The wild banks of the Rhône at the start of Challonges

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

After passing Volland on the way up, when you reach the last house on your left – just before the donkey park on the right – you should turn left at the house (look for the ‘Collonges’ sign on the ground), walk alongside it and head up into the forest (a steep climb, but in the shade). A friendly gentleman told us that the access path was still closed (outdated notice), as two boulders are still unstable and the path might be closed permanently. As a result, the detour is actually worth it, as you come out onto a plateau (max. 100m elevation gain) with fields and a lovely view; just carry on straight ahead and then take the last small road leading down to the right, which takes you straight to the cemetery. There’s a bench 150m past the cemetery, in the shade of a walnut tree.

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Date of your route : Apr 27, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

We really enjoyed this walk. It’s fairly easy, but the first section—a steep descent—is bound to be slippery when the ground is damp. The Pain de Sucre waterfall is the main attraction and is quite busy. There is a fairly long stretch along a road, but it isn’t very busy. As for the Rhône, we expected to be closer to the banks, but in the end you don’t see much of the river.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t follow the route between points 7 and 8 as the path was closed due to works. A sign announced a reopening from 1 May 2026 – we’ll have to see if that turns out to be true.
We were still able to complete the circular route by taking the path we were told to avoid at stage 6, even though it was surely less interesting than the original route!

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Date of your route : Jun 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We enjoyed this fairly easy hike. The waterfall is a lovely, cool spot in the shade of the trees, where it's nice to stop for a picnic halfway through the hike. There is a road in the second part of the hike, but that didn't bother us as there are few cars.

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Date of your route : Feb 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did this hike in February after several days of rain. The Sugarloaf Mountain site was magnificent and we were the only hikers there. The trail was a bit muddy, which was to be expected after all the rain, but the waterfall was definitely worth seeing after the heavy rains. Access to the waterfall was very slippery, but very well secured by a handrail along the entire length of the stream.
There is a car park 100 metres from the site reserved for non-walkers, which was of no interest to us hikers.

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Date of your route : Apr 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A second part with the pleasant Rhône accommodation and then the highlight of the show, the Sugarloaf Waterfall with a picnic area nearby.
Very accessible for families.

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Date of your route : Apr 16, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

An interesting route from point 2 (Millet Woods) to the Sugarloaf Waterfall, which can be completed in less than three hours. This is the only interesting part of the walk, as the rest is mainly along roads that, although not very busy, are ultimately rather tedious.

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Date of your route : Sep 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk culminating in the Pain de Sucre waterfall in the middle of its cirque. This unusual spot alone makes the walk worthwhile (even though it is possible to reach the waterfall by car). It's a great spot for a picnic, with the sun shining directly on the waterfall at midday. The route varies between fields and forest, crossing the wild Rhône via an unusual metal bridge (a bit like the bridge on the River Kwai...). Almost half of the route is on very small, quiet local roads (we only saw three cars at most on this Sunday morning), so it didn't bother us (on the contrary, during hunting season, it's actually quite reassuring...). Walking at a leisurely pace, it takes about two and a half hours. The water level must vary significantly; it was low at the end of September, but it was still very pretty.

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Date of your route : Aug 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Hello,

Quite disappointed with this hike. Too many paved roads. I suggest adding to the description under the heading "distance" that 8.99 km of the route is on tarmac roads. That would allow me to skip the ones with too much tarmac. More than half of this route was on hard roads, which was no fun! And we saw very little of the Rhône... Well, we did discover the Pain de Sucre site, which was the only real point of interest.

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Hello,

Thank you for your feedback. We will pass on your comment to the town hall, but as you say, this is probably due to the health situation.

Haut-Rhône Tourisme

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Date of your route : May 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Toilets and water closed, contrary to what was announced!
This is undoubtedly due to COVID, but it is still a shame.

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