reviews;
Best regards

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POULIN Gérard

07 Jul 2014 at 19:52 7200

Thank you for your prompt response and the changes you’ve made. And thanks again to irma70 for bringing these tricky points to our attention!

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The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.