Lake Chanon starting from Chancia

The start is at the bottom of the Chancia cemetery.

(S/E) Take the Chemin de Nezan. At the hamlet of "La Cize", continue straight on towards Molard de Nertru and Nezan (2.3 km). Not far on, you’ll come to a fork at the hamlet of "Sur Vailliere".

(1) Take the path on the right towards Nezan (yellow markings). Further up, you’ll reach a small road at the hamlet of Vers la Serra, which you should cross. Continue straight on towards Nezan to rejoin the road further up at La Serra.

(2) Cross the road and continue straight on towards Nezan and the Source de Saumur, heading north-east. The gradient steepens considerably until you reach a fork further up at the Source de Nezan. Continue straight on along the track, which is suitable for vehicles, over gently sloping ground to reach the hamlet of Nezan.

(3) Turn left at the^first fork (at a cross) towards Chanon and Vouglans. Not far on, continue straight on at another fork (Courbet) towards Chanon on the track.

(4) At a place called La Meille, continue straight on along the forest track towards Lac de Chanon, which you follow for a short while.

(5) At a bend, leave the forest track temporarily (following the yellow markings), then shortly afterwards turn left to reach a lovely viewpoint. Retrace your steps and continue along the forest track. After passing under a power line, you will reach a junction (Chemin de Cruzille, according to the sign).

(6) Continue straight on towards Lac de Chanon (2.3 km) and Côte de Venière. After a short descent, you’ll reach another forest track. Keep right (almost straight on) as the path climbs. Further on, you’ll join a road (RD 295) at Côte de Venière: turn right and discover Lac de Chanon.

(7) Take the small road on the left towards Chanon (1.8 km) and Le Capo. The road runs close to the lake.
Please note that the lake is on private property and access is therefore not permitted.
At the hamlet of Le Capo, take the path on the right, then turn left fairly soon (towards Chanon and Au Cotard).

(8) Not far on, keep an eye out for a fork in the path: turn right as indicated by the yellow markings. The path climbs quite steeply for a short stretch, then descends gently towards the hamlet of Chanon. Once you reach the road, continue along it to the left to reach the hamlet of Chanon.

(9) At a fork, take the left-hand path towards Les Vignes and Grand Serve. The path continues with a gentle gradient towards Le Fourcha. Cross a field, following the yellow markings carefully.
The path then descends to reach the Les Vignes fork near the hamlet of Douvre, which lies below.

(10) Continue along the track to the right, heading uphill (towards La Queille and Grand Serve). After a short while, you’ll reach the plateau and a road at the hamlet of La Queille.

(11) Stay on the road to the left. A little further on, you can enjoy a beautiful view. Then head to the hamlet of Grand Serve.

(12) Take the^first left towards Cul de Pra and Lavancia-Percy: continue along the path, which remains relatively flat.

(13) At Cul de Pra, continue to the right towards Montcusel and La Neiella: the path continues to follow a relatively gentle gradient, forming a circular pattern.

(14) After a short while, you’ll reach a large open area which is the Montcusel take-off area (paragliding). Continue along the path for a short while; it remains flat. At a place called La Neiella, take the road on the left to reach the centre of the village of Montcusel.

(15) Take the main street on the left, then immediately turn right onto another street towards Nezan (it’s essentially straight ahead). Very soon, you’ll come to a fork on the left: continue straight on until the next fork, where a path marked by a Yellow Cross leads off to the left.

(16) Take this path and be very careful at the few junctions you will encounter:
- turn left at the^first fork,
- a little further on, turn right at the^second,
- not far on, turn left at the^third.
The path climbs gently all the way. It then descends gently from Côte Long Pra.

(17) You’ll come to another fork: take the path on the left (the one on the right quickly ends in a dead end in a field). The path continues to descend gently until it joins a track suitable for vehicles. Follow it to the left downhill until you reach a bend in the track, leading to the Au Chanais viewpoint (offering a fine view of Lake Coiselet), topped by a radio relay station.

(18) Follow the gently sloping track towards Chancia to reach the La Serra crossroads, which you passed at the start.

(2) Take the path on the left towards Chancia, in the opposite direction to the outward journey, to reach the car park where you started (S/E).

Good walking boots are recommended.

Please take your rubbish away with you! Nature will thank you for it.

The route is based on the one proposed by the Haut Jura Nature Park = Tour de la Barme: see here.

The route has been slightly modified between Nezan and Lect following the construction of a forest track in 2023–2024

The starting point can be viewed here.

The quality of the route is generally satisfactory (numerous signposts):
- From (S/E) to (1): no markings or signposting at the start. The^first sign is visible at La Cize (yellow markings),
- From (1) to (3): numerous signposts and regular yellow markings,
- From (3) to (4): yellow markings are not very visible, but the route is easy to follow,
- From (4) to (6): fairly regular yellow markings,
- From (6) to (7): yellow markings are moderately visible,
- From (7) to (9): fairly consistent yellow markings + relevant signposts,
- From (9) to (10): fairly consistent yellow markings, making it easy to find your way.
- From (10) to (11): Yellow markings are not very visible, but finding your way is not a problem.
- From (11) to (12): Yellow markings are moderately visible, but there is no problem staying on course.
- From (12) to (13): yellow markings with few traces, good visibility of the route.
- From (13) to (15): fairly consistent yellow markings.
- From (15) to (17): yellow markings.
- From (17) to (18): no markings and no signposts in this section, but the route is clearly visible (there are numerous paths crossing in this area and you should follow the directions above carefully).
- From (18) to (2): Yellow markings are faint but there is no difficulty in following the correct direction.
- From (2) to (1): yellow markings + regular signposts.
- From (1) to (S/E): markings not visible, but no problem getting back to the starting point, ...

Alternatives:
As an option, I suggest visiting a small viewpoint on the outskirts of Montcusel between (15) and (17): to do this, turn left at the^{first junction} after the village, taking a path blocked by a Yellow Cross. Click here to view the route.
The return route follows the^second fork on this route.

(7) At Lac de Chanon, you can reach the hamlet of Chanon (9) directly by road, but the route is less pleasant: distance = approx. 560 m; distance of the suggested route = approx. 1.6 km.

(12) At Grand Serve, you can shorten the route to reach Montcusel: at the fork, take the road on the right; distance = approx. 1 km; distance of the suggested route = approx. 4.7 km.

Chancia: read more here
Lake Chanon: read here