Usses Valley and Land Art

Reach Chosal from the road between Allonzier-la-Caille and Frangy (CD 2), heading down towards the valley floor from the hamlet of Rassier in Cercier, or descend from Cruseilles (or Coponex) directly towards Chosal.

Park, preferably on the left bank, near the Pont de Chosal.

(S/E) Cross the bridge over the Usses and head into Chosal along the road that curves to the left. Continue straight on at the junction to arrive in front of the entrance to the Ferme de Chosal.

(1) Turn left and begin exploring the Land Art works. The route officially starts at Les Crayons, then follows the Usses river to the edge of the forest.

(2) Leave the path running alongside the Usses to turn right, and head up into the forest dotted with artworks; continue climbing after the bend in the road until you emerge into the meadows.

(3) Cross to the right, then head back down, cutting across the road, until you return to the front of the Ferme de Chosal.

(1) Return along the road to the Pont de Chosal, and turn left just before the bridge to follow the Chemin des Usses. Follow the road to the hamlet of Les Goths. Only a short section, after the last buildings, allows you to leave the road and follow a path closer to the river.

(4) At the Pont des Goths, continue straight on via the Impasse de la Scierie, which leads back to the road, which you follow to the right. After a right-hand bend, you can leave the road again to follow a path through the woods, closer to the river, which leads back to the road a little further on.

(5) At the Pont vers les Moulins, continue straight on along the road which runs past a fish farm, then a pumping station, and joins a water catchment area as it approaches the cliffs. This is the end of the tarmac road; traffic is prohibited beyond this point.

(6) Pass through the half-open barriers and continue along a lovely forest track that climbs, then descends slightly near a stone bridge: this is the junction with the Route des Bains coming down from Allonzier.

(7) Continue along the track, which approaches an old spa building (Les Galeries), behind which there is a metal footbridge.

(8) Cross (carefully) the footbridge to visit, on the left bank, the remains of the spa site and its sulphurous springs, then return and cross the footbridge again.

(8) Turn right to continue along the path, which becomes much less well-maintained, and carry on past several fallen trees lying across the path, until you reach the foot of the Caille Suspension Bridge (Charles Albert), 140 m higher up, where the narrowing cliffs and gorges bring the path to an end.

(9) Turn back and return to the Pont vers les Moulins.

(5) Cross the bridge and turn right to follow a path on the left bank, running parallel to the Usses, which remains in the undergrowth for most of the way. It then climbs, sometimes quite steeply, and emerges at the exit of the Pont des Goths.

(4) Continue straight on, on the left bank of the Usses, along a path that runs partly through the forest and partly alongside fields, where the ground can be very wet. You will eventually emerge directly at the car park where you started, near the Pont de Chosal (S/E).

This double route presents no technical difficulty and could be rated Easy, but the final section is poorly maintained and heavily disrupted by fallen trees, making the going more strenuous.

The route along the Usses is more interesting when there is more water, such as after rain, but then the final section between (4) and (E) can be quite wet and even muddy in places.

The first circular route allows you to visit various works created in the natural environment by artists working with residents of the Ferme de Chosal, which is in fact an ESAT (Centre d’Aide par le Travail). This circular route is signposted PLAD (Pôle Land Air Départemental).

For more information, see the ESAT website

At point (8), you can visit the former thermal spa site of Les Bains de la Caille, which used to exploit sulphurous hot springs. All that remains are the ruins of what was once a small resort, complete with its own casino.

For more information, see Wikipedia or this website.