The Verchat trail in Joncherey

A lovely hike in the Joncherey area near Delle, 25 km south-east of Belfort. Easy access via the N1019 expressway. You will discover a charming village, landscapes of fields and forests, and the Étang du Verchat lake with its tree houses.

This hike is marked with a red ring.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.67 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 53 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 52 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 399 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 358 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Joncherey (90100)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.525873° / E 7.002189°
  • Accessible from the train station Gare de Joncherey.
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3621OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking at the village hall.
Information board at the start of the Chemin des Écoliers.

Anneau Rouge trail markers

(S/E) Cross Rue d'Alsace (the road leading to Boron), follow Chemin des Écoliers opposite until you reach a housing estate, avoid the first two streets on the right by walking along the grove. Watch out for the markings.

(1) Turn right near the gate onto the path through the woods. Cross the residential area following Rue du 44ème Régiment d'Infanterie. It joins the Faverois road (D463), Rue du Caporal Peugeot.

(2) Turn left onto Allée du Monument. Shortly after the Caporal Peugeot Memorial, take the steps down to the road. Continue left for 150 metres, then take a farm track that climbs towards the forest. At the entrance to the woods, turn left. The path joins a much wider track.

(3) Follow it to the right. It leads to the campsite, which you must go around. Then turn right towards the entrance to the Camping du Passe Loup campsite and continue straight ahead. After the barrier, follow the "Larcat" path on the right to the Étang Verchat lake.

You will arrive at the Cabanes des Grands Reflets site on the Étang Verchat. This site, consisting of numerous tree houses and cabins on the water, has become a major tourist attraction in northern Franche-Comté. When passing through, please respect the peace and quiet of the cabin dwellers and fishermen.

(4) Walk along the right-hand side of the lake until you reach the dyke with the Étang de la Croix, which you must cross, then turn left and walk along the lake. Follow it to the Eco-Hutte reception centre, a splendid Sundgau farm built by the CCST (Communauté de Communes du Sud Territoire). Arrive at the Eco-Hutte reception centre. Continue along the pond for about 50 metres.

(5) Turn right and follow the edge of the Petit Étang. This path joins the access road to the cabins, which you must follow on the left to reach the D3 main road

(6) Cross the D3 carefully and continue along the wide path. It leads to the first houses in the Roselets neighbourhood, via Rue de la Chefferie.

(7) Follow the pavement on the left-hand side of the D19, Rue de Belfort, then turn left to go up Rue Voivre. Then turn right to follow Rue sur la Creuse and then Rue Champs du Mai, which is a continuation of the former. Keep an eye on the signposts.

(8) Turn left onto Rue du Près sur la Ville. At the end of this street, continue right onto a stony path that leads to Rue du Bambois. Turn left and follow this street up to Rue d'Alsace (D3).

(9) Follow it to the right. Go around the small chapel (dating from 1748) and admire the Virgin Mary before reaching the car park of the village hall (D//A).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 359 m - Parking at the Joncherey village hall
  2. 1 : km 0.61 - alt. 368 m - Forest barrier
  3. 2 : km 1.03 - alt. 373 m - Mémorial du Caporal Peugeot
  4. 3 : km 1.99 - alt. 381 m - Wide path
  5. 4 : km 3.6 - alt. 392 m - Etang Verchat
  6. 5 : km 4.41 - alt. 393 m - Eco Hutte d'accueil des Cabanes des Grands Reflets
  7. 6 : km 5.12 - alt. 384 m - Crossing the D3
  8. 7 : km 6.68 - alt. 359 m - Rue de Belfort (D19)
  9. 8 : km 7.44 - alt. 360 m - Rue Prés Sur la Ville
  10. 9 : km 8.07 - alt. 382 m - Rue d'Alsace (D3)
  11. S/E : km 8.67 - alt. 359 m - Car park at the Joncherey village hall

Notes

Departure from the car park of the village hall. Address: 2 Rue d'Alsace, 90100 Joncherey.

It is possible to park in the forest on the D3 between Joncherey and Velescot. In this case, start the hike at point (6). The most beautiful part is between point (6) and point (2).

Visorando was informed by Mr Chevalley, a volunteer member of Balisage90, based on brochures published by the Sud Territoire community of communes.

Worth a visit

The Verchat trail.
The name Joncherey comes from the Old French word "jungeris", which means "place full of rushes". Until the French Revolution, the village was divided between the parishes of Delle and Boncourt, then it was entirely attached to Delle to form a single parish.

The Church of Joncs.
Too small to have its own church, the inhabitants went either to Delle or Boncourt. In 1791, the authorities forbade the inhabitants from going to Boncourt.
It was the fire at the church in Delle that gave the inhabitants the opportunity to demand their own church, the construction of which began in 1865.

The Corporal Peugeot Memorial.
In August 1914, on the eve of the declaration of war with Germany, the President of the Republic, Raymond Poincaré, still believed in a peaceful resolution to the conflict. He asked the French army to withdraw 10 km from the border with Germany. On 2 August 1914, young Corporal André Peugeot, a local boy, and four of his men were tasked with holding an outpost at the exit of Joncherey in front of Louis Docourt's house. A patrol of seven German cavalrymen appeared at around 10 o'clock. André Peugeot and his men opposed the patrol's passage, and Peugeot was charged by German Lieutenant Albert Meyer. After an exchange of gunfire, both men were killed. Corporal Peugeot was the first French casualty of the First World War.
The Joncherey memorial commemorates this event.

Cabanes des Grands Reflets on the Verchat Pond.
This site, consisting of numerous tree houses and cabins on the water, has become a major tourist attraction in northern Franche-Comté. The Eco Hutte reception centre is a splendid Sundgau farmhouse built by the CCST (Communauté de Communes du Sud Territoire).

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
boubou6855
boubou6855

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

beautiful, peaceful autumn walk

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Meldan
Meldan

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Caution: forestry work at the entrance to the forest after the Joncherey exit meadow.

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fifou25
fifou25
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice little walk. Very beautiful cabins.

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DOPPLER Bernard
DOPPLER Bernard

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 31, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful course with a surprise: tree houses, stilt houses and other structures in a natural environment... a dream come true.
Thank you to the creators of this wonderful course and to VISORANDO in general.

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malou68
malou68

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk to discover Joncherey, its forest and its ponds.

The little extra was the tree houses and floating houses on the pond.

The downside: at point 5 along the small pond, there is a very narrow path lined with tall grass, which is rather risky as it is right next to the water. One false step and you could end up in the pond. I preferred to turn back and continue along the road.

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Alex Deldevaudes
Alex Deldevaudes

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 16, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant little walk alternating between housing estates, country lanes, forest and ponds. Surprising for its tree houses and floating cabins.

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Claude Rémond
Claude Rémond

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beyond the residential areas of Joncherey (interest varies depending on the street), the highlight of the route, which used to focus on the solitary poetry of the Verchat pond, is now the return route through the woods.
It should be noted that the tree houses and houses on the water or on the edge of the woods also arouse curiosity. The risk is that with 25 houses in total, it will no longer be possible to indulge in the "daydreams of the solitary walker".

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CalouDS
CalouDS

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 24, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk through the forest and along the edge of a pond overlooked by beautiful floating cabins and tree houses. Very accessible.

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patos
patos

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 28, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

relaxing hike

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