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Please note that this route is not marked, so a map and description are essential if you do not have the app or a hiking GPS with the route marked.
Parking is available at the Pleigne football stadium car park. See practical information.
From Delémont, follow the Route du Haut-Plateau towards Clos Girard.
From Lucelle, pass through customs towards Delémont, then turn left towards Le Pré-Pucin after La Scie. When you reach Pleigne, turn left towards Rue de la Courtine and the stadium.
(S/E) Head to the far right of the car park to access the panoramic trail. Follow this beautiful shaded path to the left, south of the village. It ends at a bend in the road. Turn right and walk along the right-hand side of the road for about 150 m until you see the "Sentier panoramique" sign on the left-hand side, before a pasture.
(1) Cross (carefully) and climb the few steps between the trees and the fence to a picnic area. Continue eastwards to the crossroads.
(2) Turn left towards the village and a small street. Follow it to the left, then, after a bend, left again to find the beautiful Creux sur la Reuse area, which has been developed to promote biodiversity.
(3) Continue to reach Route des Geais, the village's main road. Follow it to the right and you will reach the church with its remarkable stained-glass windows ( see "Nearby" section).
(4) With your back to the church, take Rue de la Forge and, at the end on the right, join Rue du Réservoir. Turn left and head north. When you reach the bend, continue straight ahead along the path towards the Panoramic Tower, the highest point on the plateau ( see "Nearby").
(5) Enjoy the picnic area and information panels at the top of the tower, which offers exceptional views of the Alps and the Vosges mountains in good weather. Take the small road to the next crossroads before a chapel.
(6) Turn right onto a tarmac road heading north. Pass a grove of trees that hides an isolated house, then turn left towards the west. Atthe first crossroads, continue straight ahead until you reach the next one.
(7) Turn right towards a composting area at a place called Les Rouges Terres. Pass the large Clairval farm on your right and begin the descent towards the Mécolis farm visible below. Reach the farm after a left turn and a show jumping arena.
(8) Take the hairpin bend to the right onto a tarmac road, then follow a wide curve to the left which leads to the edge of the forest, then to the junction with Chemin de la Courtine coming from the left. Continue to the right and you will arrive at the welcoming Clairière des Geais picnic area. See Practical Information.
(9) Leave the picnic area via the path to the right of the shelter, which joins a wider path in a left-hand bend. Leave the path that descends steeply to the right (possible shortcut to the Étang de Lucelle dyke). Continue down a gentle slope on the wide carriageway. It leads easily to a crossroads.
(10) Cross the return path and cross the footbridge opposite. After a few dozen metres, you will come to a crossroads near the road.
(11) Take the Sentier Didactique du Lac de Lucelle (Lucelle Lake Educational Trail) on the right. It runs alongside a peat bog and continues on duckboards along a reed bed on the western shore of the lake. (Please note that the wooden duckboards are very slippery in wet weather.) At the northern end of the lake, turn right to reach the crossroads on the dyke.
(12) With your back to the lake, go down the steps. On the right, near a bridge (end of the shortcut), the waterfall from the spillway rejoins the river. Opposite, in a play area, there is a table and bench under a shelter. Read the "Sights" section for a tour of the abbey ruins.
Return to the lake embankment.
(12) Continue along the eastern shore. At the end, the wide, pleasant path runs alongside a protected marsh area and then reaches the crossroads you came to on the way there.
(10) Continue along the path opposite, which runs alongside the Lucelle. On your right, you will see a fish pass and then a small pond. Shortly afterwards, a sign points to a path on the left that leads up to the caves. It is narrow, rocky and dangerous in wet weather, but it is a possible alternative route to the caves.
(13) It is best to continue straight ahead. After about a hundred metres, the caves appear overhanging on the left. Shortly afterwards, a path leads to them.
(14) Take the path along the Lucelle river, which crosses a track. Further on, turn left and pass an apiary on your right. The silence is broken by barking from the kennel below. Go through a gate and climb up to the intersection with a forest path (signpost).
(15) Turn completely left towards "La Fille de Mai". After a wide bend to the right and then to the left, the path heads firmly eastwards. Pay attention: after about 500 metres, the rounded top of the Rocher de la Fille de Mai appears between the trees on your right. Carefully descend the narrow gravel path that leads to the rock. See § Nearby.
(16) Return to the path, which is now gentler and leads to a crossroads. Turn completely left. The fairly steep slope quickly leads to the fence of a meadow and its gate. You are now back on the Pleigne plateau. Turn completely right towards the east, along the fence until you reach another gate.
(17) This gate leads to a marked trail that runs along the steep edge of the plateau. Continue east until you reach a crossroads just before the forest exit (sign). Turn 90° to the left and you will soon come to a wide path.
(18) Leave the forest on the right, then leave Chemin de la Courtine on your left. You are now back on Chemin Panoramique. The unobstructed view allows you to see the football pitch below on your right. Continue to the next crossroads.
(19) Turn right. The lane leads to a path on the left that takes you to the Sablonnière farm. Walk past the farm buildings and continue straight ahead to the football stadium car park (S/E).
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