The Châtelot dam

Car park at the bottom of the hamlet of Pissoux, Rue du Barrage, opposite the café. Yellow-blue and yellow-red markings.

(S/E) Take Rue du Barrage on the left, passing between the café and a typical Franche-Comté farmhouse. A short stretch of tarmac road between the fir trees will quickly lead you to beautiful paths that will soon make you forget it.

(1) When you leave the pine forest, just before the first house in the hamlet, at the signpost, turn left onto the stony path towards Le Châtelard, route 31. Then turn left at the first house. At the next fork, go straight up (on the right-hand path) towards the pine forest. At the edge of the woods, continue climbing to the right, ignoring the path that descends to the right.

(2) At the next signpost, when the path turns left, continue towards Le Châtelard on the left. At the next fork, continue climbing to the right to reach the summit of Châtelard (marker post), 1030m. A path leads you to the right to the viewpoint overlooking the Gorges du Doubs. After the viewpoint, begin to descend, skirting beautiful cornices.

(3) When you reach a gravel road in an open area, descend to the right towards the Châtelot dam. This is a beautiful fir forest where, like me, you may be surprised to come face to face with a chamois napping at the foot of a fir tree. Halfway down the slope, ignore a path leading down to the left, continue straight ahead and, at the next fork, descend towards the river on the left. When you see the riverbanks, leave the gravel path and turn left towards the dam.

(4) At the dam, ignore it and focus instead on the beautiful rocks of the Grande Beuge. Then climb the stairs on the left towards the Grotte du Grenier. It's a steep climb, but the well-designed steps make it relatively easy. At the top of the steps, turn right towards the small kiosk for a view of the dam and the upper valley, then return to the path. At the car park, take the forest path that descends to the right.

(5) Be careful! Further down, look for a path that descends into a small gorge on the right, marked only by signposts. You will come to a fork (signs on a tree, inscriptions on a rock). Go up to the left, towards Forges du Pissoux. Soon (after about 100 metres), at the "Chutes de pierres" sign, take the path on the right, even though it is marked with a Yellow Cross and a Red Cross. This beautiful path overlooks the gorges and leads you to the Chalet de Némorin.

(6) At the chalet, there is a small area near a spring where you can stop for a snack. (At the marker post, you can climb 100 metres to the left for a round trip to a small valley). Then turn right. After the chalet, at the next fork, continue climbing to the left towards the Grenier cave. A little further on, at the foot of the rocks, at a fork, continue straight ahead on the right-hand path along a beautiful, airy trail running alongside the Doubs gorges. You will come to a wider path, continuing the descent to the right. Look for a path on the left under the rocks, where you will find a picnic table and a small valley with a stream. Turn back and continue. The path becomes less clear.

(7) Please note: look carefully for the marker on a cut tree trunk on the right and, a few steps further on, the path that climbs up the wooded hillside to the left towards the cave (route no. 32). You will arrive at the foot of the cliffs and the cave, which you can climb up using a long, secure ladder. However, I found that it wasn't worth the effort.

After the cave, follow the beautiful path that climbs steeply along the rocks to a beautiful, safe viewpoint over the wild gorges, reminiscent of Canada in miniature. Continue climbing. At the junction with a wider, stony path, turn left. At the marker post, which marks a fork in the trail, continue straight ahead towards Le Pissoux. At the beautiful gravel road, descend to the left. Continue straight ahead when, a little further on, you reach another stone path.

(8) Then turn left at the fork after the Gourdavi chalet, you will return to the hamlet and descend to the left to reach the car park (S/E).