Hiking in Savoie

1/ the most refreshing

An easy walk, ideal when the weather is hot, the walk is almost exclusively in the forest along the river Arène.

Head for the village of Virieu le Grand, a charming Bugist village with narrow streets at the foot of the Sérémond forest. After parking your vehicle, you enter the forest and quickly this path leads you to the bridge of charmilles and then to the waterfall of Clairefontaine. This bucolic landscape will allow you to bask in the sun, and to take the path in the opposite direction along the river.

The trail climbs steeply at times and requires good footwear. But afterwards you will walk in the forest, and you will be able to admire the richness of the undergrowth. You will be able to cross the river, but beware of the moss and pebbles that can make you slip.

After a short passage in the clearing, you will arrive in front of the Niaz waterfall. It is impressive. The waterfall and its flow in case of heavy rain impresses. You can step over it and arrive at the foot of the waterfall. A last look at this site and you will leave in the opposite direction, you will have to join the path for the return.

2/ the sportiest: the Roche Percée

If you are looking for endurance and effort, then this is the hike for you.

At the start of the village of Béon, you can park your vehicle and enter the forest, quickly you will feel your calves pulled and the effort will become intense, the heart palpitates.
This passage is sporty because the difference in altitude is more than 14%. You will reach a rock arch: the pierced rock.

This stony, rocky landscape makes a nice transition to the forest you just crossed.

3/ the most spiritual. The Arvière site and the integral biological reserve

This site has a little Canadian feel to it. You enter the state forest of Lochieu, a natural site. Located on the Grand Colombier massif between 1100 m and 1400 m, this site has the particularity of being easily accessible for young children.

You can park your car in the car park managed by the ONF (national forestry organisation). The path which starts, will lead you to site of ArvièreThe river that runs alongside it bears the same name. The biodiversity of this environment makes the ecosystem fragile, you will arrive at a hostel where you can discover good local dishes and the very good blueberry pie. You will discover the ruins of the Carthusian monastery of Arvière but also the ethnobotanical garden. The trail will lead you to a lookout point.

You have the possibility at the beginning of the carpark towards the right, which enables you to discover the claw of the Devil, you will be able to see chamois, about fifty species live in the solid mass, one also finds small owls tergnal, of many insects, hunting is practised with a bow

4/ the most panoramic

An unmissable hike starting from the campsite. The trail starts towards the Fierloz massif then you will cross the village of Belmont Massignieu. This village has many fountains, wash houses and watering holes which in the past were used for washing clothes and watering animals.

You will climb the Bavoisière and arrive at the Cerveyrieu waterfall, a 67-metre waterfall. This site is now classified as a sensitive natural area, you will have a magnificent view from the belvedere.

Limestone slabs are intermingled and cracks caused by erosion and water runoff make the site slippery. The river at this place has caused canyons, potholes.

A last look at the Fierloz and the castle at its feet, you will leave by taking the goulet of the wolf, and will arrive at the campsite. This walk is 5 km long and requires 1h30 of walking.

6/ the most animal-oriented: the Lavours marsh trail

You will park in Aignoz, a beautiful village that has kept its charm with the houses with lauze roofs. The animals of the marsh farm will be present to welcome you. A trail on stilts of 1h 30 mn will allow you to discover the site. Numerous interpretation panels and observation posts will explain the richness of the fauna.

Open all year round, with a surface area of 474 hectares, the melting of the Rhone glacier led to the creation of a huge lake fed by the Séran and the Rhone, which gradually filled up and gave way to the Lac du Bourget.

The slow transformation of plant debris created peat.
Come and discover this marsh with your family thanks to the permanent and temporary exhibitions.

7/ the most spectacular: the Grand Colombier pass – the Scioux circuit

Arrived at the top of the col du grand Colombier at 1547 m, you can take the yellow marked circuit, you will cross the forest then you will reach the pass of Charbemènes (1317m) then the cross of the big Colombier (1498 m) to return to the carpark of the Sapette.

A walk with some difficulties of 12,5 km, for a difference in altitude of 470 m.

8/ the most original: the Retord plateau

the maquis circuit

This little-known area, far from the crowds, has no less than 150 km of marked trails and is a winter paradise for Nordic skiers. This tour was created in partnership with the Nantua Resistance and Deportation Museum. You’ll discover 5 farms where the maquis set up camp in 1943-1944. Departure is from the biathlon stadium. You’ll walk alongside the biathlon stadium. The yellow-red signposts indicate “Grange d’en Haut, Croix des Terments, Beauregard-Panorama”. The first farm you’ll come across is the Despachoux farm, nestled in a combe, a bucolic setting that bears witness to the difficult times of the Second World War.

A very beautiful coniferous forest appears, you will cross it without any difficulty.

But after the two panoramas, the return on the way to the cross of Terments is already a beautiful walk. To make a loop, you must take the direction of the Charpy barns, the Bergonnes and the Plans d’Hotonnes. You still have 4 km to cover. At Les Bergonnes, you leave the path on the left that leads to Lucien’s barn and the Retord farm. A pleasant path leads back to the road where you have to turn right to find a sign indicating “Return to the station”, crossing a meadow.