La croix de Châtel

🗺️ Overview

• Starting point: Col du Mollendruz (1180 m)

• Summit: Châtel Cross (1442 m)

• Distance: 7.8 km round trip

• Ascent: ~270 m

• Time: ~1h30 with a brisk pace or 2h30–3h round trip with kids

• Difficulty: Easy

• Suitable for: Families, beginners, snowshoes in winter

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The hike to the summit cross of Châtel, above Montricher, is one of my all-time classics. It’s easy, scenic, and family-friendly—perfect even with a 4-year-old, who managed (almost) the entire walk. Whether in summer or winter, this route works beautifully—snowshoeing in the cold months or hiking under a clear June sky, as you can clearly see in the pictures below🤣. Bonus: there are cozy mountain huts along the way for tea, cake, or even fondue.

The Trail

While there’s a longer route starting from Montricher, I usually begin at Col du Mollendruz (1180m), where the snowshoe trails are marked in winter. There’s ample parking, but it can fill up on sunny weekends.

The trail starts near the buvette that rents skis in winter and offers hot tea in summer. The initial stretch is a flat gravel road for 5–10 minutes until you reach a building with a trail panel. It sends you up into grassy terrain, and after another 5–10 minutes, a second panel directs you left onto another gravel road. From here, you can spot the Chalet du Mollendruz.

In winter, if you want a quick snowshoe walk, heading up to Chalet du Mollendruz and back takes about 40–45 minutes. But this time, we stayed on the gravel road, continuing straight.

Soon, you reach a fork—go right and uphill. Here the real climb begins, on a wide forest trail. 

Snowshoe signs proove that this is also a marked trail in winter. 

After about 15–20 minutes, you reach an asphalt road. Go right for 100 meters, and you’ll find a panel offering two routes to Châtel:

• 40 min via the road

• 30 min through the forest and pastures

We always choose the pasture route—especially on the way up.

Meadows and Mountain Huts

After about 15 minutes through the forest, the trail opens into flower-filled pastures in June. Another short uphill (10–15 minutes) brings you to the Buvette de Châtel, where a cook with a pointy mustache might serve you tea, cake, or fondue. Yes, you can also reach it by car (taking the road past Chalet du Mollendruz).

That day, even in the June sunshine, the wind was strong—making the hot raspberry tea extra comforting.

Summit Views

From the buvette, it's just 5–10 minutes to the summit cross (1442m). The rotating arms of the cross mark your arrival, and the panorama is classic Jura: a sweeping view over Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Geneva with the Alpine skyline rising beyond. It's one of those places that makes you stop and breathe. On this day there also was a Ride of the Valkyries impressive cloudfrot as well.

The Way Down

To descend, you can follow the same route. Since it was muddy, we chose to run down the road against the wind! 

Below the hill take left as going left makes a much wider look. And when you get to the point where the path goes into the road on the way up your should reenter the forest as continuing on the road will bring you to Montricher.

Alternatively, shortly before arriving at the starting point, there’s a small, easy-to-miss trail on the left (see picture below). This leads to Chalet du Mollendruz, which also serves fondue. We aimed for it but found it closed—these chalets can be unpredictable, so check their hours online.

From the chalet, you can either:

• Go downhill (beware of fences, sometimes blocking the way)

• Or take its entrance road and turn right before hitting the main asphalt road

Avoid the main road in summer—it leads to a larger, busier road below. The best bet is to regain the original gravel trail below the chalet and return the same way you came.