Le Grand Crêt d'Eau

de fr

A circular route on the Grand Crêt d'Eau massif at an altitude of 1,600 metres, passing through pine forests and crossing a large hilly plateau with views of the Mont Blanc massif, among other things.

Moderator's warning: route presents a risk of avalanches.

Details

n°21479
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Snowshoeing
    Activity: Snowshoeing
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.73 km
  • ◔
    Duration according to the author: 6 hrs 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 464 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 470 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,512 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,069 m
Downloads
Open in the mobile app
Download GPX GPX
Download PDF PDF

Photos

Le Crêt de la Goutte (1,621 m).
Summit of Crêt de la Goutte
Crêt de la Goutte

Description of the walk

Park your cars in the car park at the bottom of Menthières station.

(S/E) Head south-west and return to the D16.

(1) Take the D16 south for 1 km.

(2) Turn left at the water catchment area onto a small road that continues south towards Sorgia d'en Haut.

(3) Do not take the hairpin bend, but continue straight ahead.

(4) Turn sharply left onto a path signposted to the Varambon chalet and follow it to the chalet.

(5) From there, follow the signs for "La Pierre à Fromage" at the pass between Crêt de la Goutte and Crêt de l'Eguillon. Reach the pass.

(6) From there, you can see the Sac chalet on your left heading north.
Head east to find the path below and then head north to reach the Sac chalet.

(7) From the chalet, continue straight ahead (north) into the woods via theGR® Balcon du Léman (white and red markings).

(8) After 1.5 km, once you have passed a small hut, turn slightly left (north-west) towards the ruins of Le Velu. Leave theGR® trail. Continue in the same direction to reach Le Velu.

(9) Turn left and follow the cross-country ski trails south-west to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,129 m - Car park in Menthières
  2. 1 : km 0.24 - alt. 1,110 m - D16
  3. 2 : km 1.48 - alt. 1,075 m - Water catchments, road on the left
  4. 3 : km 2.77 - alt. 1,193 m - Hairpin bend
  5. 4 : km 4.03 - alt. 1,277 m - Path on the left
  6. 5 : km 5.06 - alt. 1,389 m - Varambon Chalet
  7. 6 : km 6.52 - alt. 1,509 m - La Pierre à Fromage - View of the - Lac Léman
  8. 7 : km 7.57 - alt. 1,380 m - Chalet du Sac
  9. 8 : km 8.58 - alt. 1,327 m - Leave the °°GR®°° on the left.
  10. 9 : km 10.03 - alt. 1,178 m - Le Velu
  11. S/E : km 10.73 - alt. 1,128 m - Car park in Menthières

Notes

All chalets are normally open to provide shelter if necessary; some have wood-burning heating...

Moderator warning: route presents a risk of avalanches. Check the snow conditions and local avalanche risk in advance. Carry safety equipment.
Route entirely or partially within the Haute Chaîne du Jura National Nature Reserve. Please respect the regulations: https://www.rnn-hautechainedujura.fr/reg...
Part of this route is in a wildlife quiet zone from 15/12 to 30/06 (during this period, it is forbidden to leave the route between points 4 and 5 and points 7 and 8). More information here: https://www.rnn-hautechainedujura.fr/car...

This route passes through multiple protected areas, which may be subject to special regulations:

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Downloads
Open in the mobile app
Download GPX GPX
Download PDF PDF

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 8 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
LAUVERGNE Gérard
LAUVERGNE Gérard

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely snowshoe hike, but unfortunately there wasn't enough snow. Beautiful views of Lake Geneva and the Alps from the Sac chalet, Pierre à Fromage and Grand Crêt d'Eau.
A pleasant hike. Worth repeating when there is more snow, if possible, while paying attention to the risk of avalanches.

Machine-translated

Lepentu
Lepentu
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : No

(Warning) This hike presents an avalanche hazard!

Yesterday, 20 January 2021, a person was swept away and lost their life on the summer route between Col du Sac and Crêt de l'Eguillon. We were in the area that same morning and turned back on the advice of the forest ranger. Therefore, exercise extreme caution, familiarise yourself with the terrain, obtain information on site, or refrain from hiking!

Machine-translated

Franck T.
Franck T.

Date of hike: 2 June
Superb hike, well documented by Visorando

Machine-translated

nanou1967
nanou1967

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A magnificent hike, but difficult because it is steep, especially up to Chalet Bizot.
After that, the path is easy along the ridges.
However, I regret the poor signage for the paths and the various options once at the top.

Machine-translated

Franck T.
Franck T.

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 03, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Please note:
Vehicle access to the car park is only permitted from 1 June to 6 December.
The final section bypasses an area that is off-limits to pedestrians and mountain bikes until 30 June. It is not possible to shorten the hike.
Well done on this hike.

Machine-translated

pascal.amieux
pascal.amieux

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 28, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Variation via Crêt de la Goutte: departure at 10:15 a.m. / return at 4:30 p.m. Good weather, slightly transformed snow that holds up well.
The route is difficult to distinguish from other hiking trails, especially if printed in black and white
The route becomes really interesting when it leads to the Varambon mountain pasture. 100 metres after the chalet, we followed a very good trail to reach Crêt de la Goutte (1,621 m) directly. Picnic, with chamois below then return to the route above, heading north towards Pierre à Fromage.
From Crêt de la Goutte to Chalet du Sac, a splendid route overlooking Lake Geneva and the Alps.
Thank you to Cafod for the advice.

Machine-translated

Cafod
Cafod

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 19, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The route of this itinerary is a good source of inspiration, although it curiously avoids the highest point in the area, Crêt de la Goutte (1,621 m), which offers a beautiful panorama. In addition, it passes through areas designated as "wildlife quiet zones", which are off-limits in winter.
For more information on protected areas in the Jura, see https://www.rnn-hautechainedujura.fr/

After a few adjustments, this varied route is well worth the detour and its creator deserves our thanks.

Machine-translated

Antoine00
Antoine00
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 23, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

In fact, we only followed the route as far as the cheese stone, then climbed up to the Crêt de la Goutte, before descending via the same path to the junction with the "GR de pays Tour de la Valserine" trail, which we followed to La Charnaz, then cut across via point 1128 to the "Château".

Duration: 4½ hours, including a nice picnic break!
The snow conditions were excellent. Windy at altitude.

I have attached a photo of the summit of La Goutte.

Well done on your website!

Machine-translated

joss71
joss71

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 02, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful and challenging snowshoe hike! Due to recent snowfall, we had to break trail on several sections of the route, which was a real joy! Windy weather at Crêt d'Eau.
Thank you for this route!

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

Snowshoeing De Menthières à la Poutouille

Tourist office
De Menthières à la Poutouille
↔11.92 km ↗+403 m ↘-399 m ◔6 hrs ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Chézery-Forens (Ain)
Open from 1 December to 30 March. From the small resort of Menthières, head towards an alpine chalet, where you can admire panoramic views of Mont Blanc, the Alps, the Lake Geneva basin and the Hautes-Combes du Jura.The trail is marked in purple for snowshoeing and marked for hiking all year round.

Snowshoeing Crêt de Chalam from La Pesse

Association / Club / Walk leader
Le Crêt de Chalam depuis La Pesse
↔10.85 km ↗+454 m ↘-454 m ◔5 hrs ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from La Pesse (Jura)
A beautiful winter snowshoe hike.Once you reach the summit, which looks a bit like a sugar loaf (1,545 m), you will discover a 360° panorama (the Haut Jura mountain range and, of course, Mont Blanc in good weather).Please note that depending on snow conditions, there may be a risk of avalanches at the Crêt de Chalam. Beginners should refrain from climbing to the summit; the view is already very beautiful and safe from the plateau just before the summit.

Snowshoeing From Télécombi des Bergers to Crêt de la Neige

Tourist office
Du Télécombi des Bergers au Crêt de la Neige
↔6.98 km ↗+192 m ↘-197 m ◔3 hrs ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Crozet (Ain)
Open from 15 December to 30 March. Put on your snowshoes and set off to explore the famous Crêt de la Neige, the highest point in the Jura mountains, offering spectacular scenery! The trail is marked with purple posts for snowshoeing. This route can be accessed by taking the Fierney cable car and the Télécombi des Bergers from Crozet.

Snowshoeing Le Crêt de la Neige from the Catheline cable car station

Tourist office
Le Crêt de la Neige au départ du télécabine de la Catheline
↔7.83 km ↗+282 m ↘-283 m ◔4 hrs ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Crozet (Ain)
Open from 15 December to 30 March, subject to the Catheline cable car being open. Put on your snowshoes and set off to explore the famous Crêt de la Neige, the highest point in the Jura offering spectacular scenery! The route is marked with purple posts for snowshoeing and is signposted for hiking all year round. This route can be accessed by taking the Catheline cable car.

Snowshoeing From Lélex to Crêt de la Neige

Tourist office
De Lélex au Crêt de la Neige
↔12.68 km ↗+817 m ↘-817 m ◔7 hrs ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Lélex (Ain)
Open from 1 December to 30 March. Put on your snowshoes and set off to explore the famous Crêt de la Neige, the highest point in the Jura mountains, offering spectacular scenery!

Snowshoeing The Truchet viewpoint from Lélex

Tourist office
Le belvédère du Truchet depuis Lélex
↔8.51 km ↗+364 m ↘-369 m ◔3 hrs ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Lélex (Ain)
Open from 1 December to 30 March. A balcony hike with beautiful views of the Valserine Valley and the village of Lélex, overlooked by the high Jura mountain range. The trail winds gently through meadows and forests on a pleasant climb. As you gain altitude, the view gradually opens up to the Truchet viewpoint, perched at an altitude of 1,187 metres. From there, you can take in the Haute Chaîne du Jura, with views of the peaks from Colomby de Gex to the Reculet cross. The Jura mountains can be seen from a different angle, with colours that change with the seasons. The return journey follows the same route, offering a new perspective on the valley.

Snowshoeing From the Fierney cable car to Crêt de la Neige

Tourist office
Du Télécabine du Fierney au Crêt de la Neige
↔10.67 km ↗+462 m ↘-462 m ◔5 hrs ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Crozet (Ain)
Open from 15 December to 30 March, subject to the opening of the Fierney cable car. Put on your snowshoes and set off to explore the famous Crêt de la Neige, the highest point in the Jura mountains, offering spectacular scenery!

Snowshoeing The Retord Farm at the start of the Bergonnes trail

Visorando member
La Ferme du Retord au départ des Bergonnes
↔14.72 km ↗+320 m ↘-319 m ◔5 hrs ▲Difficult
⚑Departure from Hotonnes (Ain)
The Retord Plateau is ideal for snowshoeing in wide open spaces with, in places and in good weather, panoramic views of the Alps and Mont Blanc. You can enjoy a snack in the picnic room at the Retord farm.

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.