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The start of this hike is at the Place du Marché car park in Orbey
Markings: Red Ring
(S/E) From the car park, head north-west, follow Rue de la Libération, turn left onto Chemin de la Grenelle, pass the "Les 4 Saisons" lodge, then arrive at a crossroads with Chemin du Lait (small calvary).
(1) Continue west, passing in front of the Ferme des Cerisiers lodge. Leave the access road to the Chapelle Saint-Genest chapel on your right and you will come to another crossroads.
Markings: Yellow disc and red ring
(2) Leave the path on your left (used on the way back) and continue westwards. Cross the Ruisseau du Lac Blanc and immediately turn left (south-west; the purple line on the 1:25,000 map is inaccurate here). You will come to another fork.
(3) Go around a building and turn right at the hairpin bend to follow a small road. Pass Le Neuf Pré and, at the next fork, turn left. You will come out onto a small road at the Pré Bracot farm.
(4) Follow the road to the right and, at the crossroads immediately ahead, turn right. After about 250 m, you will see a path leading off to the left just before the high-voltage power lines.
Markings: Yellow disc
(5) Leave the road and take the path on the left, which gradually turns northwards and crosses a trail.
Markings: Blue cross
(6) Follow the signs to Lac Blanc. Keep heading south-west, cross two tracks and keep an eye out for the blue crosses. You will come out onto the access road to Lac Blanc. Follow this road to the lake (panoramic view, a good place to take a break).
Markings: Yellow rectangle
(7) Go to the information panel "Réserve Biologique des deux Lacs" to find the start of the path towards Lac Noir. Follow Chemin Cornelius, a small path through the woods which then becomes a forest track. The track then forms a semicircle. Continue walking until you reach an intersection.
No markings, then: Blue disc
(8) Leave the Cornelius Trail on your left and stay on the track almost to the end, until it meets the trail descending from the Belmont Observatory. Leave the track and follow the blue disc markings on the left to the path around Lac Noir.
Markings: Yellow Horse - Lac Noir trail
(9) Take the path around Lac Noir in an anti-clockwise direction, following the markings carefully. You will arrive at the car park in front of the Auberge du Lac Noir.
Markings: Red rectangle with white stripe
(10) In the car park, opposite the inn, note the start of the path towards Pairis near the "Abris Ordures" shed. The path descends towards the Lac Noir stream. Leave the two paths on the left to get as close as possible to the stream.
(11) Descend to the D48.2.
(12) Cross the road and continue along Chemin de Pairis until you reach the fish farm ponds.
(13) Walk along the fish farm ponds, then rejoin the D48.2 just before Pairis. Continue until you see a sign for a campsite.
(14) Turn left at the campsite, follow Chemin des Machielles and you will come out onto a small road opposite the retirement home (large buildings with a beautiful chapel).
(15) Still following the red rectangle with a white stripe markings, pass the Ferme Auberge du Chèvremont to find the start of a path.
Markings: red rectangle crossed with white, then red ring
(16) Continue through a meadow, then a section of undergrowth. Cross the Lac Blanc stream before rejoining the Chemin des Moines. Reach the junction with the Chemin du Lait.
(2) Follow the outward route in reverse to return to the car park (S/E).
, as the trail is marked as difficult and is steep and abrupt (rock climbing). Afterwards, continue towards Lac Noir to return to point 9 of the initial hike.
Visorando member
Very difficult 
Association / Club / Walk leader
Easy 
Difficult 
