Le Suchet

After the hikes starting from Col du Mollendruz, Le Suchet is closer to home for me. Therefore, it counts as a classic—I’ve done it many times!

As is typical for Jura hikes, you can approach it from various sides, and even more so for Le Suchet—even from France!

Here’s a quick inventory of the main routes:

• From Grange Neuve: 40 minutes to the summit, a 2-hour loop with 370m elevation gain in total if returning along the ridge (see detailed description below).

• From Baulmes: 12.6 km round trip with 910m elevation gain. A challenging route.

• From Refuge du Chaudron: 7.2 km and 860m elevation gain. Steep, especially at the beginning.

• From Mathulaz: 4.2 km and 440m elevation gain. It’s a midpoint of the previous option and reachable by car.

• From Entre Les Fourgs (Jougne, FR): 16 km and 700m elevation gain. Quite a long route!

In this post, I’ll dive into the first one—from Grange Neuve—because it’s the perfect, easy family hike.

Download GPS file

Grange Neuve is a restaurant at 1340m in the valley between Le Suchet and the Aiguilles de Baulmes. You can get there via a narrow road starting behind the village of Baulmes. There’s also parking at the restaurant.

From the end of the parking lot, a gravel road begins. Be careful—after about 5 minutes, you need to take the path on the right, off the main road. The signposting here is not super clear. After a while, the pastures become forest, and the path eventually reaches the ridge and curves back to the summit. The total climb is 270m, with the summit sitting at 1588m.

At the top, you’ll be rewarded with the usual breathtaking Jura panorama: the Alps stretching across the horizon, Lake Neuchâtel, Lake Geneva, and, in the distance, even the Lac de Joux. Paragliders often take off from here. Just below the summit, there’s Chalet du Suchet (reachable by car in summer from the other side) that offers delicious fondues.

The way back is the real highlight! You descend along a wide ridge with Lake Neuchâtel spread out before you. 

After about 20 minutes, the ridge transitions back into forest, and after another 10 minutes, you’ll reach a gravel road. Turn right here to head back to Grange Neuve. This point is actually a bit lower than the starting point, and there’s supposed to be a path that avoids this drop and climb, but I’ve never actually found it. 

The gravel road goes down slightly, adding about 100m of extra climbing to the hike. Near La Combette, the road turns back to asphalt, which you can follow to the starting point. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, just before La Combette, you can cut back up through the old ski slope.