The Abbey of Grace of God

A short, varied and shaded route to discover the ancient Hiboux valley, the old Cistercian abbey and the magnificent Audeux waterfall.

Details

71144
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.51 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 124 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 118 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 534 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 434 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking in front of the Abbaye de la Grâce Dieu.

(S/E) At the end of the car park, on the abbey side, turn right and follow the yellow and blue markers. Cross the small bridge over the Audeux river, then turn right again, with your back to the abbey. 100 metres from the bridge, on the right, a small staircase leads to a small cave. After the cave, continue up the same stony path, following the signs until you reach another stony path.

(1) Take it on the left (elevation 523 on the IGN map). After about 300 metres, look out for a yellow and blue cross on the left, which will prevent you from continuing along this farm track. Turn left onto a forest track. You will only see the signposts once you have turned off, but continue along this well-marked track, even though there are few signposts. However, crosses will prevent you from taking certain paths. Towards the end, this path widens and becomes stony before joining a small tarmac road.

(2) Take this road on the left and continue until you see the sign for the first viewpoint, Le Belvédère de l'Abbaye.

(3) A path on the left will take you there.

(3) After enjoying the view, turn back and return to the small road, then turn left. A new sign indicates the second viewpoint, Le Belvédère de la Cascade, which you reach via a path on the left. Unfortunately, during the leafy seasons, the vegetation will prevent you from seeing much. Now you have two options:

(5) If you want to visit the Grotte de la Glacière, turn back to the road, then turn left and you will soon arrive. After your visit, retrace your steps to the Belvédère de la Cascade or (although I haven't tried it, as I chose the route option, I believe there is a marked trail opposite the cave houses that intersects with the trail coming from the viewpoint.

(5) Leaving the viewpoint, walk back up about ten metres, accompanied by the sound of the stream, and continue to the left along the cliff (always with caution) on an unmarked path which quickly joins another marked path that probably comes from the Glacière cave. At the junction, turn left.

(6) The path leads to the D427. Do not take this road; a signpost invites you to descend to the left. Join the D427 again and continue downhill to the left until you reach the bridge over the Audeux. The signposts then invite you to turn right towards Orsans via the D120. Ignore them and continue downhill to the left (towards Aïssey), following the Audeux, which will take you back to the abbey.

(7) 300 metres from the bridge, on the left, there is a small path a few metres long overlooking the stream and some old ruins (do not venture too far as it quickly becomes steep).

(8) After a hairpin bend, in a curve, at a large sign, a stone path climbs up to the beautiful Audeux waterfall and the ruins of what is probably an old mill. Return to the D120 to get back to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 435 m - Abbey car park. Small bridge over the - Audeux (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 1.21 - alt. 513 m - Stony path
  3. 2 : km 2.53 - alt. 531 m - Les Fonderaux road junction
  4. 3 : km 2.9 - alt. 530 m - Fork in the road towards the viewpoint
  5. 4 : km 3.09 - alt. 495 m - View of the Abbaye de la Grâce Dieu - Vue sur l'abbaye
  6. 5 : km 4.14 - alt. 516 m - The Cascade Viewpoint
  7. 6 : km 4.67 - alt. 534 m - Fork in the road towards D427
  8. 7 : km 5.18 - alt. 504 m - Ruins
  9. 8 : km 6.12 - alt. 470 m - Audeux waterfall
  10. S/E : km 7.51 - alt. 435 m - Parking in front of the - Abbaye de la Grâce-Dieu

Notes

The route includes cliff-edge paths and unsecured viewpoints.

For users of hiking GPS devices, please rely on the description and markings. Some trails are not shown on the IGN map and, as I was unable to retrieve the route on the ground, I have drawn them as best I could. The GPX track exported from Visorando may be inaccurate in some places. Hi-tech hikers, please send me your GPX track. Thank you!

Worth a visit

The Abbaye de la Grâce Dieu.

Grotte de la Glacière: From 1 March to 20 November. Tel: 03.81.60.43.44 (admission fee). The only ice cave in France located at low altitude (525 m). Its ice formations, stalactites and stalagmites welcome visitors 68 m below ground.

Museum of Comtois Houses in Nancray: The Comtois houses gathered at the open-air museum showcase the traditional way of life in this region, with the natural environment reconstructed to include gardens, fields, orchards and a pond. Farm animals are also present.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 59 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
User 26064128

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant, well-marked short route.

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User 12922011
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with magnificent viewpoints and a beautiful waterfall at the end. An easy walk, mostly through woodland. Just one minor point about the last part, which is along the roadside, but you can put up with that when you're surrounded by nature

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Mme Jeannin
Mme Jeannin

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful, shaded hike! It's a shame that the return trip is on the departmental road after the bridge over the Audeux. Keep that in mind. It's true that if you take another path, you won't pass by the beautiful Audeux waterfall. You can get there by car after the hike.
Question: why not take the path after the bridge on the right that leads to the circuit: "La Grotte de la Glacière"
n°558182?

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reitop
reitop

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike. No difficulty, interesting viewpoint.

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fcmimi
fcmimi

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

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

pleasant walk

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Yellema
Yellema

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

An easy and pleasant hike, thanks in particular to the two viewpoints and the passage at the foot of the beautiful Audeux waterfall. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the (long) end of the route along the roadside is dangerous and completely spoils the return journey. Otherwise, the route is well signposted and the instructions on Visorando are clear and useful.

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chbg25
chbg25

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 06, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route through the forest. However, there is too much time spent along the road where vehicles pass close by and quickly. Not recommended with young children or dogs on this section, which makes up half of the hike. So we started at the Glacière cave, followed the ridge line and then descended to the Abbey where we had a picnic. We then returned by the same path through the woods.

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carinec21
carinec21

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike done on Saturday, 09/03/2024. Still as nice as ever. I'm not usually a fan of waterfalls that are accessible just a few metres from a car park and a road, as I find that it takes away some of the charm, but I like this hike and this waterfall (be careful if you get really close to the waterfall, as the ground is always quite slippery). I've done it several times, always with dogs, with 1, 2 and 3 dogs. And it's definitely best with one dog. Not that it's technically difficult, far from it, but the last 2 km of road are dangerous. It's a winding road with quite a lot of traffic, including people who drive quite fast, even when they see pedestrians, so be careful. You can often see chamois at the viewpoints. Personally, I don't find the second viewpoint very interesting, but you can still see a bit of the waterfall from the top and the rocks opposite. In general, the landscapes on this hike around the abbey are nice.

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claude49maguy54
claude49maguy54

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant, shaded walk
The signposting is correct
Great for families, visit the ice cave and the beautiful Audeux waterfall

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Degay
Degay

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a short, very peaceful and shaded walk – very pleasant

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Rhéa25
Rhéa25

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 18, 2022
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A short, easy walk, but really very pleasant.
Beautiful views, passing by the abbey and its church, which is truly superb, was a wonderful discovery.
The route runs through woodland, which is pleasant in winter as the view remains unobstructed by bare trees.

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Christelleetpascal
Christelleetpascal

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, we did this hike yesterday with a dog. It was very beautiful, with a very pleasant section through the woods. As it goes through a lot of forest, this hike is ideal when it's hot. The only downside is the return trip along the road. It's busy and we had the misfortune of encountering a driver who thought he was on a race track. So it's better to head towards Orsans at the end of the hike. The return trip along the road was quite long and difficult with a dog.
Otherwise, it was a beautiful hike, and I'll be back 👌😀

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GUAT25
GUAT25

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike, beautiful view of the abbey from the lookout point.
Tip: return via the purple dotted trail on the map rather than the road!

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coco1407
coco1407

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

The first part of the route is perfect. However, it ends (over 2 km) on a busy road! We didn't understand why the description sent us on a section that was contrary to the signposting, which indicated a cross, but we couldn't find any other solutions. The end therefore needs to be reviewed!
Thank you. The walk was still beautiful!

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HNS 25220
HNS 25220
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 30, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The hike is enjoyable overall. Although the description could be improved, it is fairly easy to find your way, as long as you pay attention. The route has naturally changed a little since it was first described. A few additional signs (red) indicate the right directions and paths. However, the first kilometre may surprise those who rely a little too much on the text... Once you reach the ridge, it's very easy and it's useful to read the interesting information panels.
first viewpoint (return): no benches, which is a shame if you want to have a picnic, and no rubbish bins (take your rubbish with you). Absolutely superb view.
second viewpoint: be careful if you are hiking with young children...you won't hear the sound of the water until you are on the way back, i.e. on the road or when you reach the waterfall, which is a very pleasant and enjoyable spot. As for a picnic along the way, it's not easy unless you go to point 5 (grassy area on a bend) or near the abbey. There were few signs of animals when we were there, and no birds either. Parking is available at the start and end of the walk, including for campervans.
Enjoy the hike! HNS 25220.

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