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Start from the car park at the church and town hall in Saint-Paul-en-Chablais.
Blue signposts (see practical information)
(S/E) With your back to the church, head east, follow the road towards Lac Noir via Praubert and leave the school on your left. At the roundabout after the "Blonay" building, turn left onto Route des Allobroges towards Thollon. At the football stadium, turn left towards Coppy and Les Crêtes. Go down a small road that soon turns right and winds between the houses. Cross a stream and then a torrent, stay on the road that turns right at a cross.
(1) At Les Crêtes, take a path on the right, pass a farm on your left and turn left onto the path (No. 494 on the right). Walk east-northeast on flat ground between the meadows, with a clear view of Lake Geneva on your left. Further on, the path becomes tree-lined and, as you approach a house, turn left and then right to go around it. You will come out onto a road. Follow it to the right for a few metres and, just after the house, turn right onto a path that heads south-south-east between fences and hedges. At a fork (cross), turn right and you will come to a road.
(2) Cross the road and follow Chemin du Champ des Grives towards Praubert and Lac Noir. The small road climbs gently at first, then the slope becomes much steeper. At the top of the hill, continue on relatively flat ground, ignoring the paths on either side (houses).
(3) At the T-junction (oratory), take the road on the right for a few metres and, just before a small building on the left, turn left onto the path towards La Beunaz. Climb gently between the meadows with a view of Pointe de Pelluaz, Tête des Fieux and Mont Baron (from left to right) opposite. Ignore a turn-off to a meadow on the left and climb through the woods. At the houses at the end of the woods, continue straight ahead on a gravel track. At the T-junction, take the small road on the right towards Lac Noir.
(4) At the next junction, turn left. Just before a 30km/h speed limit sign, turn right onto a stony path and follow the fence on your left around the Lac de la Beunaz leisure site. Enter the woods and pass under a tree-top adventure course footbridge. At the fork immediately ahead, turn right and descend slightly. At the next junction, turn left and you will soon see an entrance to Lac Noir on your right (information signs about the wildlife). Continue along the path or follow the lake on your right until you reach its south-eastern tip (information signs about the lake).
(5) At the tip of the lake, continue east towards Saint-Paul via Chez Bouchex. You will come out on the southern shore of Lac de la Beunaz (the leisure facilities are clearly visible opposite). Turn right and stay as close as possible to the lake on your left (the purple line on the 1:25,000 IGN map is inaccurate here). After a few dozen metres, turn left onto a wooden footbridge (reed bed on the right) and you will come to the end of Lac de La Beunaz (information signs). Then turn right (south), still heading towards Saint-Paul via Chez Bouchex. Go back up through the woods and you will come to a road.
(6) Follow the road for a few metres to the right and cross it at the junction (be careful, this road is busy). Continue right along the road towards a garage. At the garage, leave the road and turn left onto Chemin du Champ des Bois. Stay on this very small paved road, ignoring the side roads, and descend slightly into the woods. At the edge of the woods, the pavement gives way to a wide gravel path with a large meadow on the left.
(7) At the crossroads just after passing a house on the left, turn left towards Chez Bouchex. Make a few short turns downhill, then turn right to stay on the flat at the edge of the woods on your right (on the left behind you, you will see the Dent d'Oche). Enter the woods, ignore the paths on either side and come out at the edge of the meadow. At the next junction, ignore the yellow arrow on an electricity pole indicating a left turn and continue straight ahead (south-west) as indicated by a signpost, leaving house no. 412 on your left. Stay on the small road until you reach the Chez Bochet oratory.
(8) At the wayside shrine, turn right towards Saint-Paul and Chez Bouchex, and climb slightly up a small road. At the last houses, ignore Chemin de Rebet on the left and continue to a crossroads at a place called Vers la Grange.
(9) Leave the road and turn right onto a path that runs along the edge of the woods on your left and a meadow on your right (ignore the path that immediately branches off to the left into the woods). At the end of the meadow, enter the woods. Climb gently uphill, heading northeast, and ignore vague tracks on either side. After a short, gentle descent, at a crossroads, continue straight ahead along a sunken path and descend more steeply, winding your way under the spruce trees.
(10) At a T-junction with a wider path, turn left. At the next fork, bear right and ford a stream (using flat stones on the right-hand side if the water is high). Walk along the edge of the woods on your left, then between the meadows. At the houses, ignore a path on the right and continue straight ahead (north-east) on a small road. At the next T-junction, turn left and, at the fork immediately ahead, turn left downhill.
(11) At the crossroads, continue straight ahead. At the next T-junction (oratory of Saint-François de Salles on the left), turn right. Ignore the turnings on either side, turn left with the road between numbers 252 and 251, follow a stream on your left and you will come to a perpendicular road (cross). Cross the road and continue straight ahead on a good path between the meadows that heads west (the bell tower of Saint-Paul church will be visible above the meadows on your right), then turn south. The path gives way to a small road that turns left and descends.
(12) At the T-junction, turn right. When a road comes from the left, continue by turning right. At the fork that appears immediately (sign for "La Cheneau"), turn left. Go downhill and ignore a turn-off on the right. At the stop sign, cross the road (be careful) and take the Chemin de la Grotte opposite towards Château-Vieux. At the bottom of the descent, ignore a small road that branches off to the left on a steep slope (signposted "20%"), cross a stream, note an artificial cave on the left, ignore the road that branches off to the left and climb back up towards the church, which is clearly visible. Go around the church on the right and return to the car park where you started (S/E).
Visorando member
Very difficult 
