Along the Areuse River in Switzerland.

A superb walk along the River Areuse with its various gradients and several bridges spanning it, leading out of the gorges to a magnificent view of Lake Neuchâtel and the Alps. The return journey from this hike will be by train from Bole station.

Details

828802
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.68 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: No
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 140 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 322 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 731 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 495 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at Noiraigue station.

(S/E) Walk along the railway line to reach a road, turn right and, at the level crossing, turn left to follow the signs for Boudry, indicated by a yellow sign. From there, follow the yellow signs depicting a walker. Stay along the river.

(1) At Combe Revers, turn right onto the bridge. At the end of the bridge, turn left onto the small path that passes in front of the restaurant. Continue following the yellow signs or the signs for Boudry.

(2) After the bridge, turn left to make a circular route, climb the stairs and turn left onto the path to continue following the signs.

(3) Leave the road and take the path on the left with the no entry sign. Continue following the signs for Boudry or the yellow signs with the walkers.

(4) At the intersection with a wooden bridge, head towards Bole, as indicated by the yellow sign.

(5) Start climbing on the left to reach the woods. Continue following the signs for Bole or the small yellow signs with a walker to leave the woods and reach a road.

(6) There, turn left and then take the first road on the right with the no entry sign and the yellow marker.
Continue along the road until you reach an intersection. At the intersection, go straight ahead to reach Bole station (E).

To return to the starting point, take the train towards Noiraigue (journey time approx. 15 mins).

Waypoints

  1. S : km 0 - alt. 724 m - Noiraigue station.
  2. 1 : km 4.19 - alt. 623 m - Combe Revers - Areuse (rivière) - Suisse - Affluent du lac de Neuchâtel
  3. 2 : km 5.68 - alt. 593 m - Circular
  4. 3 : km 7.58 - alt. 555 m - Prohibition sign.
  5. 4 : km 9.05 - alt. 500 m - Bridge
  6. 5 : km 9.41 - alt. 529 m - Head towards Bole.
  7. 6 : km 9.62 - alt. 553 m - Road
  8. E : km 10.68 - alt. 541 m - Bole station

Notes

Walking shoes.
Trail very busy at weekends.
Remember to bring your ID card as you are in Switzerland.
Bank card for train ticket (value 6.20 Swiss francs)

Worth a visit

Walk along Lake Neuchâtel.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
Palissot
Palissot

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk, even in autumn....
Not always sunny but magnificent with the colour of the leaves....
A very pleasant hike because you don't have to make a return trip.... Just take the train from Bole and return to Noiraigue.

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encore1matin
encore1matin

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A magnificent and sublime hike. The water flow was so powerful that it was a feast for the eyes and ears.
We took our time, too many great photos to take... Nature is superb at this time of year.
As indicated, we set off from Noiraigue to get to Bôle station.
On this fine Sunday, there were lots and lots of people on the paths, sometimes causing traffic jams.
The route is very well signposted, otherwise you just have to follow the crowd of rucksacks
After n°5 we let out a "Wouah", another dazzling view before our eyes: Lake Neuchâtel and the snow-covered Alps. A real postcard.
PS: I'd like to draw your attention to parking at Noiraigues. If there are no more spaces near the station, go a little further, there are free car parks.
I dared to park on the edge of the authorised spaces where I wasn't in anyone's way. That earned me a CHF 40 fine!
A tip: at Bôle station, select "short route" and the ticket will cost CHF 2.40, instead of the CHF 6.20 advertised on Visorando.

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Raoul C.
Raoul C.

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A slightly dangerous section towards the end when the path collapses.

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hervé-manu
hervé-manu

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The Gorges de l'Areuse are magnificent. As always, the Swiss signposting is great. We were lucky enough to have a fast-flowing Areuse river. A must-do.

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girardin
girardin
• Edited:

Date of the ride : Sunday 01 October2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Interest of the trail : ★★★★★ Very good
Well-frequented trail: yes
From Noiraigue to Bôle, a superb hike following the river Aareuse in sunshine and Canadian mist.
Lots of families on this walk!

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christine darces
christine darces

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb walk from start to finish. You never leave the magnificent Areuse river, with its clear and sometimes rushing waters, which at times meanders at the bottom of a deep, narrow valley and at other times flows more slowly through fields and forests. The well-maintained path crosses the river from one side to the other (17 times) by means of magnificent little bridges and footbridges. The route is very pleasant and shady, very well signposted and dotted with steps to ease the tricky bits. Large picnic tables have been set up at regular intervals. The very picturesque path crosses the rock in places.
You can see the many dams and hydroelectric installations (isn't hydroelectricity Switzerland's main form of energy?) and visit a small but very interesting museum at point 1 - le champ du moulin - devoted to the preservation of the ecosystem in the Areuse valley.
We can only thank the Société des Sentiers des Gorges de l'Areuse for maintaining this trail so well, much to our delight.
Thanks also to Visorando for providing a very good description of this hike. However, when we arrived at Bôle station, we had a little over 10.68km as advertised and we didn't understand why. So I agree with Arsys' comment that we had exactly 5 minutes to get our tickets. That said, the "return by train" option is very pleasant and .... typically Swiss.

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arsys
arsys

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent gorges of the Areuse. A succession of waterfalls, ravines and tumultuous waters. The relatively flat route is not difficult, as we are not great walkers. We set off from Noiraigue station as far as Bôle, then returned by train. The Swiss signposting is very well done. You can't get lost. We had based ourselves on the time indicated, i.e. 3h30 plus 30' for the picnic plus 30'... we were too short! We had to run to catch the train, otherwise we'd have to wait 1 hour in Bôle for the next train. The last third of the route was slippery (it must have rained the day before...). It's best to buy train tickets in advance at www.sbb.ch/fr: 3.10FS per person. Otherwise, there are ticket machines at the station. See also the timetables on this site (generally every 30' except at certain times).
Some people have told us that they prefer to go to Bôle by train and do the hike in the other direction.

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alexc25
alexc25

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant walk, accessible to all. Passing over bridges that give a very pretty view of the gorges. We took the train back to our starting point in Noiraigue. I'd definitely recommend it!

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andine.cha
andine.cha

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb hike that can end in the summer with a swim in Lac de Neuchatel, done in 2008 and this year.
I completely agree with Sandra.
From Noiraigue, you can also do "le Creux du Van" for a second day, and even from Motiers (6km away) do "les gorges de la Poëta-Raisse" for a third day, which will make 3 days of hiking in this valley called "le Val de Travers", accessible via Pontarlier...

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Sandra Guinchard
Sandra Guinchard

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 30, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A superb walk along the Areuse. The well-marked path is fairly flat and easy. There are only a few steep sections in the middle of the gorge, but they are very accessible.
A large part of the trail is in the undergrowth and therefore in the shade, which is very pleasant, especially when it's very hot.
A calm, pleasant and relaxing place.
When I arrived in Bôle, I took the SBB train back to Noiraigues station, where my car was parked: you can obviously walk back the way you came.
All in all, a magnificent tour!

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