Crêt de la Neige

The Crêt de la Neige, the highest point in the Jura at 1,720 metres, offers an exceptional view of Lake Geneva and the Alps, with Mont Blanc as a bonus.

Details

9485
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.70 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 7h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,003 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 997 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,712 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 876 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the small car park on the right-hand side of the D991 road, 1 km after leaving Lelex at a place called Le Moulin des Moines (which is actually a Gîte de France) on the left-hand side of the road.

(S/E) Continue on the D991 towards the south-west. Pass the place called Niaizet and stay on the D991 until you reach the car park on the left.

(1) Turn left onto the Sentier des Trente-Deux Contours, which enters a magnificent forest where the slope becomes increasingly steep. Climb up the switchbacks and continue climbing until you reach a crossroads shortly before the place called Derrière Thoiry.

(2) Turn left and follow the signs for Crêt de la Neige and the yellow markings. You will reach the junction ofthe GR®509and the GTJ (Grande Traversée du Jura).

(3) Follow theGR® on the left (red and white markings) and you will soon reach the Sur Thoiry crossroads.

(4) Leave theGR® for a variant that branches off to the right and climbs a hill (elevation 1680). Descend by making a wide loop to the right.

(5) Turn left at an acute angle and continue on the path to the north.

(6) At a three-way junction (pond), turn left and head for the Chalet de Curson (a large, long chalet with a herd of cows in summer). Continue north and climb. Join theGR® you left earlier and reach the summit of the Crêt de la Neige.

(7) Continue along the path to the small blue turnstile where the signposts indicate the various directions. Go through the turnstile and descend towards Lelex. Reach the crossroads below the Grand Crêt (panoramic view).

(8) Follow the path downhill to the left, which is still the GR®.

(9) At the fork, descend to the left with the GR®. At a T-junction, turn right and head towards the Refuge de la Loge.

(10) Continue straight ahead on the path that winds between the chairlift and gondola lift pylons. After a large bend under the gondola lift line, you will reach the Refuge de Ratou.

(11) Take the path that descends to the left. At a right-hand bend, you will reach a crossroads with several paths.

(12) Leave theGR® and take the path opposite. When you leave the woods, you will come to a car park on the D991.

(13) Take the road on the left (south-west) to return to the starting point further on (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 896 m - Parking Le Moulin des Moines
  2. 1 : km 1.07 - alt. 876 m - Crossroads car park after Le Niaizet - Valserine (rivière)
  3. 2 : km 4.46 - alt. 1,558 m - Crossroads just before Derrière Thoiry
  4. 3 : km 4.9 - alt. 1,646 m - Junction GR®509 and GTJ
  5. 4 : km 5.18 - alt. 1,651 m - In Thoiry
  6. 5 : km 6.11 - alt. 1,523 m - Intersection
  7. 6 : km 6.86 - alt. 1,546 m - Three-way junction
  8. 7 : km 7.93 - alt. 1,711 m - Crêt de la Neige
  9. 8 : km 9.16 - alt. 1,681 m - Below the Grand Crêt - View of the - Lac Léman
  10. 9 : km 10.16 - alt. 1,568 m - Fork
  11. 10 : km 11.42 - alt. 1,433 m - Refuge de la Loge
  12. 11 : km 12.89 - alt. 1,209 m - Ratou refuge
  13. 12 : km 13.58 - alt. 1,094 m - Crossroads - Forest
  14. 13 : km 14.69 - alt. 891 m - D991
  15. S/E : km 15.69 - alt. 896 m - Le Moulin des Moines car park

Notes

(1) At the end of the car park, in the recess on the left, there is an information board with maps and hiking trails.
An IGN map + compass or GPS are necessary to enjoy this hike.

Route for all or part of the Haute Chaîne du Jura National Nature Reserve. Please respect the regulations: https://www.rnn-hautechainedujura.fr/reg...

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 58 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
jodum01
jodum01

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful classic hike. There is not quite enough snow for snowshoes or touring skis.

Machine-translated

User 21556018

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Route starting from the Tiocan solidarity refreshment bar. The climb is quite steep through the forest and up to the Reculet cross, with magnificent views and chamois on the peaks along the way. The route between the Croix du Reculet and the Crêt de la Neige is easy, with panoramic views and superb valleys. The descent is quite technical and burns your legs until you reach the car park.
To be done again

Machine-translated

User 26966240

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent hike at the end of August. We were lucky to have clear, sunny skies.
Views of Mont Blanc, Geneva, Lake Geneva and the Jura mountains on the other side. An unforgettable panorama.

However, a few small suggestions for improvement:
parking: I recommend parking at point 13 just after Lélex. It's a 20-30 minute walk along the road, but your future self will thank you for arriving at the end of the hike right in front of your vehicle.
_Forest section: The climb through the forest is quite tough. It took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes at a good pace.
_The summit of Reculet: Don't miss Reculet. The view is magnificent; it was the best part of the hike for me. Much more beautiful than the view from Crêt-de-la-Neige, which is ultimately much less pleasant than Reculet.
the detour via the Chalet de Curson is not necessary. What's more, I had read in some comments that it was private and guarded by patous (shepherd dogs). Just follow the sign for Crêt-de-la-Neige. This part is magnificent

In conclusion: quite a physical climb, but if the weather is good, it's an unmissable and magnificent hike
Good footwear is recommended in wet weather.

Machine-translated

Pacaubert42
Pacaubert42

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful route, which is quite busy except for the climb up the 32 contours, where we were alone. The 32 contours trail is deteriorating due to erosion and also because people are cutting across the switchbacks. It's a shame that the last 2 km are along the main road.

Machine-translated

Sas
Sas

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It is indeed a very technical start to the hike, with a steep climb that takes between 1.5 and 2 hours. The detour to Reculet seems essential to me if you want to reach the two highest points in the Jura! It is easy to follow as you just need to follow the GR trail to reach the Crête de la Neige. A very beautiful route in any case. Please note that the last 2 km at the level of the departmental road are quite dangerous as you have to walk along the tracks.

Machine-translated

Mireille Cayreyre
Mireille Cayreyre

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

It is best to do this route in dry weather, as the stones can be quite slippery

Machine-translated

User 16983977

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
I think it would be good to indicate the option that goes (easily and quickly) via the summit of Reculet (the second highest peak in the Jura, to within 1 metre!) as a round trip from the route.
Patrick

Machine-translated

PadaBoom
PadaBoom

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The first part is quite physically demanding, but the reward at the top is the view of Lake Geneva.
However, as mentioned in another comment: AT POINT NUMBER 6, continue on the GR and do not head towards the chalet. This is private property and guarded by Patou dogs. Proceed at your own risk!
To make matters worse, I had my dog with me... a mistake on my part, as I realised at the end that we were in a national park... In short, point 6 needs to be changed to avoid accidents with these very protective guard dogs.
And it's true that ending up on the road for 2 km is not at all safe... but it's really a hike that's worth it!

Machine-translated

jpraff
jpraff

Scheduled for July but changed by two days on the ridge line

Machine-translated

davidrayfr
davidrayfr

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant walk
However, the climb at the start in the forest is very tough (for 1½ hours).
Make sure you wear good shoes as it can be slippery when it rains
on the plateau, you will come across cows and sheep roaming freely.
When you pass the Chalet de Curson, do not follow the path as the farm is private property. You will need to go around the building, following the fence (the numerous dogs will let you know that you should not go down the path!).
PLEASE NOTE: the path does not pass EXACTLY through the snow ridge; you will need to walk 50 metres further along the path to reach the highest point of the Jura!

Machine-translated

matlj
matlj

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Incredible hike yesterday with a little rain. We set off at night with headlamps in the forest The trail isn't very clear on the way up, but just follow the path.
We took the small fork to climb Reculet, so we could do both peaks at the same time.
Thank you very much for the variety of landscapes we encountered!

Machine-translated

eric.poillot
eric.poillot

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 29, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

a popular route at the summit, but no one on the superb winding descent, which is a little technical but enjoyable, with a good elevation drop.

The entire climb in hiking mode is very pleasant and accessible to everyone.

Machine-translated

Armelle01
Armelle01

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike. Make sure you bring proper equipment: the hike starts with a fairly steep climb. But the effort is worth it: once you reach the top, the views are magnificent and the silence is very peaceful!
Don't hesitate to push on to Reculet and even around it!
We even spotted some ibexes!

Machine-translated

BEN 2 BREST
BEN 2 BREST

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice!

Machine-translated

godillot1
godillot1

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The detour to Curson's chalet adds no interest to the hike.

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.