Pont des Pierres and Paul de Vanssay monument

de fr

This walk from Montanges offers a view of the famous stone bridge over the Valserine and takes you past the monument to Paul de Vanssay, hero of the Resistance.

Details

n°2760979
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.40 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 830 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 860 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,005 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,365 ft
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Photos

view at the start
stone bridge
Waterfall in the heart of the woods
Paul de Vanssay Cross

Description of the walk

The hike starts at the Montanges town hall (car park).

(S/E) Go down Rue des Fermes, then turn left at the first street, Rue du Château. Then cross Rue Paul de Vanssay and continue down Rue de la Chèvre. Turn right onto Chemin des Voites and continue to the end of the houses.

The street continues along a path which you follow until you see a cross in the middle of the field opposite you on the right. Leave the path and head towards the cross.

(1) This is the memorial to the place where Paul de Vanssay fell on 8 April 1944.
From the cross, head downhill towards the east, under the power line, until you reach a path below.

(2) Walk up this path to the D14a. Cross the road and turn right to find a path opposite, which you follow straight ahead along the hillside, keeping the road on your right. You will come to a sign for "Route du Tram Lacrans".

(3) Descend on the right-hand side until you reach the D14a. Turn left and walk carefully along the road for about 100 metres.

(4) Cross the road – take care as visibility is reduced due to the bend – towards the Pont des Pierres viewpoint on the left.

(5) This viewpoint offers a panoramic view of the wild and rugged Valserine valley and the bridge that crosses the gorge.
Retrace your steps for a few metres to take the marked mountain bike trail on the left. This is a path running along the edge of the Valserine, which continues until it reaches the Via Nantua.

(6) Head up to the right for about a hundred metres before you see a sign on the right for Montanges (20 mins), which you will follow along a small, very steep path that leads to a field, not far from the monument to Paul de Vanssay that you visited at the start of the hike, but which is not visible from this lower position.

(7) Simply head straight towards the power line, then turn left and follow it to return to the monument.

(1) Turn right to rejoin the path to the north and retrace your steps to return to the Town Hall car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 2,005 ft - Montanges Town Hall car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.86 - alt. 1,801 ft - Cross of Vanssay
  3. 2 : mi 1.05 - alt. 1,683 ft - Start of the path
  4. 3 : mi 1.79 - alt. 1,775 ft - Turn right at the sign.
  5. 4 : mi 1.98 - alt. 1,677 ft - Crossing the D14a
  6. 5 : mi 2.09 - alt. 1,496 ft - Belvédère du Pont des Pierres
  7. 6 : mi 3.05 - alt. 1,368 ft - Via Nantua
  8. 7 : mi 3.31 - alt. 1,657 ft - Bottom of the field
  9. S/E : mi 4.4 - alt. 2,005 ft - Montanges Town Hall car park

Worth a visit

The route does not pass directly by the Pont des Pierres bridge, but just by the viewpoint. We recommend taking a little time to cross the bridge and explore the surrounding area.
In particular, the Pont des Pierres gallery nature reserve is located below the bridge and is a refuge for bats. Information panels near the bridge explain the significance of the site.

Shortcut: to shorten the route without missing any of the key points, it is also possible to go directly from the starting point (S/E) to the point (3) by following the signs for "Route du tram - Lancrans".

Extension: another alternative route, to avoid the very steep section between (6) and (7), is to continue along the Via Nantua, which climbs gently up the D14 road, which you then take on the right to return to Montanges. However, this detour will add about 2km to your journey.

For more information on the story of Lieutenant Paul de Vanssay, please visit the following link
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_de_Va...
Another memorial on the D14 towards Chatillon-en-Michaille also commemorates this event and lists the names of the other resistance fighters killed during this operation.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 7 reviews
Reliability of the description
5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
pauline43
pauline43

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 07, 2026
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this suggestion for a walk.

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User 26983241

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

At the end of the route, the climb can be tough on tired legs and the entrance to the path on the small road is very discreet!

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Vané01
Vané01

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike on a magnificent autumn day. The colours were splendid.
There was a lot to see over a fairly short distance: the Paul de Vanssay memorial, the stone bridge, the viewpoint, and the waterfalls along the balcony path. We then continued on to the Confort bridge, which is a great spot for a picnic on the banks of the Valserine. This detour is definitely worth it. The return trip is along a small, fairly steep path, which is likely to be slippery in wet weather. (The author suggests an alternative route.) Otherwise, there are no particular difficulties.

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François.colom
François.colom

Next time I get the chance, I will go back to the site to modify the description if necessary.
As for the route rating, I admit that I only took into account the modest length of the route. It is true that the final steep climb, although short, is quite challenging. I will modify the level according to your recommendation.
Thank you for your feedback.

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balzin
balzin

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk. Two comments, however:
- We couldn't find any trace of the path from S/E to the cross. Fields seem to have replaced it. As we used a GPS and the fields had been harvested, this wasn't a problem for us.
- The rating "easy" should really be tempered by the small path mentioned in 6), which is very steep, gravelly and narrow.
Thank you for a great time!

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Jp9374
Jp9374

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike in the hot weather, with plenty of shade along most of the route. We extended the walk to the Confort bridge, where we had a picnic on the banks of the Valserine.

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mimi et claude
mimi et claude

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike that we enhanced with an extra feature.
After point 6, we made a round trip via the Confort bridge to the cave before La Thuire.
This cave is very pretty with a small waterfall.

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Eybe
Eybe

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 11, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, even in winter when the weather is mild.

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