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Corvée car park, Rue de la Corvée in Ornans.
(S/E) When you leave the car park, turn right onto Rue du Château, then right again. You will reach Rue des Martinets, which you follow to the left until you come to the old Tacot bridge. Then walk along the bridge on the right, following Rue de la Plante until it forks, then take the left-hand road. Yellow and blue markers will help you find your way. As you walk up this street, you can admire the view of the rooftops of old Ornans on your right and the cliffs of La Roche du Mont on your left.
(1) About a hundred metres from the fork, at the remains of an old stone staircase surrounded by protective barriers and the Via Ferrata and La Roche du Mont sign, leave the tarmac road and climb up the stony path of the Promenade Courbet on your left, which climbs up the hillside. Steps will help you on your way. At the foot of the cliffs, leave the path that leads to the via Ferrata on your left and continue along the yellow and blue marked Parcours des Roches trail. At the top of a flight of steps leading to a small iron staircase, continue along the path to reach the plateau. Then follow the signs to the left towards the Roche des Pins, Belvédère Château sign.
(2) You are at the Roche du Mont viewpoint overlooking the old town of Ornans and the upper and lower reaches of the Loue valley, with a view of the Roche de Haute-Pierre if the sky is not too foggy. Take care when walking along the cliffs past the statue of Notre Dame du Mont! You will cross dry limestone grasslands, i.e. short herbaceous vegetation that grows on shallow soil exposed to strong sunlight. Continue along the path, entering a small pine forest (mountain bike trail markers 26 and Yellow-Blue) to reach the Roche des Pins viewpoint, nestled in greenery with a bench where you can rest or have lunch.
(3) At the Mambouc stream, which you cross via a small wooden bridge, the path crosses theGR®595, which descends to Ornans, following the stream. Leave it on your left and continue towards the castle (mountain bike trail marker 26), following the cliffs.
(4) Leaving the woods, you will come to a wider, stony path which then becomes tarmac and descends towards the hamlet via Rue Saint-Georges. Pass a drinking fountain on your left and enter the hamlet, passing two no-entry signs on either side of the road.
(5) Follow the signs to the viewpoint and Saint-Georges Chapel.
(6) You will arrive at the viewpoint and the ruins of the old castle. The castle was destroyed by the Duke of Luxembourg on the orders of Louis XIV during the second conquest of Franche-Comté. Taken on 5 May 1674, it was dismantled immediately. For the record, it was administered by the mathematician Pierre Vernier, who was its captain. It was here that he created his Quadrant Nouveau, which was later used to develop the famous vernier caliper. Continue towards the Saint-Georges Chapel, built by Othon, Count of Burgundy, in 1289 and rebuilt in 1500. The current chapel is in a floral ogival style and is still used as a place of worship. Continue along a small lane to the left of the chapel to complete the loop around the hamlet. Pass between the two no-entry posts.
(5) Turn immediately left onto a dead-end road that leads to a private property. Go down the path on the right and after a small stone staircase, you will reach the road that descends to Ornans. Go up the road for about 100 metres.
(7) At the Route Courbet sign, continue climbing to the right, taking the road that winds upwards. At the second hairpin bend, turn left towards Les Fermes du Château, following the yellow and blue markings and the signs for the VTT 26 mountain bike trail. One kilometre further on, at another hairpin bend, leave the tarmac road and take the Chemin de la Roche des Vannes, which continues straight ahead, passing a bench. Immediately on your left, there is a magnificent view of the Château and the Loue Valley. The small tarmac road splits into two stony paths.
(8) Keep left and follow the yellow and blue markings, which will take you across pastures (with beautiful views of Roche Thiébaut and Mont d'Ornans on the other side of the Loue Valley). You will pass under a high-voltage power line before entering the woods.
(9) After 300 metres of undergrowth, the hiking trail splits. Keep left at the signpost indicating the direction of La Roche du Grand. The forest track turns into a pleasant little woodland path that will take you to the viewpoint.
(10) About fifty metres from the cliffs, look out for the faded yellow and blue markings on a tree on the right and a barely visible fork in the path. (Hikers have piled up some stones to create a small cairn). Continue straight ahead to the first unsecured viewpoint over the more modern part of Ornans and the upper Loue valley as far as the Roche de Hautepierre. Be careful, the viewpoint is not secured and sharp limestone pavements can cause you to trip. Return to the cairn and take the small, barely visible path on the left that runs along the cliffs at a distance and joins a small rocky spur. Approach with extreme caution: this is the second and most beautiful viewpoint over the lower valley towards Scey-en-Varais, as far as Mont de Cademène and Rocher de Colonne. At the foot of the cliffs is the old Tacot viaduct.
Turn back towards the Fermes de Sept Fontaines. As you leave the woods, you will cross a meadow with beautiful views of the neighbouring mountains on your right.
(8) When this small, well-paved road crosses a path on your left that goes back up into the meadow, continue straight ahead for about 100 metres. When the road is lined with hedges and a barbed wire fence ends, look for a small path that descends the wooded hillside on your right. You will lose the markings, but continue down this beautiful path with its well-defined switchbacks until you reach the Clairière de la Fontaine des Vipères, ignoring the other paths.
From the fountain, there is a lovely view of the west passageway of the castle, pierced by three arrow slits. You will pass above the Fontaine des Vipères. Cross the clearing lengthwise to find a path that quickly forks. Go down to the right to join the hiking trail (white-red and yellow-blue markers) which will take you back to Ornans. The stony path turns into a small paved road which joins Rue du Charmont, which in turn joins Rue du Château. You can reach Rue de la Corvée either via Rue de la Poterne or Rue du Château.
The route includes cliff-side paths and unsecured viewpoints.
Visorando member
Easy 
Very difficult 
