Discover the Chapelle-des-Bois Forest

Entering the forest can be daunting. It would be a shame to give up. Indeed, you cannot claim to have got to know Chapelle-des-Bois without having tried to explore it. After all, it covers two-thirds of the village’s total area. It is also a way to discover the village’s history and understand the local economy.

⚠️ 15 November to 15 March: This walk crosses cross-country ski trails which are groomed in winter. Out of respect for skiers and the work of the trail groomers, please do not walk on the trails.

Details

500127
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.67 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 144 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 146 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,199 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,071 m

Description of the walk

Start at the fountain in the church square (car park) in La Chapelle-des-Bois.

(S/E) Head towards the hamlet of Les Landry, turning left at the first three-way junction.

(1) Before reaching the hamlet, take the Chemin de Beauregard (GR®®5long-distance hiking trail). Start by walking alongside the forest before entering it, and stay within the forest until you reach your destination.

(2) When the path joins the forest road, head towards the Refuge des Prés d’Haut. After 400m, the path turns left. Continue straight on, then stay on the path to the right before joining a tarmac forest track.

(3) Turn left (signpost no. 33) towards Chalet Riton and follow this tarmac track.

(4) At the first junction, turn right to see, at the top of the meadow, a modern chalet. It stands on the site of a former mountain farm. The area was long used as summer pasture for livestock and consisted of wooded meadows. The forest is increasingly taking over. Almost all of these farms have disappeared. You can still find ruins here and there. Retrace your steps and continue the climb whilst observing the trees. There appear to be only two species: spruce and beech. Timber and firewood, both necessary for establishing and sustaining life.
The path winds through the forest before joining a forest track at marker no. 30.

(5) Head towards the Ecomuseum opposite. Then, after 100 m, turn right onto a wide path that passes by the ruins of Chalet Riton, a former mountain farm.

(6) Continue along the path until you find yourself overlooking the Combe des Cives, on the Mont-Noir side of the anticline. Through the trees, the landscape reveals a valley where numerous farms have been established since the 17th century.

(7) A steep path leads off to the left to the Maison de la Combe des Cives. Do not take this path. Continue straight on and follow the path to a large timber yard.

(8) Take the first path immediately on the right. After 200m, turn left at the junction. The path passes through a moss-covered stone wall. Continue until you reach a tree on the left bearing a sign saying ‘Greffier’. Follow the path opposite for 50m.

(9) In a hollow, somewhat hidden by the vegetation, lies a large, solitary boulder known as ‘Pierre à la Révolution’. Retrace your steps. When you reach the ‘Greffier’ tree, take the path on the right.
The forest you are crossing is owned by the local council. The woodland is very dense and renowned, and the trunks, which are very straight and tall, are sought after for the construction of log cabins.

(10) At signpost no. 32, head towards “Nondance”.
The downhill path leads to the large farm at Nondance. This building, situated in a large clearing, dates from the 18th century. The impressive roof feeds a cistern. Return to the village by re-entering the forest via the first path on the left, crossing the tarmac road. Wide and easy to walk on, it leads to the Beurrière track,

(11) Take the path to the right, then turn left after 30 metres onto a marked track leading to the car park at the start of the ski runs.
Return to the starting point via the Route des Pâturages and the Chemin Minon (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,089 m - Fountain on the church square
  2. 1 : km 0.69 - alt. 1,071 m - Landry Crossroads
  3. 2 : km 3.42 - alt. 1,129 m - Crossroads on the forest road
  4. 3 : km 4.05 - alt. 1,133 m - Post 33
  5. 4 : km 4.82 - alt. 1,162 m - Towards Chalet Pin
  6. 5 : km 5.94 - alt. 1,183 m - Post 30
  7. 6 : km 6.18 - alt. 1,191 m - Chalet Riton (ruins)
  8. 7 : km 8 - alt. 1,153 m - Combe des Cives crossroads
  9. 8 : km 8.92 - alt. 1,137 m - Trail junction
  10. 9 : km 9.2 - alt. 1,139 m - Stone from the Revolution
  11. 10 : km 10.16 - alt. 1,123 m - Post 32
  12. 11 : km 11.83 - alt. 1,108 m - La Beurrière Trail
  13. S/E : km 13.67 - alt. 1,089 m - Fountain on the church square

Notes

There are no water points along the route, apart from the fountain at the start. Don’t forget to bring drinks and snacks.
A camera remains the best way to ‘capture’ (through the lens) the most beautiful and varied bouquets of flowers.

This route passes through a protected area, which may be subject to special regulations:

Worth a visit

The local flora is abundant and varied. Don’t hesitate to bring a small guide to the local flora to appreciate every discovery.
The ruins reflect the pastoral activity of centuries past. Farmers would ‘drive’ their animals up to the mountain pastures and return in the autumn.
The Revolution Stone may look like nothing more than a large boulder, but it is much more than that. According to oral tradition, this stone was the gathering place for Catholics during the Revolution. Priests who refused to renounce their faith would come here to say Mass and preach. More recently, it also served as a landmark for smugglers who crossed the forest at night, often ‘blindly’.

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

3.9 / 5
Based on 7 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.9 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
jjpansiot
jjpansiot

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 01, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike in cold weather (-10°C in the morning) with a little frozen snow in the undergrowth.
In several places, despite the downloaded GPS track and the IGN map, it seems that the paths no longer exist
(or perhaps the track included shortcuts). This is particularly the case just before point 3.
The same thing happened between points 8 and 9 . Extensive logging has changed the terrain quite a bit.

Machine-translated

Jean.Taverne
Jean.Taverne

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk that’s easy to access in this snowless winter, but the description is very brief.

Machine-translated

skiroll
skiroll

Hello,

Glad I managed to surprise you.
Enjoy your hike.
FC (Roller Ski)

Machine-translated

Davidleslie
Davidleslie

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk along unfamiliar paths in a region I actually know quite well

Machine-translated

skiroll
skiroll

Thank you for your feedback.
It’s true that logging operations can sometimes alter the routes. That’s why it’s useful to know how to read a map 😀.
Enjoy your walks in Chapelle-des-Bois.
FC (skiroll)

Machine-translated

zonzon
zonzon

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Route completed today (3 adults). A lovely route, fairly easy despite the 14km... A convenient spot for a picnic as there are plenty of clearings along the route. The path is diverted just before marker no. 2 due to the logging work, but it’s very close to the original path and you can easily reach the tarmac path with signposts. We took a short detour between markers 2 and 3 to see Le Pré d’Haut (an extra 2 km) and were lucky enough to catch a glimpse, from the high point, of part of the Mont Jura range and La Dole, with a radome glinting in the sun... We then rejoined the original path, passed through Bois Greffier and returned via a very beautiful forest.
Thank you for this lovely, refreshing walk in the Chapelle des Bois forest.

Machine-translated

MARTDomi
MARTDomi

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

There are a few difficulties caused by forestry operators who alter the paths slightly.

A pleasant walk in the woods.

Machine-translated

skiroll
skiroll

Hello Ponsot,
Thank you for your feedback.
I’ll go and check if the “Pierre à la Révolution” is overgrown and clear it away.
Best regards.
FC (Skiroll)

Machine-translated

skiroll
skiroll
• Edited:

Hello Bahia,
I’m seeing your message a year later. I’ll go ahead and reply anyway.
This route dates from 2017 and was revisited in 2018. So it’s far from being old. And I regularly walk sections of it (in summer and winter), so I’m finding it hard to follow what you’re saying.
Firstly, the GR trail is clearly specified in the description. Secondly, the path from point 6 is a wide forestry track that is hard to miss.
I think you must have got lost well before that.
As for the signposting, it is certainly brief (though I think fairly precise), but reading the IGN map is essential for any hiker. You can’t exactly signpost the whole forest, after all. :-)
Best regards
FC (skiroll)

Machine-translated

ponsot
ponsot

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 26, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

This is a good walk to do in hot weather, as it’s at altitude and partly through woodland, so it’s refreshing. In September, we couldn’t find the large boulder, no doubt because of the dense vegetation at that time of year

Machine-translated

bahia
bahia

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I think the route description is a bit out of date and lacks detail, bearing in mind that not everyone has a GPS (connection is very difficult as the area has very poor coverage). The route is only very partially signposted. Although you follow the GR up to point 2 – which isn’t clearly stated – after that it’s a bit of a hit-and-miss affair, particularly after point 6. As this is a heavily managed forest, many of the landmarks are no longer recognisable. Fortunately, I had Iphigénie with me on the way back to reassure me and guide me back to the starting point, as the route was no longer traceable.

As someone who regularly hikes in the Haut Jura in both summer and winter (on snowshoes then), this is the first time I’ve encountered such a problem.

Best regards

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.