La Borne au Lion from Noirecombe

de fr

A lovely climb up to the Borne au Lion mountain pasture, with magnificent views of the upper Jura range and the west face of the Reculet.

Details

n°215091
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Snowshoeing
    Activity: Snowshoeing
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.64 mi
  • ◔
    Duration according to the author: 4 hrs 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,772 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,791 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 4,213 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 2,667 ft
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Description of the walk

Access: From Bellegarde, head up towards Chezery-Forens via the D991. At Chezery, take the D14 towards Montanges. After a few hundred metres, turn right onto a small road that climbs up the hillside towards Noire Combe. At Noire Combe, park on the right just before Le Combet.

(S/E) At the Combet junction, follow signs for La Borne au Lion (to the left) along the road, which is snow-covered from this point onwards. The road soon gives way to a track suitable for vehicles. After about ten minutes, you reach the summer car park.

(1) Continue past the car park. At the first hairpin bend on the track, carry straight on along the hillside, following the sign for La Borne au Lion.

(2) The path follows the mountainside, turning westwards. You enter a colder valley (caution: potential avalanches)

(3) When you reach a fork in the road, ignore the path on the right that descends to the bottom of the valley and continue along the path that climbs up the mountainside.

(4) Reach the Combe du Gorgeai. Ignore the path climbing up this valley on the left and continue to the right to exit it. The path winds upwards to reach the old mill.

(5) Leave the forest and climb across the mountain pasture heading north-west, leaving Les Magras on your left.

(6) Reach the Borne au Lion on the plateau.

Return via the same route and head back to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 2,687 ft - Noire Combe car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.37 - alt. 2,884 ft - Car park at the start of the Borne au Lion
  3. 2 : mi 1 - alt. 3,264 ft - The path turns left (west)
  4. 3 : mi 1.4 - alt. 3,251 ft - Junction with the path at the bottom of the valley
  5. 4 : mi 1.58 - alt. 3,474 ft - Junction with Chemin de la Combe du Georgeai
  6. 5 : mi 1.99 - alt. 3,957 ft - Old Mill
  7. 6 : mi 2.3 - alt. 4,213 ft - La Borne Au Lion
  8. S/E : mi 4.64 - alt. 2,667 ft - Noire Combe car park

Notes

Before setting out on this hike, remember to check the weather forecast.
Be aware of possible snow slides between (2) and (4).

Worth a visit

The Borne au Lion mountain pasture has significant historical significance. The Borne au Lion is a boundary marker between the Spanish-ruled Franche-Comté and France and Savoy (early 17th century). An information panel is sheltered behind the Borne au Lion.

Above the Borne au Lion, there is also a Second World War memorial. A field hospital had been set up on the mountain pasture (sign on the first Magras building). Next to the memorial, take a look at the postcards of the mountain pasture, which show how people have used the woodland and pastures over time.

Along the route, you can spot tracks of wild boar, rabbits or hares, and probably roe deer.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 5 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.8 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
Franzi
Franzi

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Walk undertaken on foot, in dry weather. There were a lot of leaves on the path. As signposts are few and far between, it was necessary to use GPS at times.
There are still many trees that have been uprooted, as mentioned in the comment dated 7 June 2021, but the path has been cleared and it is easy to get through everywhere.
On the initial part of the route, you pass through areas where it is clear that rockfalls are frequent. This is not reassuring, and I would avoid walking there after rain.
From point 4 in the description, the path climbs steeply. I would strongly advise against doing this walk on snowshoes.

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jachamuller
jachamuller

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The path is impassable, with numerous fallen trees, landslides, etc. – strongly not recommended at present

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

It’s quite difficult to find your way around.

Finding your way in the forest isn’t easy, as it can sometimes be difficult to match the map to the terrain. In this specific case, in addition to the route description and the route map, we recommend using the Visorando GPS app.

This tool, offered free of charge by Visorando, allows you to check waypoints and thus resolve any doubts regarding your direction.

See you soon

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Merroux
Merroux

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely walk in the woods. A few tricky sections on snowshoes.
It was quite difficult to find your way.
The estimated time for the route isn’t really accurate.

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bmoos
bmoos

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 24, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely hike at the end of March. We climbed through the forest above a stream. However, because of the snow, there were some dangerous sections after the big left-hand bend, as the snow covered the entire path and sloped down towards the ditch, so we had to be very careful. Point (3) was difficult to spot with the snow, so we went straight on and descended to the stream, but we found the path again on the way back up. A very pretty climb; we continued to the Crêt de Chalamp from the marker at Le Lion, and it’s well worth the effort. However, if there is snow, it is better to take the circular route that reaches the ridge from the south, as the direct approach (arriving from the north, on the ridge) that we took on the way down is very steep.

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randomicseb
randomicseb

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 25, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

A nice walk.

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