The Forest of Citeaux

A lovely walk in a natural setting where you can see and hear wildlife that is always present.
The Citeaux State Forest, covering an area of 3,564 hectares, was created during the Revolution through the merger of a royal estate and Cistercian lands. It is a former marshland situated on the lower terraces of the Saône Valley.
Perfect for a Sunday stroll with the family.
Please note: some paths have disappeared; check the notices; changes are currently being considered

Details

236372
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.43 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 41 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 41 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 225 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 184 m

Description of the walk

The route starts at the junction of the D12a, Route de Bonnencontre, and the Fesques forest track.

(S/E) Head north-east, take the Fesques forest road which descends towards the Etang Millot and continue to its end.

(1) Take the path that enters the woods on your right and leads to the pond’s embankment, which you follow for a few dozen metres.

(2) Turn right onto a grassy path running alongside a ditch and continue until you come to a clearing on your left.

(3) Find a way to cross the ditch, then follow the wide path leading to a dirt track, which you follow until you reach a junction with another grassy path.

(4) Take this path on the right for about 500m and, at the end, you’ll come to another track.

(5) Turn left onto this path and follow it to Charrey-sur-Saône, ignoring all the tracks on your right or left.

(6) When you reach the first houses in Charrey-sur-Saône, turn right onto the Route des Étangs for about 200 metres.

(7) Take a path on your left that runs alongside a nursery and leads onto a dirt track; take this track to the left (this path leads to Bonnencontre) and you will reach a small wood.

(8) Turn right. At the last houses, turn onto the dirt track on your right which leads to a former tip, then follow this track until you reach the edge of the woods.

:9:: Do not take the small path in front of you, but walk along the edge of the woodland on the right for 30 to 50 metres until you reach a small clearing. At this point, enter the woodland via a path sloping down to the left, cross a small bridge and continue straight ahead. At the end of this path, you will see a white forest track on your left.

(10) Turn left onto this forest track until you reach the D12a.

(11) Then turn right onto this main road and follow it for 500m to return to your starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 225 m - Start
  2. 1 : km 1.47 - alt. 207 m - Turn right towards Etang Millot
  3. 2 : km 2.04 - alt. 207 m - Crossroads after the embankment
  4. 3 : km 2.63 - alt. 210 m - Wooded area, turn left
  5. 4 : km 3.7 - alt. 206 m - At the junction, take the path on the right
  6. 5 : km 4.14 - alt. 205 m - Crossroads towards Charrey
  7. 6 : km 6.7 - alt. 185 m - At the junction, take the Route des Étangs on the right
  8. 7 : km 6.96 - alt. 190 m - Leave the path of the ponds and turn left
  9. 8 : km 7.53 - alt. 192 m - Bonnencontre, small wood, turn right
  10. 9 : km 9.23 - alt. 205 m - Edge of the woods, turn right
  11. 10 : km 10.08 - alt. 207 m - Forest track
  12. 11 : km 11.63 - alt. 221 m - D12a, turn right
  13. S/E : km 12.43 - alt. 225 m - Finish

Notes

Make sure you have good walking shoes, and don’t forget to bring water and a few energy bars.
Some very muddy sections after rain.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

3.3 / 5
Based on 13 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.3 / 5
Route interest
3.2 / 5
User 26375861
• Edited:

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We had a rather pleasant hike, but the entire section through the forest was difficult to follow. Perhaps the paths change a little each year.
I had to use GPS to figure out where I was and find the path I had lost several times.
Some sections are not connected by paths, so you have to fumble around a bit with the directions and GPS to follow the route.
Otherwise, the setting is lovely, and the start and end points in the fields are very beautiful.

Machine-translated

User 11589388

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Be sure to wear high-top shoes because at some point you'll find yourself in the middle of the bush!
Not cleared at all.
Socks and shoes full of grass seeds

Machine-translated

NanaDidi
NanaDidi

Overall rating : 1.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Whilst the start of the walk poses no problems (just follow a forest track), the rest is a complete disaster. The pond we’re supposed to reach is on private land (no entry) and even if you were to break that rule, the various paths described simply don’t exist – or haven’t for a long time, I suppose. It would probably be a good idea to remove the descriptions of these now obsolete routes.
BUT (there’s always a but) we had a lovely time by the pond, taking in the sights and sounds of the beautiful, wild countryside (apart from the nearby road...).

Machine-translated

JeanClaude
JeanClaude

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

It should be noted that we had no GPS
no signposts
The forest paths hadn’t been mowed, so we had to make our way through tall grass and brambles
unable to find point 3 to reach point 4, so we got lost and didn’t finish the hike
no car park at the start and a barrier 10 metres from the road on the forest track

Machine-translated

p.anton
p.anton
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 18, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

An easy walk using the app on Google Maps. It’s a shame that a significant part of the route is outside the forest and rather uninteresting

Machine-translated

Eymard Franck
Eymard Franck

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Not very interesting. Difficult to find point 3. Poor description.
We went round in circles, heading to the far end of the lake without finding the cut-off to the left.

Machine-translated

Chantal Dimanche
Chantal Dimanche

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

An easy walk that took us three hours, but it’s best to have the app on your phone with GPS enabled, as some sections in the forest after the pond are tricky: there are no signposts there, and one forest path looks just like any other.
Otherwise, if there’s a bit of architectural heritage in either of the two villages, Bonnencontre and Charrey-sur-Saône, it might be nice to include it for a bit of variety.
Another interesting ‘tip’: in the second half of the walk, before heading back into the forest, you pass rows of blackcurrant bushes – a local speciality – and this isn’t all that common (personally, I’d only ever seen them here and there in gardens and never on such a large scale), so it’s worth mentioning to walkers in the description
Finally, one last point: the choice of starting point isn’t ideal as it’s difficult to park.
It’s easier to park at point 11 or in one of the two villages.
But the oak forest is magnificent and we saw plenty of wildlife tracks in the muddy ground and the spring blooms of wood anemones, cuckoo primroses, periwinkles... so a lovely day

Machine-translated

henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

Finding your way in the forest isn’t easy, as it’s difficult to match the map to the terrain. In this specific case, I’d advise you to use the GPS app, in addition to the route description and the route map.

The aim isn’t to be glued to your smartphone, but to have a tool that allows you to check waypoints and thus clear up any doubts about your direction.

See you soon

Machine-translated

SOUTHA
SOUTHA

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 07, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

We went on this hike yesterday, which was a Sunday
First thing to avoid on that day, as it crosses two private hunting grounds – something we were certainly made aware of by a rather aggressive hunter on a drive.
Otherwise, be careful at point 3: do not turn at the first ditch near the pond (marked green on the map). Same issue as in the previous comment.
The route is completely flat for those who don’t like climbing, but the time taken is suitable for keen walkers

Machine-translated

Voyageurs21
Voyageurs21

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 05, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

I can't find point 3!

Machine-translated

POINSIN JF
POINSIN JF

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 22, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

A rather monotonous route, with no signposting whatsoever, and the map isn’t much help either: for example, the clearing on the first straight stretch is two-thirds of the way along, not halfway. You walk alongside the pond, whereas the map gives the impression that you’re supposed to cross it, and so on...
We covered 17 kilometres instead of 12

Machine-translated

lopluvet
lopluvet

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 10, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

all in all, the forestry work is causing a bit of disruption

Machine-translated

sly521
sly521

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello
The only tricky bit is point no. 3 on the map. We had trouble finding it.
Otherwise, a lovely walk.

Machine-translated

AchilleL
AchilleL

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The description and comments provided are clear and accurate. Many thanks.
However, the estimated time is based on good walkers.

General note:
BEWARE OF TICKS THIS YEAR.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.