The Cirque de Consolation and the springs from Consolation-Maisonnettes

A walk to ‘recharge your batteries’ in the cool air during heatwaves.

Details

3626997
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 3.49 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 129 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 137 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 578 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 498 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Start from the car park towards the town hall of Consolation-Maisonnettes.

(S/E) From the car park, head towards Notre-Dame de Consolation.

(1) Before the gate, at the hiking information boards, take the path that climbs to the right.

You will then arrive at the gate of a private property; go round it on the left. The path leads to a hairpin bend to the right of the road. Follow the road uphill for a few dozen metres, then take a path on the left after some limestone steps. After about a hundred metres, the path leads to a viewpoint.

(2) Take a round trip to the viewpoint to admire the view over the valley and Notre-Dame de Consolation. Return to the path. Continue downhill to the first junction and turn left. At the next junction, turn left again.

(3) Cross a wooden bridge and turn right immediately afterwards towards the Source Noire. Cross a second wooden bridge (you can make a return trip to the Source Noire if the river is flowing strongly enough). After the bridge, continue along the path to the first junction and turn left until the next junction.

(4) Turn left again. The path heads back towards Notre-Dame de Consolation. When you reach a bridge, turn left immediately and walk alongside Notre-Dame de Consolation to the mill. You can then either go straight on or take the inner passage to reach the car park near the Consolation-Maisonnettes Town Hall (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 513 m - Consolation-Maisonnettes Town Hall
  2. 1 : km 0.12 - alt. 506 m - Crossroads at the circular bend
  3. 2 : km 0.7 - alt. 569 m - Viewpoint
  4. 3 : km 1.48 - alt. 509 m - Bridge. Towards Source Noire via another bridge - Dessoubre (rivière)
  5. 4 : km 2.12 - alt. 568 m - Junction. Left towards Notre-Dame-de-Consolation
  6. S/E : km 3.49 - alt. 512 m - Consolation-Maisonnettes Town Hall ::A::

Worth a visit

Our Lady of Consolation.
Source Noire.
(2) Belvedere.
Mill.
Dessoubre Spring.
Tabourot Spring.
Lancot Spring.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.7 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
GARNIER Florence
GARNIER Florence

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
A very pleasant walk with some slippery sections (frost, damp, etc.) and a few challenging parts (handrails, steps, cliff-side paths, etc.), but very enjoyable. Beautiful surroundings.

Machine-translated

User 27132752

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Nice hike, but you should add a little detour to the waterfall to make it a bit longer, otherwise it's really short.

Machine-translated

Maryse Nauroy
Maryse Nauroy

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

The site is beautiful and has plenty to see.
We were unable to follow the route description just before the wooden bridges and then the direction to the Black Spring.
The site attracts many visitors and already features walking trails with plenty of reliable signposts, which somewhat diminishes the appeal of this hike.

Machine-translated

Jean-Phi25
Jean-Phi25

A lovely family walk – a short, very pleasant and quick route (it took us an hour with our 8-year-olds).

Machine-translated

Degay
Degay

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

It really is a lovely walk, with plenty of shaded spots, and the Notre Dame site is stunning

Machine-translated

MARIEFO28
MARIEFO28

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An easy and very pleasant walk with some lovely discoveries, including waterfalls and scenic viewpoints. Pay close attention to the route description, as there are many branching paths and GPS doesn’t always work!

Machine-translated

KatiaPhil
KatiaPhil

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I went off-season in March. So there was no one on the course.
A lovely discovery, thank you very much

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.