The Cirque des Avalanches

After leaving the village of Champfromier and all its amenities, walk through pastures and forest paths. The highlight of this circular: the magnificent panorama from Les Avalanches over the Jura mountains.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.03 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 558 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 559 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,198 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 638 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park of the Salle des Fêtes in Champfromier.

(S/E) Walk past the bakery, cross the D14 at the pedestrian crossing, then take Rue du Champ du Pont between the post office and the old sawmill. Continue straight ahead and when you reach the road to the cemetery, turn left.

(1) Turn right onto Rue de l'Église, which is steep. Cross the D48, turn right, then left a few dozen metres further on to reach the wash house crossroads.
Take the dirt track on the left, which joins the D48 further on, and follow it to the left until you reach Communal.

(2) At the entrance to the hamlet, take the road on the right that climbs through the pastures.

(3) Ignore the road on the right and continue straight ahead through the woods. Continue along a wide stony path which, via the Pas du Bœuf, leads to the Champfromier Forest.

(4) Turn right twice, passing through a place called l'Achat, which offers a view of the Haute Chaîne du Jura, the Crêt de Chalam and the Cirque des Avalanches. You will reach the intersection with a forest track.

(5) Turn right onto the track and continue to a crossroads. Leave the track and follow the path on the right to reach the Auger chalet.

(6) Turn right and join the small Avalanches road, descending to the right. Stop at the viewpoint overlooking the Northern Pre-Alps and Lake Bourget, then continue to the Cabane du Facteur.

(7) Continue along the tarmac road, pass the Stèle du Maquisard, and you will soon reach the junction with a forest track.

(8) Leave the tarmac road and turn right onto this path. Then turn left onto the Sentier du Facteur and follow it downhill until you reach a crossroads.

(9) Turn left to continue along the postman's path, which leads to the road to Conjocle. Follow this road downhill to the left. You will arrive at the entrance to Monnetier.

(10) Turn left and continue straight ahead on the road to leave the village. You will reach the first houses of Champfromier.

(11) Keep right at the bend to follow Chemin du Ménéchar, coming out lower down on the D14. Turn right, cross the bridge over the Volferine, then take the first street on the left to reach the car park of the Salle des Fêtes in Champfromier (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 640 m - Village hall in Champfromier - Valserine (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.47 - alt. 676 m - Turn right onto Rue de l'Église
  3. 2 : km 1.27 - alt. 761 m - Communal
  4. 3 : km 2.26 - alt. 854 m - Junction, straight ahead
  5. 4 : km 4.88 - alt. 1,131 m - Cote 1130, on the right
  6. 5 : km 5.65 - alt. 1,160 m - Forest track, on the right
  7. 6 : km 6.91 - alt. 1,165 m - Chalet de l'Auger
  8. 7 : km 7.48 - alt. 1,120 m - Route des Avalanches - Postman's hut
  9. 8 : km 8.91 - alt. 959 m - Reverse fork, on the right
  10. 9 : km 10.23 - alt. 813 m - Crossroads, on the left
  11. 10 : km 10.9 - alt. 718 m - Monnetier
  12. 11 : km 11.57 - alt. 681 m - Entrance to Champfromier
  13. S/E : km 12.03 - alt. 639 m - Village hall in Champfromier

Notes

Wear walking shoes. Bring water. Stay on the marked trails. Dogs must be kept on a leash.

This route passes through a protected area, which may be subject to special regulations:

Worth a visit

(S/E) In the village of Champfromier, you will find a grocery store, bakery, butcher's shop, brewery and campsite where you can sleep in transparent bubbles.
(7) Postman's hut: this served as a relay station for postmen from Champfromier and Combe d'Evuaz.
Be sure to take a look at the Pierre Percée site, which is easily accessible from the car park (S/E).
More info at

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 15 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Alwayswiththehills
Alwayswiththehills

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

I walked this route and then realised there as a version already on Visorando so I did not follow the route or instructions as described.

I took two variations to the above route.

1) I walked it in the reverse direction
2) just after pt 10 (heading uphill) there is a track marked on the IGN map starting beside a wooden barn (no signpost) This takes you up beside fields and up a little overgrown section to more pasture and then the road. Turn left and walk to point 8 then the monument and fountain, Then continue the same route.

Nice walk overall, some good views from the top/viewpoint.

yvesdaru
yvesdaru

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

No major difficulties. The first half is devoted to the climb with a gradual elevation gain.
Very pretty views. Quite a lot of tarmac, but we didn't encounter any cars.

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Terre Valserine Tourisme
Terre Valserine Tourisme

Hello,

Following your feedback on this hike, we have corrected the route between points 8 and 9, as there was indeed a small error. Thank you!

Happy hiking, everyone!
Marie for Terre Valserhône l'Interco

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Elis.K
Elis.K

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful and easy hike. The lake is magnificent in autumn under the sun. The forest trails are also very pleasant.

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Elis.K
Elis.K

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike, very sunny trail at this time of year between 11am and 4pm. Following the yellow markings, you effectively leave the Visorando trail at the postman's path. The elevation gain is well distributed throughout the hike. We had a picnic at the Auger chalet facing the sun 👍

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Franzi
Franzi

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful autumn scenery and pleasant progress. Beautiful view from the lookout point.
The only downside: still impossible to find the postman's path between 8 and 9. We continued along the track that passes through 871 and rejoins the route at 810.
From 10, on the advice of locals, we decided to follow the small road that branches off to the right at Monnetier (pretty little stone bridge over the Volferine) to avoid the main road.

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Micheldu01
Micheldu01

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The start of the postman's trail is incorrect on the map; the actual start, clearly marked with yellow markings, is located approximately 300 metres further along the forest track. It is completely clear, and the famous fir tree at the end has been cut down and is no longer an issue

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toposrandos
toposrandos

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We saw some beautiful scenery.
Between 8 and 9, we couldn't find the start of the postman's trail and continued along the track to point 9, at an altitude of 810 metres, where we rejoined the route.

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ChristianNo
ChristianNo

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Quite a beautiful and easy hike. The view from L'Achat is only 90 degrees, so a little disappointing. The Cirque des Avalanches is not that spectacular.
Follow the GPS track carefully during the descent into the cirque.
Very few people, so it's pleasant.

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Terre Valserine Tourisme
Terre Valserine Tourisme

Hello,

Thank you for your comments on this hike .
We will take the necessary steps to improve the passage between point 9 and Conjocle and remove the fallen tree.

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glecomte
glecomte

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great hike !

Not too difficult: it climbs at the beginning but steadily and never too steeply, plus you're in the shade most of the time.
Stunning scenery, with beautiful views of the Jura, especially from the avalanche bench where I had my lunch.
The time indicated is exaggerated; it took me 3½ hours (not including lunch) without rushing and spending some time on that damn postman's path .

However, the upper part of the postman's path has almost disappeared . I eventually found it with the help of the map and GPS, but it is barely marked and progress is very difficult because the vegetation has reclaimed its rights and many trees have fallen. Heavy equipment will be needed to restore it all. I recommend continuing along the track to reach point 9 for now if you don't want to find yourself in an Amazonian jungle environment .
Also, just below point 9, a large fir tree has fallen across the path, requiring some contortions to get underneath it.

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eric.doucelin
eric.doucelin

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, alternating between woodland, viewpoints and varied, passable paths. It must be nice to do it in the opposite direction.

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Jp9374
Jp9374

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant, shaded hike (ideal in hot weather). A steady climb with beautiful views at the Cirque des Avalanches.

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Brigitte C3.
Brigitte C3.

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello, hike completed on Saturday, 21 May 2022 on a rather hot day! The trail is mostly shaded, so you don't suffer too much from the heat. We then continued on to the Dragon sous roche

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Terre Valserine Tourisme
Terre Valserine Tourisme

Hello,

Thank you for your comment regarding the postman's trail. We will inform our teams so that they can improve the signage in this area.

Have a lovely day,

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