From Saint-Martin-de-la-Porte to Serpolière

Car park near the local school.

(S/E) The route starts behind the local school in Saint-Martin-de-la-Porte, where there are a few parking spaces. Head towards Les Collombs along the road. After the wash house and the iron cross, take the small path that runs alongside the houses, heading down to the right. At the end of the path, follow the Ruisseau Saint-Bernard.

(1) Cross the bridge and walk a few metres uphill, then turn left onto the path almost directly opposite the previous one (a bridge used to stand a little further up but was swept away by the stream during a storm).
Continue along the main path, ignoring the paths branching off to the right and left.

(2) You’ll come out onto a dirt track which you follow down for about 250 metres until you find a new path that climbs slightly to the right

(3). Follow this path, passing a new iron cross before reaching a dry stream – hence its name: the Rieu Sec.

(4) Descend into the stream bed and climb back up the other side. Continue along the path, which gradually widens, ignoring the tracks branching off to the left, until you reach the Chapel of Sainte-Anne, built in 1598.

(5). Go round the chapel on the left and take the path on the right. Pass the Saint-Claude Oratory and then enter the hamlet of Serpolière, where the path becomes a road. Walk through the village for 400 metres.

(6) Take the path that descends to the left at a concrete cross. Along the way, you can see the old houses of the people who used to work in the vineyards; these have been restored since 2009 thanks to a local association.

(7) At the junction, turn onto the path on the left which passes through the vineyards and climbs gently up to the Chapel of Sainte-Anne.

(5) Return to the path you took on the way there, which heads left into the forest.

(4) Cross the dry stream again, follow the dirt track uphill and rejoin the path at the first hairpin bend, where there is a sign about the mountain flora and fauna.

Cross the Saint-Bernard stream once more, follow the path and the road to return to the starting point at Saint-Martin-de-la-Porte (S/E).

Make sure you wear trainers at the very least.
Water points: wash house near the local school in Saint-Martin-de-la-Porte

You may spot ibex depending on the season.