A short climb to the heritage site on the heights of Saint-Amour

The Saint-Amour region offers small villages with charming traces of the past: wash houses, chapels and the L'Aubépin tower with its breathtaking views. An easy and short walk, but it involves climbing from the plain up to the crest of the first Jura hill. Mainly good stony paths.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.70 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 260 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 254 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 554 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 306 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Saint-Amour (39160)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 46.43295° / E 5.358849°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3127E, 3128E, 3227OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the small car park in front of the wash house, opposite Allonal Chapel.

(S/E) Turn your back on the wash house and head left. At the junction, turn right and follow the tarmac road; this is the Chemin de l’Hermitage. You will reach a Y-junction.

(1) Continue in the same direction along the stony path and leave the village. Ignore the paths to the left and right, and continue along the main path. You will reach another Y-junction.

(2) Follow the path to the left until you reach the junction, then turn right to arrive in the village of L'Aubépin.

(3) In front of the town hall, on the left-hand side, there is a well. Immediately after the junction, turn right.
A small sign indicates that you should climb up to the right along a grassy path to see the castle ruins.

(4) Head back down and turn left to rejoin the Main Street

(3) Turn right and walk to the war memorial. With your back to the memorial, take the road marked ‘No entry except residents’ opposite (Chemin des Buclières), and keep to the right. Follow this stony path, GR®59 (red and white markings), to the main road (D3).

(5) Once on the main road, take care, follow the road to the left for a few metres, then cross over and join the stony path:GR®59. Follow this path to the Planche au Loup crossroads. Leave the red and white markings.

(6) Turn right towards Villette. This descent crosses the road twice, so take care. You will emerge in the village of Villette.

(7) Take the road on the left; at the first junction (yellow signs), turn right to leave the road and head down to the Allonal car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 306 m - Allonal wash house and chapel
  2. 1 : km 0.33 - alt. 306 m - Crossroads at the village exit
  3. 2 : km 1.14 - alt. 397 m - Y-junction
  4. 3 : km 2.22 - alt. 483 m - Aubépin village junction
  5. 4 : km 2.51 - alt. 493 m - Ruins. Viewpoint.
  6. 5 : km 3.39 - alt. 541 m - Junction D3
  7. 6 : km 4.73 - alt. 551 m - La Planche au Loup
  8. 7 : km 5.99 - alt. 387 m - Villette
  9. S/E : km 6.7 - alt. 306 m - Allonal wash house and chapel

Notes

This walk can be extended by combining it with the Aubépin and Saint-Jean viewpoints, described previously.
Water is not drinkable at Allonal and L'Aubépin.
Easy trails, but wear shoes with comfortable soles (stony paths).

Worth a visit

(S/E) Allonal Chapel: exhibitions in summer, wash house.
(4) Castle ruins: All that remains is a pretty chapel and a tower, a pleasant spot for a break with stunning views over the Bresse.
L'Aubépin: tower, chapel, picnic area.
Villette: on the descent fromthe GR® to the village, you pass a statue of the Virgin Mary on a pleasantly landscaped (private) plot.
From Villette, a short detour is possible to Nanc (approx. 2 km round trip) and its lovely little church. Follow the yellow signs and yellow markings.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
User 27505502

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A good climb at the start, then through the forest, along the edges of fields and, inevitably, a good descent... Part of the hike was done in fog, which was a shame as we missed out on the views, but it was still enjoyable.

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Jimmy71
Jimmy71

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, fairly easy walk. There's a nice spot for a picnic at the end.

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lyly953
lyly953

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A lovely walking route! Be careful at the start – it’s quite a steep climb, and some parts of the route can be slippery!

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Vané01
Vané01

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

A lovely walk with varied scenery and beautiful views.
The route is fairly easy with a few short climbs.

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Azimut71
Azimut71

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely walk. I took a slight detour by taking the direct path from Allonal to L'Aubépin: it’s shorter, but not quicker, as the elevation gain is the same (and it’s uphill!).
Between 3 and 5, the GR markings follow the track, but the path was perfectly passable at the end of summer.

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terreferme
terreferme

Thanks for the clarification!

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jmae
jmae

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely route with some good climbs.
Please note! The junction known as ‘La Planche au Loup’ no longer exists. It is now called ‘Creuze’. The sign pointing to Villette on the right is located on the left-hand side of the path and is only visible when approaching from the opposite direction.

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foyer laique
foyer laique

Hike not yet completed

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