The remote valleys of the Enragé

To reach the start point, head to Pratz on the D470, then follow signs for Saint-Romain.
Park before entering the village in the car park reserved for hikers and walkers.

(S/E) Head towards the village, then take the first street on the left, which goes uphill all the way to the last house on the right.

(1) Leave the street and follow the path that branches off to the right, heading south towards Pas de l’Âne/Molinges.
Stay on this path for about 2 km, ignoring any paths coming from either side, and continue to follow the signs for Pas de l’Âne and the red and white markings. At the end of the path, leave the sign for Pas de l’Âne on your left and follow the sign on your right for Chassal/Molinges.

(2) After about fifty metres along the path, take the track on the right to head towards the Grotte de l’Enragé and the waterfalls, which appear depending on the season.
Please note: the path is not signposted but is easy to spot. Take great care! Do not go too close to the banks when the water is flowing strongly; and when there is no water, the rocks in the riverbed leading to the cave are slippery.

Turn back.

(2) Continue to the right along the path for 150 metres until you come to a small track branching off to the right.
Please note, this narrow path is not signposted and is not very visible. If you cannot find it, carry on straight ahead.

If you have found the narrow path (see map), follow it alongside the stream for a few hundred metres, then continue south-west until you reach the road.

(3) Continue to the right onto the D63E1. Follow the Bienne until you reach a small business (a building with blue cladding). Take the small street next to the business and, once at the top, turn right into the Pavillon housing estate.
Carry on to the end of the street and continue along the path between the two rows of conifer hedges.

(4) At the signpost, turn left (south-south-west), away from the direction of Saint-Romain. Please note: even though your final destination is Saint-Romain, at this point you must follow the direction opposite to that indicated on the sign!

Continue along this path until you reach the entrance to the village of Vaux-lès-Saint-Claude.

(5) At a place called Les Granges de Chiriat, take the path to the right of the white house towards Saint-Romain. Please note: the climb is quite steep and rather long. Take a moment to catch your breath.

(6) Be careful here! It’s not easy to find the right path. Head left towards the north-north-east along a narrow, barely visible track 4 to 5 metres past the sign.

Continue along the path, which continues to climb steeply, until you reach a meadow. Cross the meadow towards the pine forest, then follow the path on the left alongside it until you come to a wide path of white pebbles.
Carry on along this path to the left until you reach Saint-Romain.

(7) Opposite the bread oven, continue to the left towards the Saint-Romain-de-Roches chapel.
After the second bend, just past the monks’ spring, take the small path on the right to reach La Roche de Vaux, unless you’d prefer to visit the Saint-Romain Chapel – if you haven’t seen it before, it’s well worth a detour.

(8) When you reach the inverted Y-Fork in the road, follow the path that winds to the right and head down to the starting point (S/E).

To watch the video of the route profile: click here

Practical tips for starting the hike:
I strongly recommend using the app on a smartphone, which will also allow you to be geolocated at all times, so you can track your progress accurately.

I completed this route on a lovely sunny day with good walking conditions (dry ground). I cannot guarantee that it will be passable when the ground is soggy or snow-covered, or obstructed by trees felled by foresters.

Watch out for ticks;
a real problem in the Jura forests; ticks are voracious and can be found everywhere.
Don’t forget to check yourself over after the walk.

No water points. Picnic area at Saint-Romain, at the Chapelle Saint-Romain.

Saint-Romain-de-Roche Chapel.
Port de Molinges.