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Start at a place called Pré du Massé, on the D500 road linking Glux-en-Glenne and Arleuf. Park in car park P3, at the end of the clearing when coming from Glux-en-Glenne (map of cross-country ski trails and hiking routes).
Red signposting: “Circular Route of Bois du Roy”
Signposting is one-way, in the direction of the description. Red arrows are present at all junctions but there are none elsewhere along the route.
You will also find, though very sporadically, markings of all kinds:GR®®,PR®®, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, pilgrimage, etc. In the description below, these markings are only mentioned where necessary.
(S/E) From the car park, facing the road, follow it to the left. After just a few metres, leave the road and turn left (north-west) onto a forest track (sign, orange marker). Climb gently through the fir forest.
(1) At the crossroads, take the Route Forestière de la Rosée (the second track on the left; the east-west forest track shown as a dotted line on the IGN map does not start at the crossroads but just beyond it). Walk west-north-west along this wide track, which soon begins to descend and becomes stony, ignoring any side paths.
(2) Before a left-hand bend in the track, leave it and follow a grassy but well-defined path to the right, continuing in the same direction (the faint path running perpendicular to the track on the right leads to a dead end).
(3) At the next junction, turn right onto a wide forest track. Heading generally north-east then north-north-west, go uphill and then slightly downhill, skirting forest plots nos. 86, 85 and 84, and ignore all the forest clearings branching off to the sides. At the T-junction, follow another forest track to the left for just a few metres.
(4) A few metres after the previous junction, turn sharply right and enter a sunken track beneath a canopy of trees. Take care, as the red arrow is hard to spot at this point; if you come across a signpost of a completely different size on the left-hand side of the track, turn back. Climb gently through the forest, ignoring any side tracks, and follow the mountain bike markers. At a junction, continue straight ahead, leaving plot no. 75 on your left. Descend again and you’ll come to a T-junction.
(5) Turn left and head down a wide track which takes a hairpin bend to the right. Cross the River La Proie, turn left with the track and head uphill. When a track joins from the right, carry on straight ahead.
(6) At the Fork in the road a few metres further on, ignore the path leading down to the left and continue north-north-east towards the Étang de Préperny (signposted). Carry on climbing, following a curve to the left, and emerge from the forest (the Haut Folin telecoms mast is visible on the right). Continue along a gravel track, skirting Étang de Préperny at a distance on your left, ignore a path coming from the right and reach a crossroads.
(7) At the crossroads, the track turns left towards a car park: leave this and follow a path on the right heading towards the Haut Folin telecommunications pylon. Walk past a peat bog on your left, then a patch of broom. Enter the forest and, at the three-way junction that appears immediately, turn left onto a small path beneath the fir trees.
(8) When you reach the cross-country skiing signs on the left, turn right (south-south-east) onto an uphill forest track. Cross a stony track and you’ll immediately come to a T-junction. Turn right here and head slightly uphill. At the top of the hill, you’ll find a red and whiteGR®®13marker; continue along the gently ascending path. At a fork in the road, take the left-hand path (marked withGR®®, mountain bike and pilgrim symbols). After a short stretch beneath the fir trees, reach the summit of Haut Folin (with a pylon on the right).
(9) Cross the small road and carry on straight ahead (west-south-west) along theGR®®13, keeping the fence surrounding the pylon on your right. Descend steeply through the forest along a steep, stony path. At the T-junction, follow a wider path to the left. At the next crossroads, a few dozen metres further on, turn left onto the wide path (mountain bike signpost) and continue downhill. At the end of the path, go through a forest gate.
(10) At the T-junction, let theGR®® head off to the left and turn right onto the small tarmac road (orange markings on the ground). After about 200 metres, at a yellow double-sided sign, leave the road and take a path to the left. Cross the River La Proie again and head back up the opposite bank.
(11) At the next fork in the road, turn left onto a path that starts below a small road. Walk southwards on a gently ascending path through a sparse fir forest, following the orange markings. You’ll come out onto a small tarmac road; follow it to the left (ignore the orange arrow pointing to the right). At the next junction (elevation 783), turn right onto the road leading to Glux-en-Glenne (signposted). Descend, curving to the left, and return to car park P3 (S/E).
Visorando Member
Difficult 
Local authority
Very difficult 
Easy 
