From the Pleigne plateau to Lake Lucelle

Please note that this route is not signposted; the map and description are essential if you do not have the app or a hiking GPS with the route track.

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; after La Scie, turn left towards Le Pré-Pucin. Once in Pleigne, turn left towards Rue de la Courtine and the stadium.

(S/E) Head to the far end of the car park and turn right to access the panoramic trail. Follow this lovely shaded path to the left, south of the village. It leads to a bend in the road. Turn right and walk along the right-hand side of the road for about 150 m, until you reach the “Sentier panoramique” sign on the left-hand side, just before a pasture.

(1) Cross the road (take care) and climb the few steps between the trees and the fence towards a picnic area. Continue eastwards to the junction.

(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, designed to promote biodiversity.

(3) Continue on to reach the Route des Geais, the village’s main thoroughfare. Follow it to the right and head towards the church with its remarkable stained-glass windows; see § Nearby.

(4) With your back to the church, take Rue de la Forge; at the end, turn right onto Rue du Réservoir. Turn left and head straight north. When you reach the bend, continue straight ahead along the grassy path towards the Panoramic Tower, the highest point on the plateau; see § Nearby.

(5) Make the most of the picnic area and information boards at the top of the tower, which, in fine weather, offers an exceptional panorama stretching from the Alps to the Vosges. Take the small road back to the next junction, just before a beautiful oratory.

(6) A few metres to the right is a beautiful crucifix; return to the junction to visit the Oratory of St Nicolas de Flüe. Continue then to the next junction. Head up to the right onto a north-facing path and, at the next junction, turn left along a tarmac path that runs alongside a hedgerow, leading to the junction at the hamlet of Les Rouges Terres.

(7) Turn right. Further on, pass the large Clairval farm on your right, and begin the descent towards the Mécolis farm visible below. Reach the farm after a left-hand bend 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 leading to the edge of the forest, and on to the junction with the Chemin de la Courtine coming from the left. Continue to the right and you’ll 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; it joins a wider track at a left-hand bend. Ignore the path that descends steeply to the right (possible shortcut to the Étang de Lucelle dam). Continue down a gentle slope along the wide, carriageable track. It leads easily to a crossroads.

(10) Cross the return path and go over the footbridge opposite. After a few dozen metres, you’ll reach a junction near the road.

(11) Take the Lac de Lucelle Nature Trail on the right. It runs alongside a peat bog and continues on a boardwalk through a reed bed on the western shore of the lake. (Caution: the wooden planks are very slippery in wet weather.) At the northern end of the lake, turn right to reach the junction on the dyke.

(12) With your back to the lake, go down the steps. On the right, near a bridge (where the shortcut ends), the waterfall from the spillway rejoins the river. Opposite, in a play area, there is a table and a bench under a shelter. See the “Places to visit” section for a tour of the abbey ruins.
Return to the lake’s embankment.

(12) Continue along the eastern bank. At the far end, the wide, pleasant path runs alongside a protected marshland area, then reaches the junction you passed on the way out.

(10) Continue along the path opposite which runs alongside the Lucelle. Note a fish pass on the right, followed by a small pond. Shortly afterwards, a sign points left to a path leading 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. About a hundred metres further on, the caves appear overhanging to the left. Shortly afterwards, a path leads up to them.

(14) Return to the path along the Lucelle; it crosses a track. Further on, turn left and pass an apiary on your right. The silence is broken by barking from the kennels below; go through a gate and head up towards the junction with a forest track (signpost).

(15) Turn sharply left, towards ‘La Fille de Mai’. After a wide bend to the right and then to the left, the path heads decisively eastwards. Look out: after about 500 m, the rounded top of the Rocher de la Fille de Mai appears between the trees on your right. Carefully descend the narrow, stony path leading to the rock. See § Nearby.

(16) Return to the path; the slope is gentler and leads to a junction. Turn sharply left; the fairly steep slope quickly reaches the fence of a meadow and its gate. You are back on the Pleigne plateau. Turn sharply right towards the east, along the fence until you reach another gate.

(17) This leads to the signposted path that runs along the steep edge of the plateau. Keep heading east until you reach a junction just before the forest exit (sign). Turn 90° to the left and you will soon come to a wide lane.

(18) Leave the forest on the right; further on, pass the Chemin de la Courtine on your left. You are now back on the Chemin Panoramique; the unobstructed view allows you to see the football pitch below on the right. Continue to the next junction.

(19) Turn right; the path leads to a track which, on the left, takes you to the Sablonnière farm. Walk past the farm buildings and continue straight on to reach the football stadium car park (S/E).

Another possible car park is in Lucelle opposite the Notre-Dame Chapel (on the French side). You will then need to join the route on the lake embankment at point (12).

(9)The shelter at Clairière des Geais, sometimes called "La Cabane", is an open shelter with a large table and benches on the terrace and several tables and benches inside. It is usually open to the public, but is sometimes hired out by the day; in this case, you will have to make do with a table under the nearby trees.

(1) Pleigne panoramic trail

(4) The Church of Pleigne, built in the^18th century, is renowned for its stained glass windows, which can be seen in detail here.

(11) Lucelle Lake educational trail.

(12) Lucelle Abbey.

(16) La Fille de Mai: a 33-metre-high monolith resembling a woman's body, which has inspired numerous superstitions and legends linked to Maia, the goddess of fertility.