The Saracen rock

This route takes you to the Belvédère de la Roche Sarrasine viewpoint through woodland and back along a small road to the village of Les Fourgs.

Details

88
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.06 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 110 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 110 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,193 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,080 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) From the Fourgs tourist office, cross the road and take the small road between two houses. Turn right, then left at the small crossroads. The road is bordered by two meadows. Then turn left towards the factories at the end of Les Fourgs.

(1) Once you reach them, turn right to pass between the buildings, then take the carriage road that branches off to the left. Follow it roughly in a straight line, ignoring the paths that come from the left. The path gradually climbs into the forest. Once you are high enough, the forest becomes less dense and the path narrows to a mere trail.
Go through the first fence, then the second. You are now not far from a cliff, the Roche Sarrasine.

(2) A little further on, there is a small shelter with a viewpoint equipped with barriers. Enjoy the view of the Château de Joux.
Go through another fence and continue along the road in the same direction. When you reach the farm buildings, turn right and go down the road. You will soon arrive at Les Granges Bailly.

(3) Turn right and continue straight ahead. The road descends slightly to the village of Les Fourgs. Once you reach the village, go down the main street to your starting point, the tourist office. (S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,083 m - Le Ptit Bourri
  2. 1 : km 1.17 - alt. 1,086 m - Platex factory
  3. 2 : km 5.28 - alt. 1,179 m - Belvédère de la Roche Sarrasine
  4. 3 : km 6.94 - alt. 1,170 m - Les Granges Bailly
  5. S/E : km 10.06 - alt. 1,083 m - Aux deux saisons

Notes

The start is right next to the tourist office.

Worth a visit

The Fourgs cheese shop in the town hall building is excellent.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 11 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.2 / 5
Route interest
3.8 / 5
OT Métabief
OT Métabief

Hello,
Thank you for your constructive feedback. We're delighted that you enjoyed the walk. Don't forget to try out our other routes.

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yvondm89
yvondm89

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello
A lovely little hike, minor corrections via the Visiorando app, ascent 246 m, 140 steps; descent 247 m, 142 steps; time without breaks 2½ hours; beautiful view of La Cluse and Mijoux and Fort Malher
Very pleasant for a family walk, but watch out for children on the edge of the cliff at Rocher Sarrasine; the viewpoint is secure and very clean. On a beautiful sunny day, the path was busy but not crowded; very pleasant; thank you

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erpe
erpe

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello,
This route is best taken in summer, at least when the snow has melted.
In March 2022, we found it very snowy and the proposed route was not passable in the initial map approach.
The tourist office has been moved to the outskirts of the village, far from the entrance. This means that the route description is difficult to understand from the outset.
In winter, you must therefore start from the exit of Les Fourgs (the current tourist office, at the bottom of the ski slopes) and follow the yellow markers on the other side of the road, leading from Les Fourgs to the Roche Sarrasine viewpoint, crossing waterlogged (very muddy) meadows along a route more or less parallel to the GR5.
On the way, there is a beautiful view from the viewpoint of the Doubs valley and the stunning Château de Joux.
The circular proposed by Visorando is therefore divided into two parts, forcing us to do only one...
From an "easy" rating, we move on to a "moderate" rating, the main difficulty being that half of the hike is through soggy meadows (snow melt) of no particular interest, making progress tedious.
Despite everything, we were accompanied by glorious sunshine!
A walk to be repeated later in the season...

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etienne92.d
etienne92.d

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant 10 km walk
The first part through the forest is very pleasant.
Picnic at the viewpoint in the hut because it was very windy that day (cleaned by the village youth in August 2020.
Thank you to them )

Then a pleasant trail to the restaurant/lodge.
Return to the village by road, 3.4 km
Lovely walk, thank you.

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peloutte
peloutte

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely 10 km family hike with beautiful views of Pontarlier, Fort Malher and Château de Joux from the Roche Sarazinne viewpoint. 10 km.
Nice.

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gigolette
gigolette

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk, without any difficulty. Our magnificent landscapes of the upper Doubs: coniferous forests, flower-filled pastures, gentians, sunshine, varied trails, nothing is missing. Arrival at the magnificent viewpoint. View of the Doubs, Château de Joux, fort and picnic area cleaned and restored by the children of Les Fourgs. Thank you to them.

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RandoschezViso
RandoschezViso

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

It's not easy to find your way around at first, with all the houses and industrial areas, and you might take a wrong turn, but it's no big deal.
The hike is easy and very pleasant in the forest, though a little less so on the sections of local roads, which are quite long.
A good time without any pretensions.

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franzcabas
franzcabas

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 08, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

under a bright winter sun...what more could you ask for?

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Janedevelotte
Janedevelotte

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

These landscapes of the Haut-Doubs under the sun are always a real delight!

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Jef70
Jef70

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 12, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Magnificent viewpoint

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GORMOND
GORMOND

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2011
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing

The only nice part is the viewpoint itself. Everything else seemed rather ordinary to us. There are so many magnificent hikes in the area that you can, and should, forget about this one... Not worth your time.

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bibi
bibi ★

Hello,

I've just redrawn the route on the map, which was indeed a little off course; it was the track from my GPS. Sorry about that.

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F6Mig
F6Mig

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2013
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very well marked trail on the ground - simplistic, random, convoluted Visorando description... don't forget your 1:25,000 map to follow the markings.

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