La Côte du Cerf

Car park at the start of the Haut Saugeais Blanc trails (Auberge de La Perdrix in the commune of Hauterive-la-Fresse. Yellow and blue markings, Route No. 12 ‘La Côte du Cerf’.

(S/E) As you leave the car park, turn immediately left onto the stony path, crossing the pasture. At the fence, follow it to the right (without crossing to the other side), heading towards “Vy aux moines”. You’ll reach a wider path which you follow to the hamlet of La Fresse.

(1) Head down to the right, crossing the main road, and climb the hillside via the small path opposite. At the first junction, turn left (hairpin bend). About a hundred metres further up, at a logging area, leave the marked path and head straight to the right (despite the red and white White Cross). After a short climb, you’ll pass the Franco-Swiss customs signs and a boundary marker dating from 1766.

(2) Look out for a small path, two metres from the marker, which climbs to the left and takes you along the border, passing two further markers. You’ll reach a stony track, rejoining the signposted route and continuing straight on between the two isolated buildings of the Côte du Cerf, until you reach a hiking junction.

(3) Head straight across the pasture, passing another boundary marker. A little further on, at marker 127, carved with a coat of arms, take a moment to look over to the French side to spot a fleur-de-lis. Stay on this lovely rocky ledge path to reach a farm track. Walk another fifty metres or so until you reach the start of a gentle descent.

(4) Take the path on the right, towards a boundary stone and the unobstructed viewpoint over the Franco-Swiss mountains. Return to the track and head straight on, descending the wooded slope. When it starts to climb again, turn sharp right onto a descending stony track. At the next junction, head down to the left towards the main road, which you cross, continuing straight on (Route No. 12) for about fifty paces.

(5) Leave this farm track and take a forest path down to the left to join the Combe Froide forest road, which you follow to the left (towards La Perdrix), passing some beautiful sinkholes. At the next junction, turn left to reach the hunters’ hut, where they kindly lend out their picnic table.

(6) Continue straight on. As you leave the woods, leave the wider road on your left and continue straight on for two hundred metres, ignoring the road that turns sharply right towards the hamlet of La Combe d’Hauterive.

(7) Continue straight on across the pasture, along the stony path, using the metal gate. Cross the pasture lengthways, heading towards a pine forest. On emerging, continue roughly straight ahead, following the path marked out in the grass and passing through the fences via the metal gates. You will soon see the inn and the car park. (S/E)