The Tour du Lac de l’Abbaye is a clearly defined hiking option for a stay in Grande-Rivière: the circular trail is 9 km long, takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes, and both starts and ends in the hamlet of Abbaye-en-Grandvaux. This gives you a concrete time frame for planning your day. The lake that gives the trail its name also shapes the village’s landscape theme.
Lac de l’Abbaye is a glacial lake in the Jura at an altitude of just under 900 metres. It lies on the edge of the Haut-Jura, 7 km south of Saint-Laurent-en-Grandvaux, within the municipality of Grande-Rivière. The lake is privately owned; swimming is prohibited. Belvédère du Moulin offers a view over almost the entire lake. This lets you include the lake in your plans as a landscape and viewpoint, rather than as a place for swimming.
Hiking and Exploring the Landscape
Both the distance and approximate duration of the Tour du Lac de l’Abbaye are specified. The circular route returns to its starting point, since the start and finish are in the same hamlet. This information helps you fit the hike into your stay; it also clearly distinguishes a circular trail from a route with different starting and finishing points.
The Silo à images des Guillons offers another perspective on the landscape: its 360-degree interpretation encompasses Lac de l’Abbaye, the Grandvaux plateau and the Lapiaz des chauvins. The view therefore focuses not only on the lake, but also on the plateau and the named karst landscape. Belvédère du Moulin and the Silo offer different perspectives: the former provides a view over the lake, while the latter interprets several landscape features.
Monastic and Local History
The Abbaye du Grandvaux was founded around 523 by a group of monks from Saint-Oyend (Saint-Claude), led by Aubert. The name Lac de l’Abbaye also refers to the history of the monastery: it comes from an abbey dependent on Saint-Claude that stood on its shore in the 12th century.
The present parish church of the Abbaye du Grandvaux, the Église paroissiale de la Nativité de la Vierge, retains a portal with Gothic mouldings dating from the 15th century. By decree of 3 August 2009, the church of the Abbaye du Grandvaux was listed in its entirety as a historic monument. The portal and the listing provide two concrete points of reference for exploring the village’s religious heritage: its surviving architecture and its legal heritage status.
The Jardin du temps et de l'espace is a landscape garden that brings together memorial sites for the First and Second World Wars. The surviving structures of the Moulin et scierie de l’Abbaye en Grandvaux reveal another facet of local history. They bear witness to the various activities that developed around the lake. The garden brings together places of remembrance; the mill and sawmill structures point to former activities in the lake’s surroundings.
Cheese Dairy and Travel Interests
The Fruitière de Grande-Rivière / Morbier adds a culinary destination: Grande-Rivière has a cheese dairy that visitors can tour, along with a shop. It is a specific stop for travellers who want to include cheese in their exploration of the village, alongside its landscape and history. Together, these offer different travel highlights: a circular hike with a set duration, views of the lake, monastic and local history, and a visit to the cheese dairy.
Discover more destinations: Louvenne, Champrougier, Nevy-lès-Dole, Grange-De-Vaivre, Entre-Deux-Monts, Montigny-lès-Arsures, Arsure-Arsurette, Nozeroy
For the broader travel overview: Jura.
