The thousand ponds starting from Mélisey

A very beautiful hike to do with the family to discover or rediscover foxgloves, which are the local flower in June, and stroll around the ponds. Leave a car at the Parc de la Praille car park at the end of the circular hike to avoid finishing the circular with 1.5 km of uninteresting and disappointing road compared to the rest.

Feedback from several hikers reports poorly marked paths that are difficult to find or completely abandoned.

Details

1052
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.14 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: No
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 85 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 83 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 387 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 330 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the Mélisey cemetery car park.

(S) Turn into thesecond streeton the left, Impasse de la Noie Corneille, and go straight ahead. The road turns into a path. Follow it, passing two trailheads on your right. You will arrive at a small road called Chemin du Sygle. Turn left onto it. After 100 metres, turn right onto the path that descends. Continue straight ahead until you reachthe first pond. Turn left and continue to the intersection at the end of the pond.

(1) Turn right and walk along the pond until you reach asecond one.

(2) Turn left before the pond. Continue, leaving the two paths on your right, and pass between two other small ponds before reaching another crossroads.

(3) Turn right, walk along another pond at a distance and then join a path marked with a green rectangle.

(4) Follow it to the right for a few metres, then turn left, where you must turn right before the houses of La Hutte. Pass close to the Étang du Grand Rosbeck. Reach a road, take it to the left for a few metres, then, at a small pond, leave it to the right to arrive just before the hamlet of La Châtelée.

(5) Turn right onto the path marked with a yellow circle. Leave it at the next crossroads and take the path on the left. Turn left at the hairpin bend that follows. Go uphill a little before descending to the right and arriving at a crossroads between two ponds.

(6) Stay on the path on the right, cross a fir forest, then pass between the Tessanne ponds before joining the D486 at La Praille. Cross the departmental road before reaching the park (E).

(E) Here you have two options:
- use thesecond car to return to the Mélisey cemetery car park (S),
- turn right onto the road, taking care to watch out for traffic, to reach the Mélisey cemetery car park (S).

Waypoints

  1. S : km 0 - alt. 333 m - Mélisey cemetery car park
  2. 1 : km 1.43 - alt. 338 m - 1st pond
  3. 2 : km 1.84 - alt. 339 m - 2nd pond
  4. 3 : km 2.24 - alt. 351 m - Carrefour Côte
  5. 4 : km 2.92 - alt. 374 m - Green Rectangle Trail
  6. 5 : km 4.34 - alt. 346 m - La Châtelée
  7. 6 : km 5.55 - alt. 348 m - Tessanne ponds
  8. E : km 6.14 - alt. 335 m - La Raille. Close to the - Ognon (rivière)

Notes

The park is ideal for picnics. An outdoor swimming pool and children's playground await you. It's a very pleasant place.

Worth a visit

The Ballon de Servance and the Saut de l'Ognon waterfall are just a stone's throw away.
Lure, a few restaurants of all types in Mélisey.

Reviews and comments

3.6 / 5
Based on 24 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.5 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
Falsa
Falsa

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Beautiful undergrowth, well-marked paths, very pleasant walk;
We missed the path to the war memorial because the signposting was strange, and due to a lack of attention, we ended up taking the small road back... which made the walk a little longer.
I recommend it

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Sylvie Preux
Sylvie Preux

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

In some places, it is impossible to pass, so you have to find another route.
There are difficulties that are not marked as a "dangerous climb" even though the route is described as easy.

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Guiguite
Guiguite

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb, peaceful walk with excellent signposting 👍😊

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mesangevourron
mesangevourron

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A wonderful 3 km walk (with the extension) done with 6-year-old children, a leisurely stroll through the woods... and a stop at the café restaurant at the town hall in Melisey, where you can enjoy regional dishes for £18...

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emond Philippe
emond Philippe

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
This hike was created in 2011, and the paths have changed, especially during periods of lush vegetation. This has resulted in the complete disappearance of the trail between points 5 and 6.
Be sure to bring a 1:25,000 IGN map if possible, and it is essential to follow the route on the Visorando app on your mobile phone to avoid getting lost.
In terms of equipment, it is highly recommended that you wear trousers and shoes suitable for hiking, as well as mosquito repellent for the thorny scrubland.
On the other hand, there are many beautiful, fairly wild ponds to see, which are absolutely stunning in good weather. That's what makes this hike so interesting.
Enjoy your walk, everyone.
Best regards.

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mayall
mayall

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 04, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

I only used the GPX file, made a few minor corrections, and in any case, the route is marked in green. There are many tourists on this forest trail dotted with ponds. Thank you to the contributor for these files.

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majean
majean

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 05, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a simple hike, but one that we really enjoyed. We didn't know this area, and all these ponds are full of charm
no difficulty

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Cindy70
Cindy70

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A hike we won't be doing again: an approximate route, paths ruined by loggers' tractors, too much mud everywhere. Luckily we had GPS to guide us, otherwise it would have been too much of a headache :/ It's a shame because the area is nice and some parts of the hike are enjoyable

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jeanmenesylvie
jeanmenesylvie

In light of the comments, we went on another walk. Thank you for your feedback, because walking around constantly searching for the right path is not enjoyable.

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Francis90400
Francis90400

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Nice walk, but thankfully we had a satnav... Big downside: the return journey along the road...

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Linzertochte
Linzertochte

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike. Difficulty at point 5 is not clear at all. We needed the assistance of a GPS.

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Seb@63
Seb@63

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 17, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello,
Approximate descriptions (number of intersections to be reviewed, etc.), some paths impossible to find
We had to improvise to get back on track twice (before point 1 and at point 5).
This isn't the first time...
The trails are not being monitored for updates following changes to the paths and trails.

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henri5812
henri5812

Sorry, it wasn't me who had the GPS, but someone who was with me.

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

Thank you for your comment.

Reliability of description: Average
Reliability of map route: Average

Even with the route on a GPS, we couldn't find some of the paths, particularly at point 5

You followed the route with a GPS.
Did you record your route? If so, could you send it to me so that I can compare it with the route of the hike?

See you soon!

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henri5812
henri5812

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 08, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Beautiful hike. Beautiful scenery, even at this time of year. But the route is sometimes difficult to follow. Some paths are not visible or have disappeared or are hidden... In any case, we couldn't find them. But anyway, we managed to find our way with a few "adjustments"... Even with the route on a GPS, we couldn't find some paths, particularly at point 5, where either a path is completely hidden or there are errors in the map.

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