La Givrine – l'Arzière via Vermeilley

de fr

A lovely circular walk starting from the Givrine train stop on the Nyon–Saint-Cergues–Morez line. A gentle stroll through the pastures of the Swiss Jura, a stone’s throw from the French border, which presents no particular difficulty. Many sections are tarmac-surfaced, but you can walk on the short grass at the side of the path at any time.

Details

n°35746800
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.01 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 889 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 879 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 4,790 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 3,976 ft
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Photos

Pastures

Description of the walk

The walk starts at the car park of the Givrine restaurant.

(S/E) Follow the tarmac path which climbs towards the cheese dairy for a good kilometre until you reach a Y-junction.

(1) At the edge of the forest, leave a path signposted “Les Carroz” on your left and continue along the road until you reach another junction.

(2) Continue along the road, ignoring a path on the left. Continue for 200 m past the Genolière mountain pasture (refreshment hut in winter).

(3) Turn left onto a path that crosses the pasture towards the forest. Then follow the yellow markings to the Vermeilley mountain pasture and cross it to a T-junction.

(4) Turn left towards L'Arzière, ignore a path on the left and continue to the next fork

(5) Turn left and follow the road to the Arzière mountain pasture.

(6) At the mountain pasture, turn left, ignoring the yellow signposting, and walk along the left-hand side of the fence marking the boundary of the pasture. The path becomes clearly marked after about fifty metres; follow it southwards first, up a short climb, then down a pretty little valley. Join a forest track.

(7) Follow it to the left; after about 200 m, you will pass the Grütli chalet and, 350 m further on, reach a crossroads.

(8) Take a well-marked path that descends to the right towards La Givrine (via a forest track). After an 800-metre descent through the forest, the path joins the tarmac road taken on the way out.

(2) Follow it to the right, taking the reverse route of the outward journey to return to the Givrine restaurant (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 3,976 ft - La Givrine car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.82 - alt. 4,278 ft - Chemin du Carroz
  3. 2 : mi 1.04 - alt. 4,386 ft - Common junction for outward and return journeys
  4. 3 : mi 1.75 - alt. 4,403 ft - Pasture path
  5. 4 : mi 3.09 - alt. 4,360 ft - Vermeilley junction
  6. 5 : mi 3.56 - alt. 4,537 ft - Arzière junction
  7. 6 : mi 4.49 - alt. 4,734 ft - Arzière Mountain Pasture
  8. 7 : mi 5.07 - alt. 4,649 ft - Forest track
  9. 8 : mi 5.41 - alt. 4,652 ft - Forest track junction
  10. S/E : mi 7.01 - alt. 3,980 ft - La Givrine car park

Notes

In summer, be careful of cows, especially if you are walking with a dog. A few sightings of wolves this spring have altered the behaviour of the livestock, so take the usual precautions. Also, do not forget to close the gates behind you to prevent them from leaving the pasture.

Worth a visit

Shortly before reaching the Alpage de l’Arzière (6), at an altitude of 1,458 metres, you can turn left up to the Chalet du Carroz (refreshments available on Saturdays and Sundays), situated at 1,508 metres, from where you can enjoy a magnificent view of the Swiss and French Alps. Then head back down the red and white marked path to the (8) of the standard route.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 4 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
User 29605910

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 08, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Everything’s fine apart from the distances given for the first few stages (especially the path after the Genolière mountain pasture, which must be between 500 and 1,000 metres past the mountain chalet). Personally, I’d strongly recommend taking the route via the Calloz chalet rather than via the mountain pasture on stages 6–7–8.

But lovely peace and quiet and natural surroundings.

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cra
cra

i messed up at the start. I drove in the wrong direction to find the starting point and wasted a lot of time. I returned to the rectory and saw the station. I followed the yellow signs, but after a few kilometres we arrived at a station, which was the actual starting point. As it was getting late, I was unable to do the hike. We met two people who took us back to the rectory, so I was very disappointed with my day

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domi83260
domi83260

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike alternating between roads, tracks, trails and pastures. We even caught a glimpse of Mont Blanc. There were seven of us and we thoroughly enjoyed this hike.

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O de Mucelle
O de Mucelle

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : Yes

The route is mainly on roads and is ideal for bicycles and snowshoeing in winter. The description is very accurate. Be careful at point 7, look out for the trees on the right as the signs are a little hidden!

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Philhou
Philhou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice hike. On the other hand, it's not a summit, so you never get a very wide panorama. However, the scenery is magnificent! Bring plenty of water in very fine weather!

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