Montaigu viewpoint and viewpoint overlooking Saint-Hippolyte

From the bridge over the Doubs leading to the village from the D437, parking is available opposite the fountain, on the main street, just before the bridge over the stream.

(S/E) Turn your back on the Doubs and take the Chemin de la Roche Fendue. Once you’ve left the village, at the first crossroads, head slightly to the left. Continue until the first hairpin bend on the left.

(1) Leave the path you have been following and head straight on along an unmarked track. Cross the meadow following the tracks. Pass through two fences via the designated gates and continue climbing into the forest. After two hairpin bends, you will reach the D137 leading to Chatillon-sous-Maîche.

(2) Cross this road carefully (bend), follow it up to the right for about twenty metres, and take the GRP® on the left towards Montaigu and Valoreille: yellow and red markings.

(3) Cross a small road at the Fontaine Saint-Ligier and continue straight ahead, following the GRP®. Ignore a path branching off to the right and climb straight up to the ridge, to the Montaigu viewpoint.

(4) Head down towards Valoreille, following the road to the left. Take the sharp left-hand bend at the first junction and head into the village. Turn right, keep left at the junction, pass a wayside cross, and continue straight on until you reach a three-way junction.

(5) Keep to the right, following the D255, pass under a power line and reach a three-way junction.

(6) Continue straight on, following the yellow and red GRP® markings. At the next road junction, veer slightly to the right to follow the GRP®-marked path which enters the forest and then passes near the hamlet of Combe d'Amotte, before joining the D276.

(7) Turn right and follow the road carefully to the Fleurey hunting lodge. Take a path on the right which rejoins the road about a hundred metres further on, just after the bend.

(8) Follow the road up to the left for about fifty metres, then take the path on the right, following the GRP® markings. Head downhill, following this path which crosses a meadow and goes through a gate.

(9) After two hairpin bends, at a solitary tree beside the path, ignore the path branching off to the left and continue down the main path. Go through a gate and continue through the forest to a junction, near some mobile phone masts and relay stations. Turn right, towards the Pain de Sucre.

(10) Start descending towards the viewpoint, which is about 300 m away: enjoy the view of Saint-Hippolyte.

(11) Turn back, go back past the Pain de Sucre and rejoin the route by turning right at the crossroads, heading towards Grand Recef and leat, whilst leaving the GRP®. Join the D137 and follow it carefully on the left. Go straight on at the Grand Recet junction, continuing for about 300 m.

(12) At the first bend on the right, after the hamlet, take the path on the right towards leat. Follow this path through the meadow before it descends into the forest towards leat. After several hairpin bends, rejoin the hairpin bend on the path leading up to Montaigu.

(1) Take the path in the opposite direction to the outward journey, on the right, and return to the centre of leat and the car park (S/E).

Picnic tables at the Montaigu viewpoint (4), on the left as you leave Valoreille, and at the viewpoint overlooking Saint-Hippolyte (11).

Between (7) and (8), a Fleurey hunting shelter, usually open, along the GRP®.

Viewpoints and lookouts.

Montaigu viewpoint (4) overlooking Valoreille with an orientation table and picnic table, offering views to the north, north-east (Vosges, Pays de Montbéliard) and south (Le Chasseral, Mont Miroir).

(10) Pain de Sucre and viewpoint overlooking Saint-Hippolyte (11) at the confluence of the Dessoubre and the Doubs.