The mirrors

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This hike will take you through a protected area and offer you a beautiful view of the town of Pontarlier.
Moderator's note A GPS device may be useful for this hike. See reviews.

Details

n°24
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.48 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 239 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 228 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,320 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,136 m
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Photos

Pontarlier
Mirror Barn
Grand Taureau
Larmont Mountain

Description of the walk

(S/E) The hike starts at the Gounefay car park.
Climb up on your left to join the path on the ridges, where you can enjoy some of the Jura's flora. This ridge crosses mountain pastures, wooded meadows and forests. All these environments offer a wealth of discoveries. Reach the summit of Grand Taureau.

(1) Descend on the small path through the forest.

(2) Just before the border, turn right and cross the pasture. Enter the forest via the path. This then joins a carriage road, which you should follow to the small shelter.

(3) At the shelter, take the path on the right towards the barn with mirrors. Descend to the car park via the road (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,186 m - Gounefay car park
  2. 1 : km 2.79 - alt. 1,320 m - Summit of Grand Taureau
  3. 2 : km 3.67 - alt. 1,266 m - Before the border, path on the right
  4. 3 : km 6.08 - alt. 1,136 m - Shelter
  5. S/E : km 8.48 - alt. 1,188 m - Gounefay car park

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 12 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
COACHINI
COACHINI

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful view

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randokarine
randokarine

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk done in reverse to enjoy the view of Grand Taureau at the end and start off on the small tarmac road. In this direction, make sure you pass by Grange des Miroirs, as a parallel grassy path leading to Grand Taureau is misleading. Although part of the route is through forest, it is very exposed to the sun. Avoid in hot weather.

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Nbornel
Nbornel

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with beautiful views, but the description was insufficient. Fortunately, it was well marked. The route is not exactly the same as the one we followed with the markings: at one point, we were on a parallel trail. The track is really useful in these cases!

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Gisèle 94
Gisèle 94

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route.
Views of the Jura countryside, as well as the Alps and Mont Blanc from the Grand Taureau orientation table.

Easy, shaded climb to reach the summit.

Description a little insufficient and inaccurate:

  • From the top of Grand Taureau, you have to descend via the path marked GR - Swiss border 1.1 km (there is another path that was not shown on our map...).
  • Follow the ridge... Pass a French/Swiss border marker... Continue... Steep descent... before reaching a crossroads with various signs. Turn right but...

Be careful, there is a wide track that branches off to the right and is not marked on the IGN map. Take a narrower path that descends towards the undergrowth (you will find blue and yellow markings).

  • For point 3: we did not see a small shelter... But you have to leave the road by turning right at the wooden electricity (or telephone?) pole. The path climbs back up through the undergrowth and then through pastureland before reaching the mirror farm.

If you want to avoid the road, you can rejoin the path you took on the way up a little further up.

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Borosmoke
Borosmoke

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route, but definitely needs updating. It is impossible to follow the trail properly. You constantly feel like you are not on the right path! The only solution is to follow the blue and yellow trail markers. Be careful, after a while you will see signs indicating that you have strayed significantly from the trail, but this is not the case, so keep going!
The description is too brief. Avoid this hike if you haven't downloaded the map!

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meet-and-see
meet-and-see

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The trail is marked in yellow and blue. This detail helps you avoid getting lost!
A beautiful hike, but exposed to the wind on the ridges. Beautiful views of the Alps and Mont Blanc when the sky is clear.

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SYLDID25
SYLDID25

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello, this route is very interesting and rich in views, belvederes, etc. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, we got a little lost. In the end, the end of our hike allowed us to enjoy a view of the Alps and Mont Blanc. A very beautiful day!

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KRAPAHUTEUR21
KRAPAHUTEUR21

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Nice hike, but the view from Grand Taureau is a bit disappointing if it's foggy (as it was in our case).

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laureteam
laureteam

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The trail is marked.
A magnificent walk with typical local scenery.
Worth doing again and again.

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elisabeth1957
elisabeth1957

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike this afternoon... we did it in the opposite direction so we could enjoy the superb scenery in the second half on the ridges... On the way, we visited a small village of gnomes made of stones, branches, earth and moss... At the summit of Grand Taureau, there was a view of Mont Blanc and the Swiss Alps on one side and Pontarlier and the Loue Valley on the other... We were not disappointed... magnificent...

Definitely worth doing.

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RUDLOFT
RUDLOFT

Don't forget to take a photo of the sign located at the start of the path from the small shelter towards the climb to the Miroirs farm.
it indicates the altitude: 11,100 metres!

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sittelle
sittelle

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2013
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Taking our time (photos, breaks, little flowers), it took us 4 hours.
Magnificent landscapes, varied environments (woods, meadows, etc.), easy and very pleasant path.

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PFRicci
PFRicci

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2013
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A pleasant hike thanks to the diversity of the landscapes and the rich flora. At this time of year, we particularly appreciate the alternation between mountain pastures and shadier forests.
To avoid the road at the end of the route, you can rejoin the trail
on the Larmont ridge by climbing opposite the Grange des Miroirs.

Note: the trail that crosses the fir forest going up from the Abri has been damaged by logging and is currently impassable by mountain bike.

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