The Acacia Fountain

A pleasant walk in the shade of the trees in the Chailluz forest, passing by the Fontaine des Acacias (a forest water source carved into the side of a sinkhole). An easy route through the coniferous woodland.

Details

2200812
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.94 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 174 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 172 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 380 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 324 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Besançon (25000)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.296296° / E 6.031335°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3323ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking at the "Les Petites Baraques" car park in the heart of the Chailluz forest (Besançon).

(S/E) Head towards the barrier blocking the entrance at the bottom of the car park and turn right at the next junction.

(1) Turn left and follow the Saint-Nicolas path until you reach the road.

(2) Turn right and continue along the Route forestière du Ramier until you reach a fork.

(3) There, turn left and continue straight ahead. You will arrive next to the A36 motorway near a fenced-off area with a pond.

(4). Continue slightly to the right and, once you reach a fork, go straight on and continue along a small path heading north-east until you reach a road. There, turn right and follow the road for 900m.

(5) Take the path on the right at the sign for Fontaine des Acacias along a forest track. The Fontaine des Acacias is located below.

(6) Once you have had a look, head back up and turn right onto the path you took earlier, following it to the end.

(7) Take the path on the left, then the next one on the right to rejoin a road (Route forestière des Dupeux).

(8) Turn right onto a path and continue for 800m, then turn left onto the Sentier de Découverte and continue right onto the Sentier du Pêcheur.

(9) Walk past a shelter with educational displays (this should be on your left). Once past the shelter, walk slightly uphill along a path and turn left.
Once on the Chemin des Plaines, continue for 1 km.

(10) Turn right, then left at the next junction. Continue along the path until you reach the Route forestière du Fau du Carré.

(11) Turn left, then 150m further on turn right to reach the edge of the forest.

(12) Continue to the right and, after about a hundred metres, follow the edge of the forest to the left

(13) Turn right again and rejoin the Route forestière du Fau du Carré. Cross this road and take the Sentier du Saint-Nicolas opposite.

(14) Continue to the left and, 600 metres further on, take a small path that leads back to the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 378 m - Les Petites Baraques car park - Parking les petites baraques
  2. 1 : km 0.48 - alt. 343 m - Saint-Nicolas path on the left
  3. 2 : km 1.2 - alt. 350 m - Turn right
  4. 3 : km 2.1 - alt. 342 m - Path on the left
  5. 4 : km 2.96 - alt. 374 m - Motorway retention basin
  6. 5 : km 4.9 - alt. 340 m - Path on the right
  7. 6 : km 5.22 - alt. 330 m - Fontaine des Acacias
  8. 7 : km 5.79 - alt. 332 m - Path on the left
  9. 8 : km 6.45 - alt. 350 m - Path on the right
  10. 9 : km 7.74 - alt. 338 m - Les Grandes Baraques car park - Parking des Grandes baraques - Foret de Chailuz
  11. 10 : km 9.5 - alt. 333 m - Path to the right
  12. 11 : km 10.51 - alt. 348 m - Forest track to the left
  13. 12 : km 11.09 - alt. 365 m - Path on the right
  14. 13 : km 12.18 - alt. 324 m - Path on the right
  15. 14 : km 13.42 - alt. 368 m - Crossroads on the left
  16. S/E : km 13.94 - alt. 378 m - Les Petites Baraques car park

Notes

Both car parks, "Les Petites Baraques" and "Les Grandes Baraques", have space for parking and eating.
The path is mostly shaded by trees.

Worth a visit

The Fontaine des Acacias is a water source in a sinkhole

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 4 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
User 27492512

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant little walk in Chailluz Forest. Accessible to all

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Babibelle
Babibelle
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

At point 1, the barrier is no longer there.
At point 2, you can indeed see the marker post to the left of the road, but the faint path through the pine forest has turned into a muddy mess full of ruts carved out by a forestry machine. Good luck finding the post at the top of the lovely wild sinkhole!
Otherwise, the rest is well signposted and it’s a lovely, peaceful little walk.

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camino70
camino70

Please note that the car park at Les Petites Baraques is no longer accessible by car (see the order issued by the Mayor of Besançon on 18 July 2022 prohibiting vehicle traffic in the Chailluz Forest).

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Esalen
Esalen

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route through a beautiful forest, which I’d classify as ‘Easy’ rather than ‘Moderate’, despite the 14km distance.
A slight disappointment with the “Fontaine des Acacias”: not a drop of water.
On the other hand, it was a lovely surprise to spot two roe deer and… a young wild boar, all on its own…!
A suggestion: starting at Les Grandes Baraques allows you to cover half the route and then head back to the car park for a picnic (the picnic areas are very well equipped), so you can leave your packed lunch in the car.

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Isa25
Isa25

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Thank you for all the hiking suggestions

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