In the footsteps of the past in Bulgnéville

Lac des Récollets car park.

(S/E) At the information sign marking the starting point, take the path running alongside Lac des Récollets until you reach the Fork in the road on the opposite bank.

(1) Carry on straight ahead. When you reach the edge of a road, take the path immediately to the left, then turn right and you’ll arrive at Rue François Mitterrand. Carry on straight ahead. Pass two roundabouts and you’ll reach the junction with the D164.

(2) Cross at the pedestrian crossing, carry on straight ahead, then head towards the sports grounds on the right and enter the woodland, leaving the housing estates behind. You’ll reach a junction in the woodland alongside the fitness trail.

(3) Turn left and carry on straight ahead for over a kilometre until you reach a side path.

(4) Turn right. At the end, turn right onto the path running alongside the high-voltage power line. You’ll reach a track suitable for vehicles; turn right onto it and follow it until you reach the signpost.

(5) Leave the track and take the footpath on the left. At the end of this, turn right then left and rejoin the track leading to Lac de Conge in Saulxures-les-Bulgnéville (caution: slippery path!).

(6) Turn left to walk round the lake. Once on the other side, directly opposite the lake’s starting point, head towards the Royal Air Force memorial (a bomber shot down by a German fighter on 29 July 1944). Then continue round the lake to the left, until you reach the car park and the information board.

(7) Follow the road for a few metres, and at the signpost, take the path opposite. Pass under a high-voltage power line and continue through the woodland. You’ll come to a track; take it to the right until you reach a slight bend.

(8) Leave the track and take a path on the left. At the junction, turn left. At the end, turn right then left. Take a path crossing a stream and a track (often overgrown with ferns). Continue straight on until you reach a Fork in the road.

(9) Turn right, reach a junction and turn left. The forest track then heads north and emerges at the edge of the forest at a crossroads.

(10) Turn right. Reach “Le Rond des Gendarmes”. First turn left then right, and continue along the path crossing a stream; then turn right again onto a steep track leading back to the start of the fitness trail.

(3) Turn left and, following the route in reverse to the one taken on the way out, head back to (S/E).

Things to see along the way:
- Lake des Récollets
- Arboretum
- Heritage orchard
- Forest
- Lake Saulxures les Bulgnéville
- Bomber’s memorial

Find a wide range of activities in Contrexéville right here: https://www.contrextourisme.com/