La Pierre à Martin and the Crépy vineyard

Departure from the Grange à Joseph car park, at the foot of an old fortified house in the village of Chilly.

Signposts are present at major intersections.

(S/E) Turn left as you leave the car park and walk along the left-hand side of a leisure area with fitness equipment. At the three-way junction that you will soon come to (elevation 447), turn left towards Bourg Neuf and Château de Thénières and follow a stony track uphill. At the next intersection, turn left and walk between two vineyards. Pass a reservoir on your right and continue along the shaded path. Then descend and rejoin the tarmac road.

(1) At the T-junction, turn right and climb uphill towards Château de Thénières on a stony track. Pass the entrance to a riding centre on your left and climb uphill alongside a stream on your right. Continue along a path that climbs steeply into the forest. Cross the stream and climb up the path, which narrows and winds steeply. You will come out into open terrain and reach the edge of the road (panoramic view of Lake Geneva, the Salève and the Jura mountains).

(2) Then take Impasse des Thénières on the left. Walk past a car park on your right and you will reach a crossroads (entrance to the castle grounds on the left). Turn right and walk past a football stadium on your left. Go through a chicane and continue along the small road. At the crossroads, go straight ahead and walk past Ballaison Church on your left.

(3) At the corner of the church, turn left. Then take the^first right, Route du Veigeret, towards Boisy and La Pierre à Martin. Cross Impasse des Nathées on the right-hand side. Stay on the main road, which climbs steadily, and ignore all the dead ends on either side. Continue until you reach a crossroads in the centre of the hamlet of Veigeret (large cross).

(4) Then follow Chemin de la Pierre à Martin on the left towards Boisy. Just after the recycling bins, turn left into a cul-de-sac towards Notre-Dame des Vignes. After about 100 metres, turn right onto a shaded path. After climbing a flight of steps, ignore a vague steep trail on the left and continue to a small crossroads.

(5) Turn left and follow a good path through the woods that climbs up to the statue of Notre-Dame des Vignes. Go around the statue on the left to reach the bottom of the site: on the right is an information panel and on the left is a path for the return journey. Go back down this path, walk along a field on your left (view of the Pierre à Martin at the bottom of the field) and return to the small crossroads.

(5) Turn left between two fields onto a tree-lined path marked with information signs. At the T-junction, turn left and you will arrive at the Pierre à Martin, which is located in the field and has no access road.

(6) Just after the stone and at the entrance to a meadow, turn right and walk along a fenced meadow on your left. Enter the forest and climb uphill. At an intersection (large sign indicating that you are in a private but welcoming forest), continue straight ahead on a flat path. Further on, the path widens and gives way to a track. Some wet sections may need to be bypassed.

(7) At a group of four beech trees, three on the left and one bearing the number 2 in the middle of the path, turn right. At the "Mont de Boisy" signpost, continue straight ahead towards Boisy. Ignore a path coming from the right and continue to a crossroads.

(8) Then turn right and follow a stony path downhill towards Boisy and Ballaison, leaving the forest. When you reach the first houses, rejoin the tarmac road and ignore a grassy path on the left. At the next intersection (cross), turn left down Chemin du Manège. At the bottom, follow a small road to the right towards Balllaison (view of the Signal des Voirons on the left). Pass a large farm on the left (equestrian centre) and, at the three-way junction that follows, turn right onto Route du Veigeret to return to a crossroads you took earlier.

(4) Then turn left onto Impasse des Malys. Ignore a path on the left and continue straight ahead towards Loisin. Pass between numbers 157 and 178 and continue along a grassy path. Go down between two hedges and then onto open ground (view of Lake Geneva and the Jura). Cross a road (cross), immediately pass a dead end on the left and continue straight ahead, passing an oratory and then a beautiful house on the right. Continue along a stony path and walk past vegetable gardens and small fruit plots on the left.

(9) Cross a small road and first turn left then right to take a grassy path that is closed to motor vehicles. Walk alongside a meadow on your left and a stream on your right. Pass a chicane and continue along a path between two hedges. Pass a second chicane and continue between a field and the stream. Return to the tarmac and leave the grounds of a vineyard on your left. Cross a road (caution, fast traffic) and continue downhill on a smaller road (Chemin du Champlan). After a sharp left turn, ignore a dead end on the right and continue on the small road, which becomes a no-entry road. Continue straight ahead, downhill between the vineyards, and pass a vineyard.

(10) About 350 m after the estate and just before a signpost on the left, turn right onto a path between two vineyard plots (the "Private Property" sign only applies to the plots). After about 100 metres, pass a second "Private property" sign on the right and take the very grassy communal path along the edge of the vineyard. Turn right onto this path and walk along a meadow on your left. At the end, first turn right then left to cross a stream and climb up a good path. You will come out onto a stony track; follow it to the left. At the three-way junction you took at the very beginning of the hike, turn left and you will soon come to the car park on your right (S/E).

In dry weather, good trainers may suffice. Potentially wet sections between (1) and (2) and between (6) and (8).

Water point in the car park at the start (S/E).

Detailed map required (at least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 19 July 2021.

- Extensive panoramic views of Lake Geneva, Salève, Signal des Voirons and the Jura mountains, particularly at (2), between (3) and (4) and between (8) and (10).
- Crépy vineyard, between (S/E) and (1) and between (9) and (S/E).
- Statue of Notre-Dame des Vignes (5).
- La Pierre à Martin (6). An imposing block of gneiss known as an "erratic boulder", which was transported by the Rhône glacier at a time when it extended to this area and was deposited during the deglaciation.
- Beautiful old houses in the village of Ballaison (3) and in Veigeret (4).
- Fortified house in Chilly (15th century) (S/E).