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Car park at the sports hall in Ornans, Rue de Lonège, past the secondary school. Yellow and blue signposting.
(S/E) Head towards the roundabout (towards Chassagne-Saint-Denis) and immediately turn left up the Chemin de Chauveroche (towards Saut de Bonneille). Leave the Chemin des Ranchots on your right and continue along this small road for a good while. At the last house, the road turns to gravel, with a lovely view of the Chauveroche cliff on your right.
You’ll be accompanied by the babbling of the stream as the valley becomes wilder.
(1) You cross the stream via a footbridge. The path becomes grassy and the trees are covered in moss, taking on eerie shapes. After a final footbridge, the path becomes a damp track and, towards the end of the ravine, merges with the stream bank.
(2) As you approach the waterfall, the path climbs up the hillside to the right via wooden steps. Do not take this path straight away; instead, continue along the stream until you reach the foot of this magnificent waterfall. Then climb up the steps. You will soon reach a wider forest track.
(3) Take this path to the left, towards Flagey–Chassagne. The path becomes stony at a hairpin bend, winding round a signpost. Continue the climb to the right towards Chassagne-Saint-Denis.
(4) At the quiet county road, turn right and follow it for about 2 kilometres. This is the slightly monotonous part of the route, but it can be avoided (see: Practical information).
(5) Five hundred metres after leaving the woods, head down to the left along the small road. You’ll soon spot a sign on a telephone pole indicating you should head into the woods on the right. When the path reaches a plateau, at a metal forest sign marked No. 4 and a fork in the path, take the left-hand track downwards.
(6) At a signpost indicating a right turn, near a wooden hunting blind, the path joins another path at a right angle. You can either head straight to the right or take a detour to the left (staying carefully on this path, of course) to look down over the small gorge of the Valbois stream, which marks the start of the ravine, before returning to the junction.
(6) Continue straight on. You finally emerge from the woods with a view of Chassagne and begin the sunnier part of the walk.
(7) At the first houses in the village, head up to the left and turn right in front of the church. At the house on the left, behind the church, look out for the carved medieval stone on the façade. At the sign for Ornans, carry on straight ahead along Rue du Mont and, at the wayside shrine, leave the village on the left. On the far left, there’s a view of the Colline de la Vierge de Malbrans. The road becomes a gravel track.
(8) When the gravel gives way to grass, carry on straight ahead. You’ll enter the woods and reach the edge of the cliffs and the Monts d’Ornans viewpoint, overlooking the castle, the old town and the upper reaches of the Loue valley.
(9) Carry on and you’ll soon reach a wider path.
(10) Head down to the right to return to Ornans. Turn right onto the D 241. Carry on straight ahead through the Passage de Sevirey, then finally turn right to return to the car park (S/E).
Visorando Member
Easy 
Very difficult 
