The bocage of Éclose and the Forêt du Roi

An unpretentious walk through the Éclose bocage and the Forêt du Roi.

Details

284578
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.95 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 159 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 155 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 612 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 509 m

Description of the walk

Park in the car park of the church and town hall of Éclose.

(S/E) Head east towards "Chateauvilain" (sign).

(1) Cross the D1085, where there is a traffic light, and continue straight ahead, still heading towards Châteauvilain (signposted).

(2) Take the first right at an iron cross (towards Les Planches). Ignore a small road on the right leading to a housing estate. Take the next road on the right (signposted Route des Grabissières).
Go past this hamlet and, after a right-hand bend at the top of the hill, take the dirt track opposite you. Further on, take the left-hand track. This will bring you back to the small road that leads to the hamlet of Le Marc (concrete cross hidden on the left).
Take the gravel path on the right (yellow markings) and you will quickly reach a fork.

(3) Take the left fork (signposted "Le Crépon" - direction "Belmont Eglise"). Curiously, a blue sign indicates the place called "Le Marc" 400 metres away, even though we have just passed through it (?!)
Enter the forest and go straight ahead at the crossroads.

(4) Take the first grassy path on the right. At a fork, continue on the left. Follow your path, ignoring those that branch off to the right or left, until it meets a path at a 90° angle (T-junction).

(5) Turn left. Very quickly, your path will veer sharply to the right. Ignore a small path that branches off to the left. You will come to another T-junction. Turn right and pass under a power line. On your left, you will see a clearing currently covered with ferns (June 2016). Follow the path until you leave the forest.

(6) Ignore the first path coming from the field on the right and take a small road on the right. It passes under a high-voltage power line. Follow the edge of the forest, following its twists and turns. When you cross a strip of woodland (yes, really...), continue on the left.

(7) You will then come to a small road that you should take to the left. Go up a small hill and, after passing a small mound on the right and before returning to the high-voltage power line, take the wide gravel path on the right.

(8) When you arrive directly below the power line, turn right. When you leave the power line behind, leave an old path on the left and take the next one (signposted "Plan Martin" - direction "Éclose Mairie").

(9) You will rejoin the D1085, which you should cross very carefully. Be careful! Traffic moves very fast here.
Follow the small road that climbs up opposite, then take the first right fairly quickly. The road continues to climb, offering views of the Ain mountains, with glimpses of Mont du Chat and Chartreuse.

Our small road seems to end in the courtyard of a house. Not so! It turns into a grassy path that branches off to the left.

(10) You come to a T-junction. Turn right. Then, a little further on, turn right again. Your path turns right again. You come to a small road and a hamlet. Continue straight ahead, then turn right to reach a priority sign.

(11) Cross over to take the small road opposite, even though there is a yellow cross. You will come to a stop sign. Continue to the right (watch out for cars).

(12) When the road turns right, continue straight ahead on the small road that leads to the cemetery, then to the church where you will find the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 512 m - Car park at the town hall and church in Éclose
  2. 1 : km 0.22 - alt. 514 m - Crossing the RD1085
  3. 2 : km 0.68 - alt. 523 m - Iron cross
  4. 3 : km 2.67 - alt. 582 m - Sign for "Le Crépon"
  5. 4 : km 3.34 - alt. 612 m - Beautiful grassy path on the right
  6. 5 : km 3.85 - alt. 598 m - T-junction. Turn left.
  7. 6 : km 4.84 - alt. 583 m - Exit the woods. Take the small road on the right.
  8. 7 : km 6.47 - alt. 548 m - Turn left onto a small road.
  9. 8 : km 7.65 - alt. 554 m - Directly below the high-voltage power line.
  10. 9 : km 8.34 - alt. 564 m - D1085
  11. 10 : km 9.61 - alt. 594 m - T-junction. Turn right.
  12. 11 : km 10.91 - alt. 529 m - Give way sign. Go straight ahead.
  13. 12 : km 11.58 - alt. 513 m - Small road to the cemetery
  14. S/E : km 11.95 - alt. 512 m - Town hall and church car park

Notes

Éclose is located along the D1085, halfway between eastern Lyon and Grenoble.

Worth a visit

Forêt du Roi.
Éclose hedgerow.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
Duds
Duds
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Route tracked with GPS. 3 hours and 8 minutes without running. Very beautiful walk, little elevation gain, varied landscapes. No difficulty. Still not suitable for pushchairs.

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Yannick_Josset
Yannick_Josset

Hello,
Thank you for contributing to this project.
I will revisit the route as soon as possible to review the description.
Unfortunately, Eclose is more than 10 km from my home. So we'll have to wait...
Happy walking.
Yannick

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Anchapaufab
Anchapaufab
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Today's route took 2 hours and 20 minutes at a brisk pace, with two stops (one to see some friendly cows after point 6, which came up to us, and another for a snack break).
The details of the route are not very precise. "Quite far from there"...!?! A measurement would have been appreciated. Fortunately, we had the map...
In addition, a small update of the route by the administrator might be necessary because, unfortunately, many woods have disappeared (massive deforestation... a real massacre, by the way!!...) and the description is therefore no longer accurate. The fern clearing at point 5 has also disappeared, but a few dried ferns on the ground give an idea of what was there before.
At point 8, the "Plan Martin" directional sign was on the ground (vandalism or strong winds...).
Otherwise, we had a clear view, despite strong winds that day, but we couldn't see the mountain ranges mentioned. Overall, it was a pleasant route without any major difficulties.

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B. LEMOINE
B. LEMOINE

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 24, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

We hesitated at times, especially at the forks in the forest. It would be good to indicate that after walking a certain number of metres, roughly speaking, you take the pretty path to the left or right, because the T-shaped crossroads are sometimes not obvious.
On the other hand, I personally loved the writer's prose (no, not waffling...).

All the best,
Brigitte LEMOINE

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Catchat38
Catchat38

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

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jeanmi1969
jeanmi1969

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely little stroll in the shade, ideal when it's hot:

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arnoboyer
arnoboyer

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful hike through the Isère countryside that is definitely worth the detour: no castles, no waterfalls, just countryside, but on this summer Sunday, with the wheat and corn fields and the freshly baled hay, it offered us a beautiful spectacle in all its simplicity! A MUST-DO!!

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fredobaroud
fredobaroud

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant walk in the northern Isère countryside. Please note that between points 9 and 10, the grassy path after the road, which seems to end in a house courtyard, was not maintained on the day we passed through (15 July 2016). Tall grass, nettles and brambles make the passage a little difficult, but the path is not very long. Wear good shoes with high socks or trousers.

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fredobaroud
fredobaroud

A pleasant walk in the northern Isère countryside. Please note that between points 9 and 10, the grassy path after the road, which seems to end in a house courtyard, was not maintained on the day we passed through (15 July 2016). Tall grass, nettles and brambles make the passage a little difficult, but the path is not very long. Wear good shoes with high socks or trousers.

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Charlybrown
Charlybrown

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 11, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely walk with a route that isn't too difficult for children. Plan a snack break as 12 km is a bit long for them.

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