Maron - Pierre-la-Treiche

A leisurely bike ride along the Moselle with a few stops to visit the caves carved out by the Moselle in the karst rock when its level was much higher.

Details

56126
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Mountain biking
    Activity: Mountain biking
  • ↔
    Distance: 24.55 km
  • ◔
    Duration according to the author: 3 hrs 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 72 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 71 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 277 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 207 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Sexey-aux-Forges (54550)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 48.635188° / E 6.041587°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3315ET

  • ◶
    Type of surface:
  •  
     
     80% Byway  20% Path
  • ⇧
    Bike carrying: No
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Not specified
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the route

The starting point is the car park located at the Maron exit after the Moselle bridge on the right.
The circular Moselle cycle route can be seen at the far end of the car park.

(S) Let's go... after the barrier, the tarmac track leads to the lock, 7.56 km away. If you're very lucky, you might see Mr or Mrs Beaver eating along these 8 km.

(1) At the lock, continue straight ahead along the path opposite, which joins the road 200 m further on.

(2) From there, simply follow the road to the bridge.
Pass the caves (on the left) which are marked on the map but not visible from the road. You will need to get off your bike and tackle the mountain on foot.

(3) Cross the bridge and take the second path on the right (not the one leading to the restaurant). This is theGR®5Ftrail. Enter the forest.

(4) 700 m further on, you will pass some accessible caves dug into the limestone quarries.

(5) The Sainte-Reine caves are closed off by a door and therefore inaccessible. Continuing along the path, other caves will be visible and accessible a few hundred metres further on.
800 metres after the Sept Salles cave, which is clearly marked on the ground by a sign, continue up the path, keeping to the right (do not take the path that goes up to the left).

(6) After 400 metres, pass the former gatekeeper's house and take the path opposite, slightly to the left.
Then pass the equestrian centre and the restaurant and, after a steep climb, you will arrive at a small road.

(7) Go down to the right until you reach the lock.

(1) Take the path back the way you came on the left and follow the tarmac track to the car park (E).
And there you have it...

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 215 m - Moselle bridge car park - Moselle (la)
  2. 1 : km 7.53 - alt. 215 m - Lock
  3. 2 : km 7.86 - alt. 213 m - Follow the road to the bridge.
  4. 3 : km 10.69 - alt. 209 m - Bridge at Pierre-la-Treiche
  5. 4 : km 11.08 - alt. 214 m - Caves
  6. 5 : km 11.44 - alt. 223 m - Sainte-Reine Caves
  7. 6 : km 13.53 - alt. 214 m - House of the former gatekeeper
  8. 7 : km 14.96 - alt. 277 m - Turn right at the fork
  9. S/E : km 24.55 - alt. 215 m - Car park

Notes

Eighty per cent of the route is on tarmac and the rest is on forest tracks suitable for vehicles. However, I recommend using a mountain bike rather than any other type of bike as the tracks are stony in places.
Keep to the right even on the cycle path when cycling, as some cyclists try to break speed records in this area.
It's true that this route, which consists of long straight stretches, is less monotonous by bike than on foot, but it's doable either way. You'll also see lots of people on rollerblades.

An interesting website that describes the caves of Pierre-la-Treiche well:
http://cds54.free.fr/grottes/plt.html

Worth a visit

- Toul, a historic town with its beautiful Saint-Étienne Cathedral.
- The Haye Forest, which offers beautiful walks in the shade of the trees.
- Nancy, the town with one of the most beautiful squares in France: Place Stanislas.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
gazok54
gazok54 ★

Hello and thank you for your feedback.

Machine-translated

frenchydoc1
frenchydoc1

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A wonderful discovery of a circular route along the Moselle with an easy return trip along a forest path. This hike can easily be completed in three hours, including stops. We took a break for drinks at the Jument Verte restaurant, where the view from the terrace is very pleasant. In short, this hike is a real treat for a relaxing Sunday!

Machine-translated

54catbruch
54catbruch

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 11, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely mountain bike ride on a weekday, so there were fewer people. The only downside was the incessant sound of clay pigeon shooting, fortunately only for a short stretch of the ride. But it was very unpleasant and very noisy.

Machine-translated

rudzik
rudzik

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 27, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Ideal location for campers at the Villey le Sec campsite

Machine-translated

marcheur54che
marcheur54che

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 09, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very beautiful hike, near the caves; lovely forest!

Machine-translated

gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thank you, patdomlux, for this very positive first comment on my hike.

Machine-translated

patdomlux
patdomlux

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A varied walk with attractive points of interest and the beauty of the Moselle circular loops. Thank you.

Machine-translated

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.