The Circuit des Pierres et des Etangs starts in Raddon-Et-Chapendu and is 16 km long. It brings together natural features and rural heritage, along with a biennial wood festival and horse-riding activities at the hamlet of Les Forges. This offers different ways to plan a stay: around a route, a specific festival date or the duration of a ride. When planning, it is therefore important to decide whether to organise your trip around the route’s length, the event date or the duration of an outing.
Forests, ponds and heritage on the Circuit
The Circuit passes through forests and by ponds, erratic boulders and cherry orchards. It also showcases natural and cultural heritage through scattered houses, crosses, fountains, chalots, lava-stone roofs, traditional farms, a Lavière and a bread oven. Landscape features are thus presented alongside rural and architectural ones. If you enjoy including both in a tour, the route offers a concrete way to do so.
The 16 km distance is a fixed planning consideration. Plan your day around the route and check the latest route information before setting out, as details may change. The route offers a variety of sights along the way, so plan according to the route you actually intend to follow, rather than individual attractions alone.
Chalots and local names
Chalots are small grain stores attached to former farms. Their definition combines a specific building form with their former use as storage, placing them within the history of rural architecture. There are also stones in the municipal forest known locally as “pierres aux sacrifices” (“sacrifice stones”). The chalots offer insight into a building form, while the stones, through their local name, provide a different connection to the commune’s heritage.
Plan specifically for the FĂŞte du bois
The FĂŞte du bois takes place every two years on the last Sunday in July. The festival includes a lumberjack competition and a craft exhibition. Its biennial schedule makes the specific date a key planning factor if you want to travel especially for the event. Check the date of the festival in question before arranging your accommodation around it; that way, you will not plan on the assumption that it takes place every year.
Horse-riding activities at the hamlet of Les Forges
La Ferme du Petit Galop is located in the hamlet of Les Forges in Raddon-Et-Chapendu and is both an equestrian centre and an educational farm. It offers 30-minute rides for young children, as well as rides by the hour or for a full day. Multi-day itinerant rides are also available. The durations differ considerably: a short ride is offered alongside activities that take up more of the day or span several days.
This lets you choose a horse-riding activity according to the time you have available, without treating the different options as equivalent. If you plan to include a ride in your trip, check the latest booking details and arrangements for visits in advance, as they may change. The short ride is specifically intended for young children; this does not mean that other rides are generally suitable for them.
Services for motorhomes
The motorhome stopover area is near the stadium and sports hall, at the edge of the forest. It has a Campiflux service point with a €2 coin-operated system, as well as water and electricity. For motorhome travellers, this is a practical planning consideration in addition to hiking, heritage or horse-riding activities. If you rely on these facilities, check their current availability before travelling.
Choose a hotel based on your travel plans
If you are looking for a hotel in Raddon-Et-Chapendu, first decide which activity will shape your stay. For the FĂŞte du bois, the specific event date matters; for the Circuit, the 16 km distance is an important planning consideration; and at La Ferme du Petit Galop, you can choose between short rides, rides by the hour or for a full day, and multi-day rides. Also check the latest information about the event, route or booking if any of these details are key to your trip.
Discover more destinations: Fresse, Champagney, Igny, Villers-sur-Port, La Barre, Fretigney-Et-Velloreille, La Basse-Vaivre, Marnay
For the wider travel overview: Haute-SaĂ´ne.
