Lons-Le-Saunier (Perrigny) / Chaux des Crotenay
From Lons-le-Saunier, perhaps noting your starting time on the Tour de l’Horloge clocktower, ride off along La P’tite GTJ à Vélo, which leads you on a first stage marked by climbing. You follow a transformed former railway line to Chalain Lake, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to its vestiges of a lake-dwelling prehistoric settlement. Now, in summer, why not dive into the turquoise waters here? Do climb by foot to the Belvédère de Fontenu to appreciate its viewing point over this glinting glacial lake. A pause here offers riders a bit of rest and relaxation before descending to Chaux des Crotenay.
The Route
Along a former regional railway line, known as the Voie PLM, from Perrigny to Châtillon, cycling along a gravel track
Steps to negotiate halfway along the Voie PLM from Perrigny to Châtillon (at the level of kilometre 17.1)
The signposting to follow is specified on the route map
Practical information
Facilities on this stage: shops; cafés/restaurants; tourist office; pharmacies; train station (to arrive at or leave from); local cheese-ageing cellars (fruitières à comté)
Gradients and elevation
Road types
Surface
Don't miss
- Lons-le-Saunier: Maison de la Vache qui Rit (on Laughing Cow cheese, produced here); the Tour de l’Horloge clocktower
- Fontenu: Lac de Chalain
- Le Frasnois: the four lakes
- Ilay (+ 4km): Cascades du Hérisson (a string of dramatic waterfalls)
