The circular hike to the Puits du Glaçon gives a stay in Les Fontenelles a clear focus: it is 10.5 kilometres long and takes three hours. There is also a cave with a history behind its name, the Lavogne and the Chapelle Sainte-Anne. This makes it possible to choose where to stay based on specific interests—hiking, scenery or heritage.

Hiking and choice of routes

The route to the Puits du Glaçon is a circular hike that passes through Les Fontenelles. The 10.5-kilometre route is listed as taking three hours. Yellow-and-blue trail markers and directional signs marked No. 7 indicate the way. The starting point can be reached by Mobigo line 206 between Pontarlier and Montbéliard. If you plan to use the bus, check the timetable in advance. Le Plateau du Russey and Village Haut are also hiking trails that pass through Les Fontenelles. Anyone wishing to consider additional routes can include these two named trails as further options.

The La Lavogne geocaching trail is listed as taking one hour and 30 minutes. Compared with the three-hour circular hike to the Puits du Glaçon, this is a shorter listed activity. As geocaching materials or access information may change, check these details in advance.

Scenery and points of interest

The Puits du Glaçon cave is 15 to 25 metres wide, and its ceiling reaches a height of four metres. Its name comes from an icicle that often used to last throughout the year. The Point de vue des Fontenelles viewpoint offers hikers a view of the northern high ridge of the Jura; on a clear day, the peaks of the Bernese Alps are also visible. The route to the Puits du Glaçon passes through a Pré-bois habitat typical of the Jura Mountains, shaped by woodland and pastureland. Its preservation depends on human activities.

The Lavogne and heritage

The Lavogne is unique in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and is laid out as a circular basin: it measures 16 metres in diameter and is 1.20 metres deep at the centre. It was restored in 2000. It collects rainwater and provides water for livestock.

The Chapelle Sainte-Anne was built in 1890 on the heights of Les Fontenelles. Its sacristy incorporates part of a chapel dating from 1480. The history of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Christian Retreat is also connected with the area: Abbé Antoine-Sylvestre Receveur founded it in 1789 in Les Fontenelles, in the canton of Le Russey. The congregation’s mother house is also in Les Fontenelles.

Discover more destinations: Saint-Antoine, Loray, Mondon, Chapelle-Des-Bois, La Chaux, Hyèvre-Paroisse, Saint-Point-Lac, Grand'Combe-Châteleu

For the main travel overview: Doubs.