Forests and vineyards above Ricey Bas and Balnot

This circular walk takes us into the vineyard area of Les Riceys and Balnot-sur-Laignes. Leaving the vineyards behind, the return journey follows the course of the Laignes river and takes the route of the old "tacot" railway line which, from 1901, linked Les Riceys-Polisot to Cunfin.

Details

18394579
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 20.68 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 334 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 332 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 310 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 163 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Les Riceys (10340)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 48.004926° / E 4.368886°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2818SB, 2819SB, 2918SB, 2919SB
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park near the church.

(S/E) Go around the church, turn right onto Rue de Bise (the main street) then take the second street on the left, Rue de la Plante. Follow this street through the village, pass the calvary and then leave the road to walk on the right at the foot of the castle walls.

(1) Continue to the Saint-Roch Chapel.

(2) Cross the D142 with caution and continue opposite at the foot ofthe first vineyards. The path climbs gently to join the D142 a little higher up. Follow the departmental road to the right for about 200 metres.

(3) Turn left onto a vineyard road that descends slightly. Continue straight ahead to the place known as Fontaine de la Vélue. Pass it and continue to the crossroads.

(4) Turn right to go up the Val Odement to the crossroads that serves the vineyard plots. Turn right and continue to the next junction: the paths marked on the left on the IGN map no longer exist due to the widening of the access to the vineyards and the size of the hill.

(5) Turn left to enter the woods, ignore the path on the left and continue to the D 26 road. Take the road on the left for about 300 metres until you reach a path on the right.

(6) Take this well-marked path at the edge of the village and follow it until you reach a T-junction.

(7) Turn right onto a wide path leading to Balnot and continue until you reach the vineyards.

(8) Go up to the left between the two vineyard plots on a path. Join a track and follow it to the left until you reach the access road to the Beauregard farm.

(9) Go around the farm on the right and descend the access road to the woods below. Turn right to enter the woods, avoiding the private path that borders the farmland. Continue along this path and exit the woods, leaving the bottom of Val Tenaillon on your left, and join the D452.

(10) Cross it carefully to reach the Laignes, which can be crossed by farm machinery via a ford and by pedestrians via a safe bridge.

(11) After crossing the river, follow the path to the left and then quickly left again, then turn right (towards the east) to reach a cross path that leads towards Buxeuil on the left.

(12) Turn right towards Balnot and follow this path, which climbs gently, first through woods and then along vineyards, before coming out onto the D26.

(13) Cross the road carefully and take the path opposite, first along the edge of the Bois de Touan and then entering the woods. Descend gradually towards Laignes, then climb back up on its right bank towards the D70 and the Chapelle Saint-Antoine.

(14) Take the road on the right and return to the starting point of the hike (S/E) at Saint Pierre Church.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 177 m - Église Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens (Les Riceys)
  2. 1 : km 0.36 - alt. 194 m - Château du Clos-Saint-Roch
  3. 2 : km 0.6 - alt. 212 m - Chapelle Saint-Roch (Les Riceys)
  4. 3 : km 1.45 - alt. 243 m - Vineyard road
  5. 4 : km 2.62 - alt. 220 m - Crossroads
  6. 5 : km 4.43 - alt. 263 m - Entrance to the woods
  7. 6 : km 5.98 - alt. 309 m - Start of the trail
  8. 7 : km 6.66 - alt. 294 m - Crossroads
  9. 8 : km 7.85 - alt. 214 m - Intersection
  10. 9 : km 9.32 - alt. 302 m - Beauregard Farm
  11. 10 : km 12.77 - alt. 176 m - Crossing the D452
  12. 11 : km 13.44 - alt. 163 m - Laigne (rivière) - Affluent de la Seine
  13. 12 : km 14.12 - alt. 179 m - T-junction
  14. 13 : km 15.28 - alt. 210 m - Crossing the D26
  15. 14 : km 20.08 - alt. 174 m - Chapelle Saint-Antoine (Les Riceys)
  16. S/E : km 20.68 - alt. 177 m - Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens Church - Château de Ricey-Bas

Worth a visit

(2) Saint-Roch Chapel, built on the ruins of an old chapel. A nearby monument commemorates the existence of this first chapel and the story of a hermit, Father Champion, who worked to combat the plague that ravaged Les Riceys during the first half of the 17th century.

Reviews and comments

3.5 / 5
Based on 4 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
2.8 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
lemarcheur65
lemarcheur65 ★

Hello pradec
On 25 August 2025 at 12:45 pm, you updated your hike.
On 25 August 2025 at 1:55 p.m., I asked you to tidy up your hike.
You resubmitted it.
On 1 February 2026 at 17:13, I took your incorrectly updated hike back.
Your hike has been sent back to the verification cycle.
Yesterday, 5 February 2026 at 07:13, the final selection was accepted.
Now, if everything is in order, the comments should improve.
As a reminder: on 29 July 2023 at 18:52, a user posted =>
Hike date: 26 July 2023
__Reliability of the description: ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route: ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing__
Sorry, I should have responded as soon as the first comments were posted.

I added: Moderator's note: hike updated in early February 2026

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pradec
pradec

Hello – this modified hike has just been published – how can I add this change to the hikers' reviews? Reading the latest comments (2025) is obviously a deterrent to future visits to this route.
Thank you, Pradec.

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MARTDomi
MARTDomi
• Edited:

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

From point 6 onwards, it is no longer possible to follow the route. The designated paths no longer exist and others have appeared. We gave up after multiple attempts to find a way around

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ANNICKZ
ANNICKZ
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Great difficulty from point 6 onwards. No clearing in the forest as indicated in the description...we had to climb through the woods until we reached the exit of the Balnot forest. The route needs to be changed, as the forest is not really maintained and the passage is very difficult in places. It's a shame because the hike is beautiful with some lovely views.

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véroth
véroth
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The hike started off extremely well (with a few misunderstandings along the way). The scenery is magnificent and varied (vineyards, woods, the splendid village of Les Riceys, etc.)
Unfortunately, we had to turn back at point 6, which we couldn't find. The explanations didn't really match the terrain AND the GPS track on the Visorando app, which corresponded to the route and our position, sent us down a path that unfortunately didn't exist. We tried and tried, following the GPS, but there was no path and the terrain was cluttered with dead branches, brambles and trees...
We would really like to understand our mistakes so that we can complete the loop.
If you could shed some light on this, that would be great
Thank you, we can't wait to go back.
Véronique

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Marivel
Marivel
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A wonderful discovery of the vineyards with my grandson Colin, who loved the walk.

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