Through the woods of Perrier and Fontenaille

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike on 6 July. A lovely shaded walk, ideal for hot weather. However, the explanations are sometimes a little complicated. So we followed along with the Visorando GPS live.

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Date of your route : Jan 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did this route at the beginning of January. The route is very pleasant despite the noise from cars in the section near the main road. We didn't see any signposts, we only used the Visorando app to find our way. Depending on the weather in the previous days, you may have to wade through very large puddles.

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Date of your route : Jun 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

During this rainy season, the paths are very muddy and large puddles block them, but you can get around them. It's a pleasant, shaded walk, but there aren't many viewpoints, which is a slight downside. However, there are pretty undergrowths, pleasant paths and a few openings in the "forest". I only used GPS, so I had no trouble following the route. There are indeed many paths, so you have to be careful to follow the description.
We were overtaken twice by cyclists, the only other people on the route.

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Date of your route : Aug 20, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An ideal walk for staying in the shade. There is a bit of noise from the D517 at the start and end of the walk, but the rest is very quiet. I relied on my satnav to find out which paths to take. A few detours: at point 2, as I had seen in the comments that the slope was steep, I joined the road and then rejoined the path a little before point 3. Then, before point 6, I took the path on the left, going around the highest point of 387 on the left instead of the right. This gave me a superb view of the surrounding mountains.

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Date of your route : Jul 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed today by a group of 10 hikers from Ain. A very pleasant hike, well shaded, enjoyable on a hot summer's day. The 500 m climb at kilometre 1.4 is quite steep... best tackled at a leisurely pace, especially for hikers aged 70 and over, as was the case for us. The rest is easy. The multitude of crossroads in the woods makes it difficult to give a more precise description, so using the Visorando app or a GPS is highly recommended to follow this route.
Thank you to the Visorando user who took the trouble to put this lovely route on the website.

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Date of your route : Mar 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello! A very beautiful walk. I'm new to hiking, but I enjoyed it despite the slope after the cave (I'm 62 years old, lol). The route is fine, and I agree with Ptitelobo's comments.
Have a good day, everyone.

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Date of your route : Mar 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb walk, mostly through the forest!!! Thank you for this hike! When you reach the top, there is a magnificent viewpoint where, if it is not too windy and the weather is good, it is nice to stop (because the rest of the forest offers few clear views)...
Like most people, I think that some of the access points to the walk are not very clear, and to make sure you don't miss them, you need to use the GPS app...
In particular, the famous path on the left ("the only difficult part of the walk") is located shortly after the "cave" (which is also on the left of the path and visible from it) but it is not very clearly marked...It starts abruptly in the woods, leaving the main path, and looks like a mountain bike trail or a wild boar track (a tricky climb, almost on all fours at times)...
Another departure point not to be missed before point 6 on the map: you have to turn left into the woods and then left again further on at the next fork... (I think point 6 was marked too late on the map and the next intersection, where you also have to turn left, was forgotten in the description).
Once again, if you have a GPS with the app, you'll be fine (although you will have to check your phone often)... Note that there are some very large puddles in certain places, even though it hasn't rained for quite some time, so make sure you wear waterproof shoes (high-top hiking boots)! And enjoy!

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Date of your route : Sep 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Not very interesting. Good for getting back into shape. Shady.

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Date of your route : Aug 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A good hike to stretch your legs on a hot morning, as the route is very shaded.
It is very common to use the route on your phone as there are many paths in these woods, but at worst you can lengthen or shorten the circular.
Following the recent strong winds, there are many trees and branches on the ground between points 7 and 8.

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Date of your route : Aug 11, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The description is clear to read, but the route is complicated because the paths are very poorly cleared (too much grass, branches, tree trunks, etc.) and there are many paths leading in all directions.For example, the first path to take on the left after the cave is barely visible and there are so many paths that it is difficult to choose which direction to go despite the description. Fortunately, my girlfriend had brought her GPS. Otherwise, the walk was magnificent... thank you for allowing us to discover this place.

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Date of your route : Jul 15, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Pleasant, well-shaded walk through the woods

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Hello,

Thank you for your comment.

The signage is VERY random.

The signposting does not depend on Visorando.

At least take the route, it helps a little.

In this case, have several strings to your bow:

1. Follow the description
2. Compare the map and description with the Visorando map (IGN 1:25,000).
3. If possible, check your position with the Visorando GPS app or your GPS.

See you soon!

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Date of your route : Sep 10, 2018
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Since, in my opinion, you shouldn't have your nose stuck in your phone when you're hiking, I didn't have the description of this hike. As a result, we ended up walking 12 km instead of the 8 km indicated. That's not a big deal in itself, but just to note that the signage is VERY random. At least take the route map with you, it helps a little.

Otherwise, I loved the locations. Forest, nothing but forest, which was a delight for me. However, if you extend the route, which takes you to the petrol station at the Trept/St Hilaire junction, there is quite a lot of elevation gain (+/-).

Remember to take plenty of water with you!

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Hello,

at point no. 2? After several attempts, we never found the path on the left that goes up!

According to the description, "This is the only difficult part of the hike."

(2) Continue left on the path that goes uphill. This is the only difficult part of the hike. At the next fork, go left, uphill.
The IGN map is not up to date.

However, the three hikers before us must have found the path on the left that goes uphill.

Best regards

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Date of your route : Aug 27, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable

Good evening, everyone. We are experienced hikers (for over 20 years), at point no. 2, after several attempts, we never found the path on the left that goes up, nor the cave for that matter. Yes, we were on the right path that leads to the A18/A189 motorway towards Blied. To be revisited...

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