Mont Sala

de fr

Mont Sala offers remarkable views of Lake Geneva and the Alps, particularly its highest peak.
Important note mentioned by a hiker: this route is located in an area regulated by the Federal District of Le Noirmont; in winter, only marked trails are authorised in order to preserve wildlife, so access to Crêt des Danses and summit 1515 is prohibited.

Details

n°2663
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Snowshoeing
    Activity: Snowshoeing
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.06 km
  • ◔
    Duration according to the author: 7 hrs 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 511 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 505 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,528 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,133 m
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Photos

View of Mont Sala
Creux du Croue
From Mont Sala to Mont Blanc!
View from the top of Mont Sala

Description of the walk

Park in the Bourbe car park, on the right-hand side of the road coming from La Cure before the hamlet of La Bourbe.

(S/E) Take the wide track on the left, stay on it for about 500 metres, then turn right onto the path (signposted Mont Sala).

(1) This forest path leads to Crêt des Danses.

(2) Continue along the track, turn left at elevation 1469 and continue to the place known as Cimetière des Bourguignons.

(3) Turn right to reach hill 1515.

(4) Leave Mont Pelé on your left and take the path marked with a yellow diamond sign saying "Itinéraire Pédestre" (walking route). This path leads out of the forest to an alpine pasture. There you will see a sign pointing to Mont Sala.

(5) Descend north-west to reach the Chalet des Électriciens.

(6) Return to the previous trail and follow it north. Reach Creux à la Neige, then the crossroads at elevation 1340.

(7) Take the cross-country track on the left that leads to the many chalets in Bois d'Amont. Return to the crossroads you passed on the way there.

(1) Follow the same route back to the Bourbe car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,133 m - La Bourbe car park
  2. 1 : km 0.25 - alt. 1,182 m - Carrefour de la Côte
  3. 2 : km 2.18 - alt. 1,528 m - Crêt des Danses
  4. 3 : km 3.22 - alt. 1,518 m - Cimetière aux Bourguignons
  5. 4 : km 3.75 - alt. 1,502 m - Carrefour Mont Pelé - View of the - Lac Léman
  6. 5 : km 4.7 - alt. 1,502 m - Mont Sala
  7. 6 : km 5.07 - alt. 1,480 m - Electricians' Cabin
  8. 7 : km 6.89 - alt. 1,345 m - Carrefour des Fruitières
  9. S/E : km 10.06 - alt. 1,139 m - La Bourbe car park

Notes

The special feature of this walk is that it offers a must-see stop at the Chalet des Electriciens. This chalet is open, has a stove, wood, tables, chairs – in short, everything you need for an extremely pleasant rest and meal.

Worth a visit

This hike on the French-Swiss border can be complemented by a visit to, for example:
Fort des Rousses,
unless you prefer a trip on a typical little train between
La Cure and Nyon.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 46 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.1 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
bernardino
bernardino ★

Hello and thank you very much for this information. I mentioned it in the introduction to the guide.
Have a nice day.

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PascaleB.
PascaleB.
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This guidebook is located in an area regulated by the Noirmont Federal District: during winter, only marked trails are permitted in order to preserve wildlife; access to Crêt des Danses and summit 1515 is therefore prohibited.

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User 13067634

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 25, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route, I think it's worth doing in any season as long as visibility is good.
A bit unclear between point 4 (Mount Pelé) and point 5 (Mount Sala), but luckily I found some snowshoe tracks.
On fairly soft snow, it took me 7 hours including breaks.

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User 13007304

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 05, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The second part of the route down Mount Sala cuts through the mountain and the forest... quite steep. After 1 km, I retraced my steps so as not to get lost because it didn't seem safe.
Otherwise, the start of the trail is well marked and beautiful.

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User 27303149

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Without using road signs, it is very difficult to follow this route

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Ellerandonne
Ellerandonne
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Snowshoe hike in a group. It took about 4 hours to reach Mont Sala, then 2 hours to descend. The first part is a bit technical, and it's quite a climb! We got a bit lost and had to search for the path just before reaching Mont Sala. But the view of Lake Geneva and the Alps made all our efforts worthwhile!
Great hike!! And wonderful weather.

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Renard 39
Renard 39

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Snowshoe hike. Beautiful weather and views.

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Renard 39
Renard 39

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Snowshoe hike. Beautiful weather and views.

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Mavil
Mavil

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike that crosses varied landscapes.
Very beautiful view of the Alps.
The difficulty (quite a steep climb) is only in the first 2 kilometres.

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vhs
vhs

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike in the Jura with two stunning views of Mont Pelé and Mont Sala... but cloudy over the Alps!

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giroddo@orange.fr
giroddo@orange.fr

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

One of the most beautiful trails on the Crêtes du Jura, both in summer and winter.
The Combe des Bénignes is remarkable for its depth (horizon) and the atmosphere it exudes.
Remember that the Électriciens chalet is always a welcome place to warm up, especially in winter with its wood-burning stove.
The view of the Alps is unmissable.🤩🤩🤩

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ppillon
ppillon

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A timeless hike with truly magnificent views from Mount Sâla over Lake Geneva and the Alps. We were also lucky enough to see a capercaillie near Mount Pelé.

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Cathy21200
Cathy21200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent hike, very well marked!
The car park is easy to access.
A nice climb right from the start to reach a magnificent green setting.
We were blown away by the views.
We came across some Patous dogs guarding their flocks of sheep. We had no problems with these dogs as long as we kept our distance.
When we arrived at Mont Sala, we caught a glimpse of Lake Geneva, but unfortunately it was shrouded in mist, as were the Alps, which we couldn't see...
We'll definitely be back!

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mauricejeannine
mauricejeannine

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Take a taxi to the Bourbe car park (give the taxi driver directions as the car park is not on their GPS!).
The trail starts with a very steep climb over rocky ground. When you reach a small clearing just before Creux du Croue, don't make the same mistake we did: at a fork in the trail, there is a path that descends to the right and another to the left; the yellow diamond-shaped "itinéraire pédestre" sign is on a tree at the crossroads. We took the wrong path because there was a red cross on a tree on the left-hand trail, which we interpreted as meaning that it was the wrong way, especially as there were several red arrows pointing to the right-hand trail. We took it and ended up at a barbed wire fence, with more red markings. Clearly, this was not the right route. We went back to the fork and took the other path...which led us to Creux du Croue where we met a shepherd who explained that the red marks on the trees indicated which trees were to be felled! Magnificent view from Creux du Croue where we continued to the left to Mont Sala and descended, as indicated, to La Bourbe through the pastures. We returned to Les Rousses on foot via the D29, which was quite busy. A very beautiful route, well marked, and a magnificent view from the top of Mont Sala, with Mont Blanc still shrouded in mist! No difficulty.

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MINOMICHEL
MINOMICHEL
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

this is a very interesting hike through alpine pastures where you can admire old fruit farms
before reaching the summit, where you can enjoy a magnificent panorama that will take your breath away. It's magnificent! I should point out that I did this hike on foot and not with snowshoes

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