La Tour du Merle via Plan Fournier from Champagny-en-Vanoise

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

A lovely hike done in a small group.

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Date of your route : May 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We went on a brilliant hike; it was a bit of a slog at the start

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Date of your route : Aug 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

At the start of the walk, the path is closed due to a rockslide (local by-law), so continue for 250 metres along the road to the winery and take the path that climbs to the left just past a sawmill.
A fairly shaded route.
Enjoy the walk

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Date of your route : Aug 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We loved rediscovering this side of Champagny. Its advantage, during this heatwave, is that it faces north-west and is entirely wooded (the coolness was even more pronounced the day after the storms). This walk offers a variety of views. It gets off to a gentle start: a small bridge over the Nantel stream, which is notoriously turbulent. But already, after 10 minutes (point 1), we leave the suggested route. Heading due east, we take a wilder path (a steep climb from 1,300 m to 1,450 m) and make some lovely discoveries: a small waterfall, a long footbridge, and a scree slope outside the forest offering a sweeping panorama. After this 40-minute detour, we rejoin the route (point 2). A slight change of slope and viewpoint: Mont de la Guerre, La Plagne vs Courchevel, Dent du Villard, Vanoise. Once again, we leave the circular route suggested by Franck, choosing instead to climb directly from point 3 to the Tour du Merle. A tough, very rugged climb in the Grande Combe, exploring the EDF structures: we follow one of the two penstocks and pass window no. 12 (alt. 1,621 m); finally comes the pleasant ridge from the 1,750 m mark to point 8. It takes over 2½ hours (800 m elevation gain) to reach the foot of the Tour du Merle. We didn’t meet a soul (apart from chamois and squirrels); the route doesn’t see the record numbers of visitors found on the trails through the Gorges de la Pointille or Plan Fournier. Return via the Enclos du Seil, points 8 to 10. WARNING: the creation of the Seil forest track has disfigured this entire slope. This scar will fade over the years. But the small hiking trails have been replaced by a 6–8 m wide gully. A must-visit between points 10 and 11, you then have three options to reach the Pont des Chailles: this newly created, barren track; a wide path joining the old forest track passing near Liotraz; a wilder path (continue for 150 m towards Champagny-le-Haut) which leads to the first hairpin bend of the Pont des Chailles forest track. All in all, a pleasant 10 km walk with ever-changing scenery (a 4-hour walk for us).

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