Mont Souvance

A challenging climb to Pic d'Aigremont and Mont Souvance, overlooking the Doubs Valley and visible from Besançon and Baume-les-Dames, observation points already used by the Romans. The discovery of various small objects from the Bronze Age at the summit of Mont Souvance, where the cross stands, indicates occupation since the Bronze Age.

Details

1356025
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.90 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 451 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 453 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 547 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 260 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Laissey (25820)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.297911° / E 6.232203°
  • Accessible from the train station Gare de Laissey.
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3423ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking in the centre of Laissey, Grande Rue, opposite the Musée de l'Outil. Yellow-blue markings. The first two kilometres are unmarked.

(S/E) Head towards the small building in the middle of the car park and go down the stairs to Grande Rue, then turn left until you reach the roundabout. Take a look at the war memorial and its soldier in blue uniform. Turn left towards Baume-les-Dames. At the edge of the village, turn left onto the D30 for a short stretch of quiet road offering beautiful views of the river (dam and old mill) and Roulans Castle.

(1) After the level crossing, turn left onto Rue du Château, which is a dead-end street. At the last house, it becomes a path that climbs up the wooded hillside. Don't be alarmed by the old "Private Property" signs. I asked the owner of the house, and we are entering the castle woods, but the lord of the manor tolerates the climb (on foot only).

(2) At the corner of the castle walls, you will come to a beautiful forest path which you climb on the left. Do not go towards the entrance, as it is private property and you will not see any more of the castle. Be discreet and turn left immediately. After a little over 200 metres, when the path turns to the right, climb the path on the left that runs along the ridge to the chapel.

(3) You will soon arrive at the Chapel of Aigremont with beautiful views to the north over the Val de Roulans and to the south over the Jura mountains. After your visit, leave via the stairs opposite the entrance and descend, following a Way of the Cross, to a crossroads marked by a signpost and a metal post.

(4) Turn left towards Laissey, following the yellow-blue markings, avoiding the crossroads marked with a cross.

(5) You will come to another fork marked by signs. Take the left path towards Croix de Souvance. Make one last effort to tackle this unsecured path with caution and enjoy the magnificent panorama from this unique viewpoint at 460 metres above sea level, overlooking the Jura mountains, the Roulans valley and the Doubs valley towards Baume-les-Dames. When you reach the promontory, the path splits; descend slightly to the right.

(6) Return to the junction marked by signs.

(5) Take the path on the left, which joins a wider path that you also take on the left. As you walk, enjoy the sight of trees that are probably centuries old, highlighted by the airy undergrowth.

(7) You will exit the forest and find a stone path that runs along the left side of the railway line. It will take you to Laissey via Rue du Maroc, then Impasse Malle Planches, still guided by the markers. Opposite the station, go down the stairs and pass under the tracks via the underpass. Back at the roundabout, walk past the station to return to the car park. (S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 272 m - Car park in the centre of Laissey - Gare de Laissey
  2. 1 : km 1 - alt. 276 m - Level crossing
  3. 2 : km 2.02 - alt. 354 m - Le Petit Roulans
  4. 3 : km 3.31 - alt. 546 m - Notre-Dame d'Aigremont Chapel
  5. 4 : km 3.85 - alt. 469 m - Way of the Cross
  6. 5 : km 4.52 - alt. 466 m - Mont Souvrance
  7. 6 : km 5.09 - alt. 503 m - Mont Souvance viewpoint. Valley of - Doubs (rivière)
  8. 7 : km 6.52 - alt. 287 m - Railway line
  9. S/E : km 7.9 - alt. 272 m - Car park in the centre of Laissey

Notes

The route includes cliff-edge paths and unsecured viewpoints. The paths are rocky and slippery in places. Sturdy footwear is essential and walking sticks are recommended.

I have rated the walk as "moderate", but the climb to Mont de Souvance may be considered difficult by some.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
chralto63
chralto63

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The view from the summit is magnificent, but getting there was a real obstacle course.
Almost the entire way, we had to climb over or crawl under tree trunks blocking the path. This made progress very slow, especially in the rain and on very muddy, slippery ground.

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Jano25
Jano25

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Clear roadmap.
I don't know how long the hike takes because I did it in 1 hour 50 minutes without point 6.
During the climb, we had to climb over fallen trees on the path (climbing over hedges is good for your glutes 😁).
The descent after the chapel towards the village was quite challenging, as the ground was littered with dead trees and the access to point 6 (Mont Souvance) was difficult to find, plus it was starting to get dark.
At this time of year, hiking boots are your best friends, as the descent is very muddy and slippery.
An interesting elevation gain and a beautiful view from Notre Dame d'Aigremont! 👍🏻

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RHOU
RHOU
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I'm a bit torn...
On the one hand, the hike is definitely worth the detour. As a resident of Besançon, I hadn't yet had the opportunity to climb up to the Chapelle d'Aigremont, and God knows that Besançon has some beautiful viewpoints (e.g. VALMY, Chapelle Notre Dame du Mont, etc.), but I must admit that I loved sitting at the Chapelle d'Aigremont viewpoint, which offers a 360-degree panorama. AWESOME!
The downside: the first 800 metres are on a country road with no pavement or pedestrian lane...! Too bad.
Then, as other hikers have pointed out, the path leading to the castle ruins (about 1 km) is completely inaccessible because it is overgrown with vegetation (including brambles, etc.). Unless you go with pruning shears and brush cutters, give up on this hike for now.

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Isa25
Isa25

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike, especially in warm weather. We couldn't climb Mount Souvance because after a few metres
of trail, there was only scrub and broken branches, which was a shame but not a big deal.
Magnificent view from Notre Dame d'Aigremont and other viewpoints. Thank you for this suggestion.

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samuel besancon
samuel besancon

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Be careful on the path leading to the castle, as it is rarely used and vegetation has grown back to the point of hiding the path.

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PatMal59
PatMal59

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The private path leading to the castle (Le Petit Roulans) was littered with branches and fallen trees during our walk.

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quencez
quencez

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very pleasant walk with magnificent views, many shaded sections in the forest, no real difficulty on Mont Souvance if the ground is dry, access via a private path to the castle, which is not cleared but passable.

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perblan
perblan

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb hike. I was scouting out hikes for a group, but I decided not to take a group of 30 people for safety reasons, both due to lack of space and to respect biodiversity...

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