Reclos State Forest

This hike will take you through the Reclos forest with the Rocher des Vannes, Rocher Cuny, Rocher des Arcades and Roche de Cherpierre.

Details

478835
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.98 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 437 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 443 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 526 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 294 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park on the side of theD392A on the outskirts of the village of La Trouche, heading towards Celles-sur-Plaine.

(S/E) Head back towards the village centre then keep right until the junction after crossing the bridge over the Plaine.

(1) Walk a few metres to the right, then take the small wooden staircase on the left. Follow this path, marked with Red Saltires, to the next fork.

(2) Keep left, following the Red Saltire markings, and climb up to the Rocher des Vannes.

(3) Turn left, go behind the rocks towards Neufmaisons and reach the junction with a forest track.

(4) Turn right towards Rocher Cuny. After 400m, reach the junction with a small path.

(5) Take it on the right, heading down towards Rocher Cuny. A lovely view of the forest; in the distance on the right, you can see Rocher des Arcades. Descend until you reach a forest track and follow it to the left. Continue to Mur de Roches.

(6) Take the small, hidden path opposite which descends the valley, alongside a stream, eventually reaching a main road.

(7) First turn left then right, passing in front of the forest house, and immediately take the path leading up at the far end of the car park. After turning right then left, you’ll reach a forest track.

(8) Turn right onto it and continue to the next junction.

(9) Turn right and continue straight on along the track until you reach the foot of the Roche des Arcades. Beautiful architecture.

(10) Continue along the track, marked with a Blue Cross, passing in front of the Roche des Gardes before reaching the impressive Roche de Cherpierre.

(11) Start the descent along the path, marked with a Blue Cross, at the foot of the Roches de Cherpierre. Cross a track and reach a junction of forest paths.

(12) Head along the path opposite and reach a road. Turn right and, at the next junction, left onto the Ceinture Verte. Join the path on the right, which winds sharply, a few metres before the Maison Forestière de la Forge Evrard.

(13) Take this path, marked with a Yellow Saltire, then turn left. Follow this path as it runs along the mountainside until you rejoin the route you have already taken.

(2) Continue straight ahead and follow the path back to the car park on theD392A at the edge of the village of La Trouche (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 301 m - Car park alongside the D392A - Plaine (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.39 - alt. 295 m - Crossroads
  3. 2 : km 0.73 - alt. 340 m - Junction
  4. 3 : km 2.24 - alt. 487 m - Rocher des Vannes
  5. 4 : km 2.64 - alt. 502 m - Forest track
  6. 5 : km 2.91 - alt. 487 m - Signposted: Rocher Cuny and M.F. Forge Evrard, 30 mins
  7. 6 : km 5.11 - alt. 400 m - Rock face
  8. 7 : km 5.6 - alt. 353 m - Crossing the road
  9. 8 : km 6.22 - alt. 419 m - Forest track
  10. 9 : km 6.63 - alt. 438 m - Crossroads
  11. 10 : km 7.23 - alt. 484 m - Roche des Arcades
  12. 11 : km 8.05 - alt. 493 m - Cherpierre Rock
  13. 12 : km 9.49 - alt. 339 m - Junction
  14. 13 : km 9.91 - alt. 307 m - Path on the right at the hairpin bend
  15. S/E : km 11.98 - alt. 301 m - Car park alongside the D392A

Notes

The Roches des Vannes and Cherpierre can provide shelter in bad weather.
Good walking shoes.
A map.
Be aware of hunting seasons, as you may not be able to go on this hike (I fell into that trap).

Worth a visit

Lake Pierre Percée.
Adventure park, tree-top adventure course, bungee jumping and zip line.
Salm Castle.
Leisure centre.

Reviews and comments

3.5 / 5
Based on 18 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
2.8 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
Denis26
Denis26 ★

Thank you for your feedback.
I have just revised the route to align it more precisely with the map. I have also updated the description by adding waypoints; the numbers given in the previous comments are therefore no longer correct.
There is still some uncertainty between the Mur de Roches (6) and the forest house (7). Please let me know if this route is incorrect.
Kind regards,

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User 9208813

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 18, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

PLEASE NOTE
If you want to go on this hike, read the members’ reviews.
The directions on Visiorando are vague. We struggled at point 4 and couldn’t find the hidden path.
Same at the forest house at point 9; apparently you have to follow the Yellow Cross, not the red one (which is mentioned in the description)
We ended up taking the greenway to reach the finish.
A word of advice: use a GPS
It’s a shame that, despite all these reviews, the description hasn’t been corrected.
On the other hand, we were very pleased to discover all these rock formations, such as the Roche des Arcades and the Roche de Cherpierre.

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Elisabeth4
Elisabeth4

Overall rating : 1 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

It was completely impossible for us to follow the route indicated. Nothing matched the map: this is the first time this has happened to us. We are usually very happy with the walks suggested by Visorando.

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Titi-titout
Titi-titout
• Edited:

Overall rating : 1.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

I strongly advise against this hike: the markings are very difficult to see, even with the app, which gives approximate directions; the path is not maintained, with trees and branches blocking the way and tall grass; there are long stretches on forest roads with no shade; and the path is very rarely used. Honestly very disappointed.

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Xylo
Xylo

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The web directions are vague and can be confused with the "red cross" route.
It is always possible to rejoin the main route by following the forest tracks with GPS positioning.
Some web directions are obsolete due to forestry activity ("small hidden path" = heavy vehicle tracks).
Feel free to print out the comments before you set off, so you can benefit from the help of those who have already struggled.

It would therefore be useful to update and improve the online description from time to time.

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loic.lang
loic.lang

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike. However, the route is very approximate; it must have been drawn by hand imprecisely, with errors. The distance, on the other hand, is fairly close to reality.

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ecm2
ecm2

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 20, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello
Having done it a few years ago, I was bracing myself, as I had struggled between points 4 and 6, but with the app, no problem. However, as the distance was short, from points 2 to 3, we took the red trail to do an extra circular loop via the Marie cross, but after the Cuny rock, on the way to point 4, we lost the trail at one point and ended up going round in circles a bit, so thank goodness for the GPS.
The Arcades rock is magnificent, as is the Cherpierre rock.
At the forest house, we had a little trouble finding the path. You have to go back up about twenty metres to the yellow cross, an old path that we lost halfway through and ended up on the greenway.
A beautiful hike, alone in the world, we didn't meet anyone.
To be done again in good weather.
Thank you.

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Jardinier68
Jardinier68

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike for those who enjoy discovering different rock formations and local geology, but the hike description is too brief and the markings are inconsistent in places, which meant we ended up walking a few extra kilometres between Rocher Cuny and Roche des Arcades, as well as after Roche de Cherpierre. Quite a stressful hike!

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Laurent-39
Laurent-39

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 03, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A hike through the woods with few viewpoints, but a few natural rocks add to the appeal of this walk. There are a few discrepancies between the GPX track and the trail, but nothing to worry about... Overall, it's a good hike.

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Remysapin@club-internet.fr
Remysapin@club-internet.fr

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An interesting route that allows you to discover splendid rocks off the beaten track. The GPX track and description caused us problems on several occasions. Firstly, between the start and the Rocher des Vannes, when we reached point 1, we couldn't find a path to climb up to the Rocher des Vannes; in fact, as indicated in the description for this stage, you just need to follow the beautiful path marked with red tripods and not red crosses as mentioned in the description. Next, the passage at point 3 can be avoided. As indicated elsewhere in the description, simply take the path on the right marked with a yellow cross before point 3, which leads to Rocher Cuny. The passage from point 4 to point 5 can also be problematic. We used the IGN map to find our way down into a valley along a stream. At point 9, the path to take for a few metres is marked with a yellow cross and not a red cross. It might be useful to mention in the description that this path, as indicated, climbs to the left, then levels out and arrives at a fork, where you should climb to the right (if you descend to the left, you will find yourself on the tarmac greenway). As this is not shown on the GPX track, I would like to point out that it is very interesting to make the return trip to Rocher des Arcades and climb Roche de Cherpierre to enjoy a beautiful view. Finally, you may be surprised by the difference between the indicated elevation gain of +602m and elevation loss of -557m, even though this route is circular! Personally, we measured 470m after correction by the Visorando software.

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jpmscba
jpmscba

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The weather was magnificent on Wednesday (09/02/2022), a beautiful winter's day. And we were not disappointed. A beautiful route, beautiful rocks, beautiful views and off-trail paths that were slightly stressful. But you can see that the person who proposed this route was keen to avoid tarmac as much as possible. For example, at the end, the path overlooking the "tarmac greenway", although less comfortable, is more suitable for hiking.
The proposed route does not always correspond to the terrain and the IGN map. I think that changes have been made to the route since then, and Beauff can't do anything about it. That's fine, it forces you to use your instruments and not take the easy option.
A beautiful hike that I recommend, and thank you to Beauff and Visorando.

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papydo
papydo

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Difficulty finding the starting point: it should be noted that when starting from La Trouche, you should head towards the greenway. Thank you to the locals for putting us on the right track.

Some paths are hidden by vegetation, and there are not markings everywhere. A good map is necessary, or even a good old-fashioned compass. My Garmin GPX 30 was a great help, but it didn't always pick up the satellite signal. Even so, although we didn't follow the suggested route exactly, it was a pleasant walk. We couldn't find the last trail, even with the help of the forest house occupants, so we returned to the starting point via the greenway.

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Michael_MC
Michael_MC

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent rocks throughout the hike, some beautiful views, and some very pleasant trails in the middle of the forest!
But the GPS track leaves something to be desired. From the outset, it is impossible to find the GPS track; instead, you have to follow the only visible trail marked with red crosses towards Roche de Vanne. Points 4 and 9 are forestry "tracks" that are difficult to find and impassable :/

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daniel kern
daniel kern

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike in a lovely forest setting - Trail markings are unclear in some places -

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sorciere54
sorciere54

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, ideal in 18°C weather! A beautiful route. Viewpoint from the Virgin of Vohné. Undergrowth, beech forest, fir forest – a treat for the senses.

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