Gondremer–Autrey

From the village of Housseras, follow the signs for the Gondremer Garden to begin a walk that will take you to the Gondremer Botanical Garden, the Roches de l’Ours and the Grands Sapins trail.

Details

1908401
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.71 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 548 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 535 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,657 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,168 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Car park near the former Gondremer Forest House at the bottom of Chilimont West.

(S/E) With your back to the forest house with red shutters, head left, cross the stream and follow the sign on the right pointing towards the botanical garden. Walk past the garden.

(1) Turn left to follow the Blue Disc markings. The path climbs towards the summit (elevation 418m).

(2) Cross the junction and follow the path on the right which passes near a fountain; the markings are still the Blue Disc. Pass under the power line.

(3) At elevation 431, do not miss the signpost indicating a left turn. The path leads to the Walter Cross, erected in tribute to a forestry worker. Continue following the Blue Disc markings.

(4) At this junction, head east along the tarmac road marked with the Blue Disc, passing in front of the former Autrey Forest House. Further on, leave the Vieux Moulins forest track on your right and continue for 300 m along the tarmac road.

(5) Leave the road and follow the Blue Disc markings along the logging track branching off to the left. As you cross to the other side of the slope, join a path marked with Blue Discs. Do not go down, but head right along the ledge towards the rocks.

(6) Follow the path along the ridge beneath the rocks. The markings become sparse, even non-existent, but stay at the same level until you reach the Grands Sapins path.

(7) Continue along the lovely Grands Sapins path, which leads to the Chilimont forest road.

(8) Follow it to the left towards the west to return to your car at the old Gondremer Forest House (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 1,188 ft - Former Gondremer Forest House
  2. 1 : mi 0.43 - alt. 1,178 ft - Botanical Garden
  3. 2 : mi 1.04 - alt. 1,378 ft - Forest road junction 1
  4. 3 : mi 1.36 - alt. 1,411 ft - Elevation 431. Towards the - Croix Walter (Autrey)
  5. 4 : mi 2.25 - alt. 1,552 ft - Forest road junction 2
  6. 5 : mi 2.82 - alt. 1,617 ft - Blue Disc Trail on the left
  7. 6 : mi 3.1 - alt. 1,493 ft - Les Roches
  8. 7 : mi 3.45 - alt. 1,572 ft - The Great Fir Trees Trail. Towards the - Fontaine des Grands Sapins (Autrey)
  9. 8 : mi 4.14 - alt. 1,316 ft - Chilimont forest road
  10. S/E : mi 5.71 - alt. 1,188 ft - Car park

Notes

Equipment: sturdy shoes, a bottle of water and a small energy-boosting snack.

Worth a visit

Admission to the Gondremer garden is charged depending on the season (collections of azaleas, rhododendrons, kalmias, hydrangeas, etc.). See the website 

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
jlucvosgien
jlucvosgien

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello
From point 5 onwards, the markings become scarce.
Following the logging road, you will come to a crossroads where there is a hunting tower.
I passed it on the right and continued along this path until I reached the forest road.
Once again, a blue sign tells us to continue along a path on the left. (According to the suggested route, this sign should not be here.)
A few hundred metres further on, there is another signpost directing you to the left.
A pleasant little path takes us to the bear rock, which we follow to rejoin the path we left earlier.
At this point, take a path hidden under the blueberry bushes directly opposite. You are now on the Grands Sapins path, where there are still no signposts!

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RESSANON
RESSANON

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent forest route lined with majestic trees. An abundance of ferns and blueberries for those with a sweet tooth at this time of year, in late June and early July. You can visit the botanical garden at point 1 for a small fee.
I highly recommend it.

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waiwaite
waiwaite

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The final stretch (the Chilimont road) is a bit monotonous. Before that, don’t miss the lovely little pond at the end of the Grands Sapins trail

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randonanard
randonanard

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

This route must not be very well-used, as there is a lot of grass and ferns on the paths.

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Les plages 29 88
Les plages 29 88

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 17, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely walk with a few scenic spots and beautiful woodland – one to do again in the spring.

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blandan
blandan

Sorry, but you can't always walk at high altitude; the highlight of this hike is the Gondremer Botanical Garden.
Kind regards

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crapaudon
crapaudon

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 13, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A short, easy walk. It’s a shame there aren’t any views. The entire route is through the forest.
We particularly enjoyed the section of the path through the blueberry bushes, just below the ridge.
The ‘Grands Sapins’ trail is certainly very pleasant, but it’s rather misnamed; in fact, there are far more and far finer trees on the trail leading up to it.

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