Balcony view over the heights of Lugrin

Parking is available in the car park of the church in Lugrin. Access via the D1005 from Evian-les-Bains or Saint-Gingolph, then via the D21 to climb up to Chef-Lieu.

No signposting
Directional signs are present at major intersections.

(S/E) From the car park, go around the church on the left and descend to join the road. Then take the D321 opposite towards Thollon. Follow this road slightly uphill for about 1.5 km towards Troubois (ignore the turnings on the right towards Thollon or Les Combes). At the entrance to the hamlet, continue straight ahead on Route de Troubois (ignore Route des Fontaines which climbs to the right and Route du Champ Poirier which descends to the left). You will soon reach a small square (fountain, oratory).

(1) Continue straight ahead (east) along Allée du Châtaigner, a small paved road between gardens, then along a path between meadows. Ignore a path that climbs up to the right into a meadow and, at the fork that follows, turn right to find the Châtaigner de Troubois (information sign).

(2) Retrace your steps back to the small square in Troubois.

Orange + yellow + red-yellow markings

(1) Take the Chemin des Chapieux towards Les Combes. For a few metres, this small road runs parallel to the road you came from, then turns left between houses and becomes a path. Stay on this path, which climbs quite steeply between meadows, ignoring the paths branching off to the sides. You will come to a hairpin bend in a road coming from the right. Ignore the signpost indicating a left turn and follow the road uphill towards Les Combes. You will very quickly reach the entrance to Les Combes (fountain, old houses).

Yellow + red-yellow signposts

(3) Cross the hamlet on fairly flat ground. Take a narrow street between tall houses (dead end). At the end of the hamlet, the street becomes a path and enters the forest. Follow the signs for Véron and cross a stream (ignore the path that climbs left towards Chez Cachat). Continue west through the forest, on fairly flat ground. Join a wide path coming from the left and turn right, down a steep slope.

(4) At the Croisement des Vignes du Haut, turn right. Descend between meadows bordered by hedges, turn left and reach Véron (chapel, fountain).

(5) Turn left towards the chapel and cross the hamlet, staying on the main road (Rue de Véron). Cross a stream.

(6) Shortly afterwards, turn left towards Vieille-Église via Presles. Go uphill and, at the fork that follows, take the right-hand road, which soon becomes a path. Walk along a meadow on your right. Continue westwards through a beech forest and then between meadows bordered by hedges. Cross a stream (pylon on your left). Then descend to the right towards a road.

(7) Just before the road, take a path on the left through the woods, roughly parallel to the road and higher up. Cross two wooden footbridges to cross streams and get closer to the road. Move away from it immediately and continue west to finally reach the road at a place called Le Déjeuner (sign).

(8) Cross the road diagonally to the left (be careful). Take the path opposite and cross a fence using a pedestrian crossing. Continue straight ahead along the edge of the meadow. Then turn right at a 90° angle and then right again at another 90° angle. Descend quite steeply through the woods, making a wide turn to the left. You will come out onto a small road at a place called Presles.

Yellow signposting

(9) Descend towards Vieille-Église, keeping north (ignore a blue arrow indicating a left turn). Note the bell towers of the churches of Maxilly on the left and Lugrin on the right, and, opposite, the old church of Lugrin, which you are heading towards. Pass a fountain on the left and cross a small road. Pass another fountain on your right and cross the D21 road (be careful, this is a busy road). Go down Rue de Vieille-Église and, at the bottom of the hill (post box), turn right. Walk alongside the old church and note the old statue of the war memorial (information panel).

No signposts

(10) At the next T-junction, turn left downhill (ignore the yellow arrow pointing to the right). At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead into Avenue des Grabilles (to the right of the no entry sign). At the next junction, turn right onto the road that climbs slightly with a left-hand bend. You will come out onto Route du Chef-Lieu (D21).

(11) Follow this road to the left until you see the church. Caution: this road is busy and narrow when it reaches Chef-Lieu, and the pavements are intermittent. At the crossroads, cross over to the church car park (S/E).

Good sports shoes or hiking boots are required. Clothing (warm, rainproof, etc.) or sun protection depending on the season. Shops in Lugrin. No drinking water points identified along the route.

A 1:25,000 map is recommended (at least the one accompanying this description).

Hunting days:
From the second Sunday in September to the first Sunday in January: all day on Thursdays and Saturdays, and on Sunday mornings. Information kindly provided by the hiker R-anses.

Warning:
The D321 road at the start of the hike and the D21 road at the end are busy: please remain cautious. For this route, road crossings have been limited as much as possible, but it is difficult to avoid the two sections in question.

Additional information:
By combining this hike with the "Maxilly loop via Petite Rive and Presles" hike, you can complete an 8-shaped hike lasting approximately 5 to 5½ hours. The junction between the two routes is located in Presles, point (9) on this hike and point (7) on the hike starting from Maxilly.
- Starting from Lugrin - Follow the route of this hike from Lugrin Church (S/E) to Presles (9). Then follow the entire route of the second hike from Presles (7) via Maxilly Town Hall (S/E) and back to Presles (7). Finish with the end of the route of this hike from Presles (9) to Lugrin Church (S/E).
- Starting from Maxilly - Follow the route of the second hike from Maxilly Town Hall (S/E) to Presles (7). Then follow the complete route of this hike from Presles (9) via the church in Lugrin (S/E) and back to Presles (9). Finish with the end of the route of the second hike from Presles (7) to the town hall in Maxilly (S/E).

This hike has been completed around twenty times by the author, with various variations, the last one on 22 April 2019.

- Along the way: meadows, beech and chestnut forests, gardens, fountains, oratories... Beautiful views to the south over Les Mémises and to the north over Lake Geneva, its Swiss shore and the Jura Mountains.

- In Troubois (2): "the" chestnut tree, estimated to be 1,000 years old. According to its owner, with a height of 30 metres and a circumference of 11 metres at the base, it is the largest chestnut tree in Europe. During the storm of 1999, it lost one of its two main trunks, but is still very much alive.

- In Les Combes (3): beautiful old houses, fountain.

- In Véron (5): chapel (1751).

- In Vieille-Eglise (10): Old church of Lugrin, much smaller than the current church. Statue known as "la Lulu". This statue, supposed to represent a mother mourning her lost children, is the one that appeared on the Lugrin war memorial when it was erected in 1921. Given its resemblance to a woman in the village nicknamed "La Lulu", who was the subject of ridicule, the presence of this statue on the monument was the subject of laughter (sic) and controversy. The statue was subsequently replaced by a more conventional bronze soldier (which can be seen at the entrance to the church car park) and "La Lulu" was moved to the foot of the old church, to a less exposed location.

- Nearby, Château d'Allaman: this is where the first meetings between the French Government and FLN delegations took place, leading to the signing of the Évian Accords on 18 March 1962.