Europe

Montsalvens lake and the Jogne gorge, hiking with kids

If you are planning to eat a cheese fondue or/and a raclette at the Gruyère and visit the Cailler’s chocolate factory in Broc I suggest you to first of all do a hike at the Montsalvens lake, it is only about 10km away from Gruyère and Broc.

We have been driving pass by this small dam many times before so one day we decided to take our time to walk around the lake.

Before hand I was quickly looking the overview of the hike that takes about 3hours/10km to complete and I just didn’t understand why the hike is so long when the lake is so small.

 

Photo and for more information about the hike click Here

The hike is actually not entirely a walk around the lake because you need to hike along a river and then up on a hill above the lake and then down again. To be honest, it was not a very exciting walk but we got our excercise of the day so we were happy about it!?

Another alternative is to walk half way of the lake to the short suspension bridge and back the same way again. That takes around 30 minutes.

 

We parked our car by a small parking at the very beginning of the Route de Biffé and crossed the main road where you can see the post sign. From there it takes about 5 minutes down to the lake. Once by the lake, if you want to do the circular hike it’s better to start your hike from the right. Or turn left for a shorter walk to the suspension bridge.

 

When miss Mirabelle refuse to walk or sit in the backpack all we can do is to let her be.

We turned right of course. It was an easy walk by the lake but we got surprised that the path lead us into the forest away from the lake instead around it.

 

We kept walking without understanding why we were so far away from the lake. We were unsure if we took the right path even though the post sign says Tour du lac.

 

A small pause for Mirabelle to plash in the river.

After walking up on a hill we accepted the fact that this tour du lac was not around the lake as we thought. Once we came up to highest point of the hike we had a nice view of the surrounding. And you will pass by a small and cute chapel.

 

From here you will enter the forest and walk down on a quite steep hill. Just follow the yellow post sign and you can’t get lost.

 

The suspension bridge.

When we arrived at the point where we started we decided to walk down along the Jogne gorge to the Cailler’s chocolate factory.  It was a really lovely walk and took us about an hour to reach the factory.

If you want to do the same, just cross the dam and walk up to the restaurant and on the right is a steep path leading down to the gorge. As usually, if you follow the sign you won’t get lost.

 

Photo and more information click Here

After we have visited the chocolate factory, while Mirabelle and I were playing at the playground at the factory, David hopped into a bus to fetch our car. It took less than 30min for David to show up again.

It’s about 10min by foot from the factory to the bus station Le Home. It’s bus number 260 and you get off 3 stops later at Châtel sur Montsalvens.

For knowing the timetable for the bus we used the google map.

 

So this is our ordinary day as a family trip. How does yours looks like?

 


 

 


Family Earth Trek

11 Comments

  1. What amazing views. I didn’t travel much when my kids were little. I had three toddlers at once so it would have been hard. It looks like you guys had an amazing time.

  2. What amazing views. I didn’t travel much when my kids were little. I had three toddlers at once so it would have been hard. It looks like you guys had an amazing experience

  3. That looks so great. I love great hikes out there and the bridge looks so very cool. A family trip is always the best of things. I love going places with my daughter.

  4. CourtneyLynne Reply

    Omg breathtaking photos!!!!! The lake water is so blue!!! I would love to visit for myself one day

  5. Hi great pics. We plan to do the hike but from the other end. How do we get to the bus stop from the dam? Thanks 😊

    • Hi, I think the bus stop is Châtel sur Montsalvens. You can ask the restaurant by the dam I think it would safest! Have fun and enjoy the hike!

Write A Comment

Pin It

Do you want to join us three around the world?

Join our mailing list to receive updates about our latest adventures!

Thanks for subscribing!