The Henri IV lime tree and the Gerbaz mills

Park in the car park of the stadium and school in Féternes.

Directional signs at major crossroads. Yellow arrow posts at intervals along the marked sections.

Blue markings

(S/E) With your back to the school, turn left twice and walk along the football stadium on your right. At the corner of the stadium, turn right. At the next corner, turn left and take a path through the woods that first descends and then levels out. Leave the woods and walk along a meadow on your right. The path soon gives way to a small paved road that descends.

No markings

(1) At the "Sur Lesvaux" sign, continue straight ahead on the tarmac road (ignore the marked path on the left). Descend slightly, ignore a small lane on the right and cross the Route du Creux on the left. After the Lesvaux oratory (on the left), the road turns right. Walk between the meadows and note the view of the Jura Mountains opposite and on the left.

(2) At^{the first} houses, at the corner of No. 1541, turn left. You will come to a small road; follow it to the left.

Blue markings

(3) At the next intersection, continue straight ahead along Chemin de la Grotte aux Fées towards the chapel and Henri IV's lime tree. When you reach a drinking trough, ignore the turn-off on the left. Walk past the chapel and you will come to the majestic lime tree opposite it. Retrace your steps.

(3) At the intersection, turn left. At the next crossroads, take the^second left, Chemin des Noyers. Turn right onto this small road and continue straight ahead (north). Join another road and follow it as it continues.

(4) After a right-hand bend and at the entrance to a left-hand bend, leave the road and turn right onto a discreet path towards Thièze/La Gerbaz. Climb slightly along a stream (wet passage). At the T-junction, turn right onto a path which, at the first houses, gives way to tarmac.

No markings

(5) At the next junction (signposted "Thièze dessus"), first turn left then right and take a path not shown on the map, which enters a wood. At the fork that immediately appears, take the left-hand path and climb gently.

Blue markings

(6) You will come to a small road; follow it to the right. At the stop sign, turn right.

(7) After about 50 metres, turn left onto the narrow Chemin des Lilas, towards La Gerbaz/Féternes. At the crossroads immediately ahead, go straight on. At the next crossroads (signposted "Thièze dessus"), turn left, still towards La Gerbaz/Féternes. At the three-way junction, take the small road on the left. Further on, follow a river on your left, then leave it to climb a steep slope.

(8) At the next intersection, turn left and continue on relatively flat ground. After about 100 metres, leave the road and follow a shaded path on the right overlooking the river. Pass a hut on your right and note one of the old mills of La Gerbaz below on your left. Continue along the path bordering the orchard and then the meadow. You will come to a crossroads with an old mill on your left (information board).

(9) Then turn right and head uphill towards Féternes. At the T-junction, turn left. Climb steadily up a gravel path which then gives way to tarmac. Note the beautiful view opposite of Mont Ouzon and Grande Pointe des Journées and, turning around, the extensive panorama of Lake Geneva. Pass a cross dated 2015 which marks the top of the hill, continue along the small road and walk past a farm.

No markings

(10) At the T-junction, follow the D21 to the right and downhill (caution: narrow shoulder, busy road). Enter Féternes.

(11) At the cemetery, turn left onto Route du Stade. Pass a school on your right, continue straight ahead and you will arrive at the stadium car park (S/E).

Good sports shoes are sufficient for this hike, which follows good paths and small roads with little traffic. Some passages may be muddy.

No water sources identified along the route. Bakery and grocery store in Thièze, off the route, on Route de Theozia.

On the sections marked in blue, the colour chosen is very dark, so the markings are not easily visible from a distance. A detailed map is useful (at least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed twice by the author, the first time on 27 October 2020, the second on 8 August 2023.

- Panoramic views of the surrounding mountains: to the east, the Mémises-Oche massif; to the south, the Pointe de Tréchauffé, Mont Ouzon and the Pointe des Grandes Journées, which hides Mont Billiat.

- Panoramic views of Lake Geneva and the Jura mountains: between (S/E) and (3) and between (9) and (10).

- Lesvaux Oratory (1899), between (1) and (3).

- Châteauvieux Chapel (13th century), shortly after (3).

- Imposing lime tree, known as Henri IV, opposite the chapel. The tree is estimated to be at least 400 years old, with a circumference of 10 metres at 1.30 metres above ground level, and was classified as a Remarkable Tree in 2000.

- Old mills of La Gerbaz, between (8) and (9).