Le Pissoux and La Roche du Miroir

You will descend along the aptly named Pissoux, through a mossy valley. From the top of a wild and jagged promontory, then from the Roche du Miroir, to the more civilised viewpoint, you will discover the Dessoubre, overlooked by high cliffs, home to chamois and peregrine falcons. Along a charming path winding and weaving between superbly carved rocks, you will cross sunny meadows to reach the Montbéliardot botanical trail, running alongside an old pile of stone gathered from fields.

Details

856648
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.49 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 451 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 442 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 878 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 541 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Coming from Le Luhier, park at the intersection of the D20 and the small road (sign not cleared of snow in winter) that descends from Mont-de-Laval.

(S/E) The starting point for the hike is at the intersection. Take the grassy forest path (towards Saut du Pissoux). When it starts to climb again, look out for the sign on the right inviting you to descend the path on the right into the valley. Be careful! The path is picturesque and wild, but very slippery at the beginning. A chain will help you. To avoid any mishaps, I descended backwards, holding on tightly to the handrail. You will arrive at the beautiful rocks of the Cascade du Pissoux.

(1) Cross the small tarmac road and continue downhill along the stream via the path opposite. When you reach a wider path, go up to the right for about thirty steps towards the mossy rocks for a return trip to the old bridge over the Pissoux. You will arrive at a hairpin bend on a stony path. Go down it to the right for about 300 metres.

(2) When it starts to climb again, look out for the slightly hidden marker on the left. Continue left along this forest path, which doesn't look like much, for about 40 steps and descend left onto the path that leads to the stream. You will come to a path descending from the left at three signposts. Continue straight ahead along the Pissoux towards Plaimbois-du-Miroir.

(3) A little further on, at some beautiful high rocks, there is another fork in the path. Go up to the right. Join the D20, going up to the right for 200 metres, and climb up the stony path on the left. Beautiful views of the Roche du Miroir. At the nearby fork, go up to the right. Soon, at the small open space, leave two overgrown paths on your left and continue straight ahead. A little further up, at another fork, continue along the well-marked path that turns sharply to the left.

(4) At the top, at the crossroads, turn right towards Plaimbois. Be careful! 300 metres further on, look out for the signpost indicating the path to climb up the hillside on the right. When you reach the ridge, the marked path turns sharply left. Climb to the right for about a hundred metres to reach the top of this jagged promontory, despite the crosses. Be careful, as the path runs close to the edge of the cliffs. Turn back when it ends, about 100 metres from where I was when I passed. There are places to stop for a bite to eat at the edge of the rocks, offering a wilder view than the more civilised viewpoint.

(5) Turn back and continue straight on to the pastures. Turn right for the Roche du Miroir viewpoint. Turn back and continue straight on to the picnic table. At the stony road, turn left for about a hundred metres for another round trip to a viewpoint over the Dessoubre valley (small path on the right).

(6) Return to the entrance to Plaimbois and descend the tarmac road on the right, which is closed by a huge gate, probably due to the risk of falling rocks. This is a very short stretch of tarmac road, but it offers beautiful views of the valley and the Rocher du Miroir. About a hundred metres after the cliffs, after the sign warning of unstable ground, look for the marker post that directs you to climb left up a charming path winding and weaving between beautifully carved rocks. Enter the pasture via a small ladder to the left of the gate. At the end of the pasture, you will come to a crossroads in the shape of an X. Take the left-hand path leading uphill.

(7) Another ladder allows you to leave the pasture and you turn left onto a small road with beautiful views of Mont-de-Laval and Montbéliardot. You enter the woods again and quickly leave a small tarmac road on your left to discover a pretty isolated farm. Ten steps from the building, look for a signpost on a telephone pole and leave the road, heading into the woods on the right via a path. You will come to a farm track, which you cross to continue along the path on the other side. Soon, at the next farm track, turn left onto a tarmac road and follow it up to the first bend.

(8) Turn right onto the small road towards La Seigne farm. Shortly before the farm, look for a ladder in the fence on the right to climb over it and descend along the fence on the right. At the end of the fence, climb the hill diagonally at a 45° angle to the left towards the edge of the woods. You may get your feet a little wet, as "seigne" is an old French word meaning marsh. About a hundred metres to the left of a large fir tree, another ladder allows you to re-enter the woods. You will come to a wider forest path which you climb to the left for about fifteen steps before leaving it immediately and climbing up the path on the right.

(9) At a marker post, you will reach the Montbéliardot Arboretum Botanical Trail, which you will take to the right. A little further on, there is a fork in the path. Take the left fork. You are now on the Orchid Trail. Walk along an old dry stone wall on a charming ridge, passing on either side of the pile of stone gathered from fields. At the edge of the pasture, at the marker post, continue straight ahead (towards Moulin du Bois). Enter a pasture and walk along the edge on your right, then immediately turn right onto a forest path.

(10) Back in the pastures, cross straight across the small meadow to find a path in a gap in the edge opposite. A few metres further on, there is a fork in the path with a rickety marker post, which may be lying on the ground when you pass. Descend to the right along this beautiful path, which will take you back to the D20. Turn right onto the departmental road, then left to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 759 m - Edge of the D20
  2. 1 : km 0.89 - alt. 652 m - Saut du Pissoux
  3. 2 : km 1.78 - alt. 604 m - Monflis
  4. 3 : km 2.41 - alt. 541 m - Between Roches
  5. 4 : km 4.14 - alt. 751 m - Les Arpes
  6. 5 : km 4.68 - alt. 815 m - Roche du Miroir
  7. 6 : km 5.41 - alt. 822 m - Viewpoint over the Dessoubre valley.
  8. 7 : km 7.4 - alt. 851 m - Coutechie
  9. 8 : km 8.76 - alt. 827 m - La Seigne
  10. 9 : km 9.51 - alt. 866 m - Botanical trail
  11. 10 : km 10.94 - alt. 809 m - Montbéliardot
  12. S/E : km 11.49 - alt. 759 m - Edge of the D20

Notes

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

At the point (5), be careful not to go more than 100 metres along the cliff path, where, when I passed, the path ended. However, animals (or careless hikers) may have extended it. Going any further is dangerous.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 11 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
Eterle
Eterle

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful and varied hike. We didn't meet a single person, even though it was the middle of the summer holidays.
We had a picnic at point 5, which is actually nicer for that than at the viewpoint.
Be careful after point 8, at the Seigne farm, as the ladder to climb over the fence is currently broken. On the right, in the corner of the fence, you can open it by moving a post closed by a barbed wire ring.
Thanks for the useful description. The yellow and blue markings are fairly easy to follow.

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CPoty
CPoty

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with varied landscapes and very pleasant in sunny weather as it is well shaded.

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françois et sylvie
françois et sylvie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 20, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Great hike

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patrick.toupance
patrick.toupance

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike

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tonnoguh
tonnoguh

Hello Le Garenne 25, and thank you for your kind comment!
Claude

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Le Garenne 25
Le Garenne 25

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you to our generous contributor tonnoguh! This hike is magnificent, and we did it today, the day after rain: indeed, the descent justifies the description of difficult, as does the elevation gain, which is underestimated (on IGN, the same GPX track gives me 540m), which I think is more realistic. The vast majority of the route is in the woods, which makes it very pleasant at this time of year. I would not recommend it in spring as it is very slippery. Since the original text was written, many signs have been replaced (for example, at point 10, the post is brand new and no longer wobbly). The same goes for the yellow markings, which have been updated. In short, this is one of the local spots not to be missed, and thank you again!

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khouzhain
khouzhain

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Indeed overrated: no difficulty except (perhaps) 10 metres of chains at the start of the descent.
Slippery and muddy descent except in dry weather.
No one on the Pissoux descent or the Plaimbois du Miroir ascent. Five to six people afterwards.

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frans77
frans77

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 27, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Nice route, quite technical in places.
Completed in just over 3 hours.

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henri5812
henri5812

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 03, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Beautiful hike. The little stream at Pissoux is magnificent, despite the lack of water (drought).
The botanical trail and the orchid trail are very poorly named. Not a flower in sight, let alone orchids. Nor are there any signs that one might expect to find on a botanical trail. On the other hand, there are plenty of orchids along the road between 6 and 7.

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17decembre
17decembre

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 05, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike in dry weather (not slippery, but no water in the Pissoux either...). Explanations or understanding a little confusing at point 10, but the signpost has been repaired!
A pleasant, shaded hike that can be done in very sunny weather, walking sticks essential at the start if the ground is wet.
Encountered chamois several times.

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colley
colley

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 21, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very good walk, everything is well signposted. Thank you.

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Randonneur25210
Randonneur25210

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 24, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Having practised regularly in this area, I think the description 'difficult' is too strong. There are no technical problems, but there is a height difference of around 300 metres to manage at a leisurely pace. Don't hesitate. The site is magnificent in all seasons. JCD

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