The Sentier des Bornes trail in Beaucourt

This idyllic, often shaded walk will take you past a myriad of carved stone boundary markers adorned with inscriptions from days gone by.
The route is signposted.

Details

n°1109020
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.41 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Extremely difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 653 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 679 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,896 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,224 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Start from the cemetery car park.
The path is marked with a Yellow Ring.

(S/E) At the top of the Cimetière des Pins, at the corner of the wall, turn right onto a forest track running parallel to a small tarmac road; this leads to the football pitch.
As you emerge from the woods and the stadium comes into view, turn left and walk along the northern side of the stadium, overlooking it. Pass between the two sports pitches and continue along Rue de la Carrière for about a hundred metres.

(1) At the crossroads, cross the D57. The path climbs up opposite into the woods and reaches the summit of Grammont (alt. 578 m). In case of rain, shelter is available about 200 metres away. On the ridge, turn left then right; the path descends, widens and passes by the water tower.

(2) At the junction with the path coming from Montbouton, turn left. On the descent, and before the Champs Houdin farm, follow the lower path and continue straight on. 500 metres further on, the path makes two large consecutive bends.

(3) Turn left and follow the valley floor. This deeply incised path leads to the D57, which it crosses before continuing on the other side. Rocky escarpments on either side, sometimes forming ledges, make it very picturesque; here there is a fine line of boundary stones. It descends in successive steps to a meadow.

(4) At the boundary stone, situated on the border of the three municipalities of Beaucourt, Saint-Dizier and Badevel, head left for about 50 metres and then turn right.

(5) You will reach the Creux de Malefosse (a geological sinkhole). From there, climb a steep path which joins the Vita trail. Then stay on the path, which runs slightly below the main trail, until you reach the edge of the woods, where the starting car park is located (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 1,522 ft - Cemetery car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.45 - alt. 1,535 ft - Crossing the D57
  3. 2 : mi 1.39 - alt. 1,837 ft - Junction with the Chemin de Montbouton
  4. 3 : mi 2.07 - alt. 1,781 ft - La Charbonnière
  5. 4 : mi 3.67 - alt. 1,234 ft - Monumental boundary stone, situated on the boundary of the three municipalities
  6. 5 : mi 3.83 - alt. 1,257 ft - Creux de Malefosse
  7. S/E : mi 4.41 - alt. 1,522 ft - Cemetery car park

Notes

Starting point: Beaucourt, 21 km from Belfort via the A36 and the N1019 expressway.
Car park: next to the Catholic cemetery: Cimetière des Pins, Chemin des Fossés, 90500 Beaucourt.

Visorando was provided with this information by Mr Chevalley, a volunteer member of balisage90, based on the leaflets published by the Belfort Department of Territorial Planning.

Worth a visit

The Japy saga.
It was in 1777 that Frédéric Japy settled in Beaucourt. He introduced faster machine tools and mechanised watchmaking. From around 50 workers in 1777, the company employed 5,500 a few decades later. However, faced with new competition, the company went into liquidation in 1979. Beaucourt retains many traces of this history: workers’ houses and châteaux, most of which still feature in the landscape today.
The Japy Museum traces this entire history. There, you can see such famous objects as the ‘Adrian’ helmet and typewriters.

Le Grammont.
This is a peak in the Lomont range of the Jura Mountains, home to an ancient Neolithic settlement and numerous burial mounds erected by the Celts. Since the 19th century, this site has yielded numerous skeletal remains, axes, pottery and other artefacts.
For further details, visit https://montbouton.fr/notre-village/hist...

Le Creux de Malefosse.
It is situated in the Bois de la Côte between the towns of Beaucourt and Badevel (Doubs). It is a geological sinkhole, with an underground river that flows all the way to Porrentruy in Switzerland. Often dry, the resurgence swells as the snow melts. Suddenly, water gushes forth and floods the surrounding areas.

Les Bornes.
From 1042 to 1793, the town of Montbéliard was part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1495, the Count of Württemberg and Montbéliard was elevated to the rank of Duke by Emperor Maximilian I. It was henceforth known as the ‘Principality of Montbéliard’. Throughout this route, you will be able to discover the boundary stones that bear witness to the upheavals in this region’s history.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
huck christian
huck christian

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Still a few trees blocking the way, but most of it has been cleared.

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Philhame
Philhame

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Muddy path with a few trees across it.
The boundary markers are not particularly interesting.

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CAILLIAU.Bernard
CAILLIAU.Bernard

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very good signage
Compliant round yellow sign.
Follow the yellow circles all the way.

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lisous
lisous

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 25, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

For greater ease, follow the yellow circles from the forest entrance to the arrival point.

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martine;
martine;

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 28, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant walk, but best done in dry weather and with good footwear, as some slopes can be slippery when wet (leaves and mud).

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matry
matry

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A walk mainly through the forest, so very shady.
Be sure to choose good weather for your adventure.
There are no particular difficulties, so it's suitable for families. We took our 6-year-old son along with us.

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Calou24
Calou24

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Please note that there are few places to picnic along this route, which is lovely but currently has a lot of flies, mosquitoes and other horseflies.

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nici25
nici25

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A delightful route through the woods, ideal in warm weather!

Unfortunately, we could only do half the course because a mountain bike endurance race was taking place that day without us knowing, which meant there were muddy patches everywhere, especially after weeks of incessant rain!
We'll have to try again in July or August.

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