Route du Chalet Boucher

A walk to discover the village of Fontenay and the forest that borders it. A chalet, a remarkable beech tree and a memorial stone paying tribute to a quarry worker who died on the job mark the route.

Details

2313104
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.03 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 581 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 581 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,768 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,188 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Start: Centre of Fontenay, City Stade, Equipment store

(S/E) Head towards the town hall and turn opposite it. At the first junction, go straight on into Rue du Quairon. At the Stop sign, continue straight on along this road, which leads to the forest entrance. At the various junctions, always follow the sign for ‘Chalet Boucher’. You will come across a lovely hunting lodge where you can take shelter. It is a house belonging to the forest owners.

(1) As you leave the site, turn right of the building onto the uphill path known as De la Pierre du Soulier. On the plateau, you’ll pass through a beautiful beech forest.

(2) At the Croix Bourcier, turn immediately right. Signs point you towards the source of the Durbion (a 20-minute round trip if you wish). The flat path takes you past the Hêtre Marqué. It has died due to old age and has been replaced by a young tree.

(3) Continue straight on until you reach the crossroads, where a path on the right will take you back down towards Fontenay.

(4) Please note: at the picnic table, turn left onto Chemin des Senseaux. Here you will see old quarries and, at the edge of the woods, a memorial stone in memory of a quarry worker who died on the job. Head back to the village, using the bell tower as a guide. In the village, walk down Rue des Senseaux, pass by the church and you will soon reach the town hall and then the City Stade (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 1,188 ft - City Stade
  2. 1 : mi 1.73 - alt. 1,358 ft - Chalet Boucher
  3. 2 : mi 2.89 - alt. 1,703 ft - Croix Bourcier - Durbion (rivière) à finaliser
  4. 3 : mi 3.73 - alt. 1,729 ft - Marked beech tree
  5. 4 : mi 4.98 - alt. 1,572 ft - Chemin des Senseaux
  6. S/E : mi 7.03 - alt. 1,188 ft - City Stade

Notes

To reach the start by car from Bruyères, take the road to Épinal via Grandvillers (RD 420). Continue straight on to Fontenay. Take the road on the left towards the village centre and stop before the town hall (City Stade and technical room car park).''

Follow the Yellow Ring signs .

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 4 reviews

Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
randonanard
randonanard

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A route of no particular interest, except perhaps for a leisurely stroll through the woods...

Machine-translated

Arimo
Arimo
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route, not very busy, and I had the pleasure of seeing a herd of wild boars crossing the path in front of me. I highly recommend this route.

Machine-translated

jeannebertha
jeannebertha

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, easy walk; clear directions; at point 2, we couldn’t find the signs that were supposed to mark the source of the Durbion – a shame!
Fun fact: just one picnic table along the route, no one else on the path... two hikers sitting at THE table... Given the rather unfriendly looks they gave us, we had our picnic further along... on some tree trunks.

Machine-translated

david dousset
david dousset

Thank you for your feedback.
We will certainly correct the descriptions.
Kind regards
The Tourist Office team

Machine-translated

GUEREROUSSE
GUEREROUSSE

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 24, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I find the description too impersonal (it simply repeats the description provided by the Bruyères Tourist Office) and it is even incorrect. In fact, at point number 2, you need to turn right to reach the Croix Bourcier shelter. From there, go back a little and take the first path on the right to join the Chemin de la Pierre du Soulier. It is only just before the end of the path, between points 2 and 3, that you should then turn left, not right, to see the source of the Durbion (the GPX track does not show this).The spring is marked as a 10-minute walk, but it will take you little more than that to make the round trip (the markings are red crosses and Red Discs). I recommend doing this; the spring emerges from beneath the Aurichapelle rock.
At point 4, you need to turn just before the picnic table; as for the memorial to the deceased quarryman, it is located much further on, at the edge of the woods, and is a sort of large marker with a White Cross on top. On this final section, the markings, which had been ubiquitous up to this point, become much less frequent. Look out for the VTT12 signs.
Otherwise, it’s a lovely route; the ascent is almost entirely between grades 1 and 2, and the descent is over grade 4.
The easiest way to find the starting point is still via the tennis court.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

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