Route from the Douix Cave to Darcey

This route has been redeveloped and made safer. It allows you to bypass the Douix river and walk through a pleasant boxwood forest before reaching the village of Darcey and then the cave. It is not listed on IGN maps, which is why I used the Visorando app to track my route and highlight it.

Details

733876
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 2.40 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 0h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 62 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 69 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 376 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 302 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Darcey (21150)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.555728° / E 4.582024°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2921SB
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park on the small road after the Darcey cemetery.

(S/E) From the car park, walk up the tarmac road for 80 metres.

(1) Take the wooden stairs on the left and continue along the path through this boxwood forest for 900 metres before beginning the descent towards the rock face.

(2) At the foot of the rock face, look for an opening on your left (a small 3-metre tunnel) that allows you to pass through the rocks. At the tunnel exit, turn right along the wall, where you will need to hold on to the boxwood trees and roots for 60 metres before reaching the farm track. Go down this track on the left to reach the village of Darcey. At the first houses, turn left to rejoin the path.

(3) At the crossroads, turn left along the stone wall and continue along the Douix. Look for a wooden footbridge on your right. Cross it and then take the path on the left that leads to the cave.

From the cave, retrace your steps and climb up to the car park, which is about 60 metres away (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 351 m - Starting car park. - Douix (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.08 - alt. 361 m - Wooden staircase
  3. 2 : km 1.04 - alt. 357 m - Passage des roches
  4. 3 : km 1.37 - alt. 306 m - On the left along the stone wall - Source et grotte de la Douix
  5. S/E : km 2.4 - alt. 351 m - Arrival car park

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
McDuffe
McDuffe

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk, although there is one section that requires a bit of flexibility and ideally one or two walking sticks.
I did it for the first time in July 2024 and again in July 2025. It was better in 2024 because there was more water. But the entrance to the cave (via a ladder, reserved for sporty types who aren't afraid of getting dirty) wasn't accessible at the time.

Machine-translated

Misterbird
Misterbird

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Our family did this route as described. Some grey-haired people, who are quick to criticise, found the tunnel passage and the descent that follows a little tricky. Perhaps I should have warned them. They suggest doing this hike in the other direction.

Machine-translated

nomaimpa
nomaimpa

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Enjoy your walk, children!

Machine-translated

Isabelle Chevallot
Isabelle Chevallot

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very pleasant route to do in spring. Few people on the route itself, but a few at the caves. Parking close to the start.

Machine-translated

sergio1946
sergio1946

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Well done to all the hikers. They enjoyed this route, which I did with 3-year-old children. It was pure joy for them. This route has other attractions too. You need good waterproof trainers and a good swimsuit to walk up this dry river. You can stay on the banks or dive into these crystal-clear pools to see beautiful trout. This world is lunar, with roots encased in limestone. Photographers will be in their element. The cave itself is only 110 metres long, dark and not particularly difficult. The route has been equipped with ladders and other aids. The arrival at the lake is uphill but cool. The descent into this large chamber will take you down a slippery slope to discover and dip your feet in this underground stream at around 10°C.
Reminder!!! You must inform the Venarey les Laumes police or call me on 03 80 96 14 61 and leave me a message so that I can prepare your route.

Machine-translated

moiysenva
moiysenva

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

It was a real discovery! First of all, this forest of box trees... is it natural or were the box trees planted for a specific purpose? Someone we asked in the village couldn't tell us.
And then there was the Douix, divided into two parts (like a small irrigation canal plus a small river below, so unusual with the lichens and mosses on the branches of all the surrounding trees)... very pleasant.
We couldn't access the cave because there was a swarm of bees, which had been reported, so access was prohibited. We'll be back. It's a relatively short but interesting hike to do with children (not too young for the descent down the rocks, but one that would appeal to the intrepid)... we took the opportunity to see the village of Darcey.
Thank you very much for recommending this hike. The advertising is so discreet that we would never have discovered these places on our own.

Machine-translated

supermaman
supermaman

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Thank you for this short, well-explained tour.

Machine-translated

sergio1946
sergio1946
• Edited:

Hello, and thank you for enjoying this little tour.

Machine-translated

simonbruno21
simonbruno21

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A wonderful trip, a complete change of scenery from Dijon. It's not far away for an afternoon outing. Thank you very much.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

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.