MTB: Traverse of the Jura
Enjoying the views from Monts Jura
Join us for more than a mountain bike ride! The Jura is famous for it's gastronomy, farming, stunning scenery and tradition - enjoy a journey across an historic landscape whilst soaking up the regions delights along the way. Our challenging traverse totals approximately 320km in distance and has 8,300m of ascent and 7,500m descent.
We ride approximately 45-65km by mountain bike per day traversing east to west starting from the Pays de Montbeliard across the Hauts Jura closely following the Swiss border. Enjoy riding the perfect blend of road, trail and single track with the luxury of having your luggage transported for you so you can just enjoy the riding.
- Challenging linear traverse
- 320km with 8,300m of ascent and 7,500m of descent!
- View the Alps from the Jura plateau
- Fully supported with luggage transfers
- Ride the Jura crest, cross meadows, climb through forests to villages
- Soak up the regions tradition, history & culture
Download PDF version of this pageDepartures
| Trip | Departure date | End date | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTB: GTJ1 | Sat 26 May 12 | Sat 2 June 12 | £1165 or 1395 Euros | Places available | Make a Booking |
| MTB: GTJ2 | Sat 2 June 12 | Sat 9 June 12 | £1165 or 1395 Euros | Places available | Make a Booking |
| MTB: GTJ3 | Sat 29 September 12 | Sat 6 October 12 | £1165 or 1395 Euros | Places available | Make a Booking |
| MTB: GTJ4 | Sat 6 October 12 | Sat 13 October 12 | £1165 or 1395 Euros | Places available | Make a Booking |
The Jura region sits north east of Geneva and crosses both French and Swiss turf. It's Jurassique, limestone geology makes it the perfect outdoor playground. The Grand Traverse of the Jura was established in the 1970's and can be undertaken on foot, cross country ski, horse back and by bike. Our itinerary allows you enough time to get the most out of the biking and to enjoy the places that you pass through along the way. We ride from village to village passing through lush meadows & climbing through steep forests to reach high plateaus and amazing vistas.
View MTB: Grand Traverse of the Jura by Bike in a larger map
Day 1 Transfer to Saint Hippolyte
Meet us at Geneva airport for our group pick up. The time for the pick up will be arranged to suit the majority of the group members, pleae consult with us before booking your flights. We will then transfer you to the start of the ride. We will check into our accommodation and unpack and pre-pair our bikes during the afternoon. Saint Hippolyte, in the Pays de Montbeliard, is a quiet riverside village where you immediately feel like you are on holiday.
Day 2 Saint Hippolyte to Fournet-Blancheroche & the Gorges du Doubs
We make use of an early start so that we are ascending in the cool of the morning. Our ride takes us through meadows, woodland and some small village roads to Fessevillars where we can stop to refuel. We have some choices on our route today but they all lead to the Doubs River and one of the highlights of our traverse. As we bike to and from Goumois along the riverside we enjoy some kilometres on the flat where we take in beautiful scenery; limestone pillars in a deep-sided gorge, passing watermills, weirs and trout fishing.
Goumois makes the perfect lunch stop, situated on the French/Swiss border, we enjoy a riverside picnic before heading out initially on the flat again and then on to our second climb for the day taking you past amazing views looking down into the gorge and through the route of the 'contraband'. Dig deep as this is a long but beautiful day.
Total: 51km. Ascent: 1720m. Descent: 1180m.
Day 3 Fournet-Blancheroche to La Perdrix
Today we have an easier morning riding across rolling farmland along the Grand Combe-des-Bois. From Le Pissoux we ride single track through forest and along the crest past Villers-le Lac, close to the Swiss frontier. As we ride above the Doubs River we drop into the town of Morteau, famous for it's sausage and clocks. We break for lunch and can enjoy the much loved cake shop.
The trail out of Morteau is through a wide open valley with lovely views of agricultural land and surrounding hilltops. We follow this to the Grand Combe-Châteleu to easier ground before some fun singe track down to La Perdrix where we are welcomed by excellent local cuisine and a nice cold beer!
Total: 53km. Ascent: 1080m. Descent: 910m.
Day 4 La Perdrix to Mouthe
The trails leaving La Perdrix take us through the Val des Alliés where we gain great views down onto Pontarlier, and our next destination. We continue on up and over la Cluse and pass the impressive Château de Joux at le Frambourg. After taking time to enjoy the view we enjoy some single track down from the castle. A steady climb takes us up and over into the next valley and past the farmland around Granges Bailly. We enjoy a fun descent into Les Fourgs.
Some easy riding takes us to Métabief where we make a rewarding climb to the highest point of our traverse for fabulous views from the Jura across to the Alps where on a clear day you can view Mont Blanc. Métabief has held both French and European mountain bike championships and the trails from the summit of Moran at 1400m and Mont d'Or are first class.
We ride along the crest of Mont d'Or and use the single track down la Boissaude Chalet for a quick refreshment before the last section onto Mouthe and the Source of the River Doubs. If we are unable to take the lift there are many options available to us to bypass the mountain and join the trail at la Boissaude.
Total: 64km. Ascent: 1790m. Descent: 1740m.
Day 5 Mouthe - Les Rousses
An easier day today. We ride along by the forest edge looking across open fields up and over to the small villages of Chaux Neuve and Foncine-le-Haut. We traverse around Mont Noir and Combe David on some lovely rolling terrain down to the picturesque village of Chappelle des Bois, home to the yellow gentian distillery. The route from Chappelle takes us below limestone cliffs and around the lakes of Bellefontaine.
We climb in the afternoon through the Forêt du Risoux which is not complete without an afternoon cake visit at Chalet Gaillard. We descend to Les Rousses and our accommodation for the night and sample some local cuisine. Les Rousses is a small town in the heart of the Haut Jura where they celebrated the Tour du France coming through in 2010.
Total: 45km. Ascent: 980m. Descent: 800m.
Day 6 Les Rousses - Giron
We leave Les Rousses and head for the hills once again with views of where several valleys meet. We initially enjoy a fun descent into Prémanon. We enjoy riding through classic Jura style terrain, the meadows of the Bois de Ban onto Lamoura and then Lajoux on some fun single track.
You are now in the centre of the 'Parc Naturel Haut Jura' which covers 160,000 hectares across this area of France and much of the riding today is over 1,000m. Our afternoon takes us nearly all off road to Les Moussieres and onto the Crêt du Merle ridge at 1289m where you can enjoy beautiful views of the Monts Jura. We pass through The Borne au Lion which is steeped in wartime history (from the French Revolution to 2nd World War French resistance fighting). We ride down to Giron for the night.
Total: 58km. Ascent: 1440m. Descent: 1540m.
Day 7 Giron - Plan d'Hotonnes
Our final day to complete our traverse starts with a fun 500m descent through meadows, forests and single track to the village of St Germain de Joux. We then start our final climb of the trip through Poizat village, leading to the Col de Cuvery at 1100m.
After a break on the Col we complete the climb to reach the Crêt du Nu, 1351m which is well worth the effort as we obtain a superb high point and on a clear day fabulous views across to the Alps. A true high for the final day. And in classic Jura style what goes up goes down so we end our traverse with an enjoyable run down to our final nights accommodation in the village of Plan d'Hotonnes - great food and wine awaits for our celebratory last night.
Total: 48km. Ascent: 1290m. Descent: 1260m.
Day 8 Departure Day
Today is departure day. The transfer back to Geneva airport is easy by train or with our driver.
Price
Included: Return transfers from Geneva Airport. The meeting time for the transfer will be at a time which suits the majority of the arriving group members. Please consult us before booking your flights with regard to timings. The guiding services of a fully qualified Mountain Bike Guide. Full board accommodation in hotels or rural gîtes for 7 nights including: breakfast, 6 picnic lunches and dinner. The accommodation is either in mixed dormitories, occasionally where the beds are not segregated, or twin hotel rooms. Any transfers and cable cars involved in the itinerary, a driver and back up vehicle and the transfer of your baggage between accommodation is also included in the price.
Not included: Bike rental, bike repairs and maintenance of bikes. Travel Insurance, which must include helicopter rescue, snack foods, alcohol and extra drinks, transfers and cable cars which are not part of the itinerary.
Accommodation
Accommodation is based on two people sharing a twin/double room in either 2* hotels, auberges or in some cases non-segregated dormitory style rooms. The accommodation selected depends on the availability upon booking. We aim to use local, characterful accommodation that offer traditional meals and gives you the opportunity to see the real 'Jura'.
Bikes & Terrain
For this trip we suggest you use a hard tail mountain bike or a full suspension bike that has the option to be locked. The route travels along some road (40%), forest trails (35%) and single track (25%). We grade this trip as Intermediate in technical difficulty and in length. It is suitable for regular riders that are looking for the challenge of a journey on a variety of terrain. Local bike hire might be possible, please contact us for further details.
Your Guide
We work with fully qualified professional French mountain bike guides who are hugely experienced and enthusiastic about riding the Alps! It would in fact be fair to say they are in generally addicted to single track. If you want a guide who loves the job and is very happy to share the mountains then this is the trip for you. Your guide will also be a qualified International Mountain Leader. To acquire these qualifications a guide, as well as being a talented biker, also has to demonstrate extensive knowledge of the alpine environment, flora and fauna and local culture. Any questions just ask!
Minimum numbers
This trip will run once a minimum number of 4 clients have booked. We will take a maximum of 8 clients. We advise you not to make your travel arrangements until the trip is guaranteed to run.
Further Information
The Jura is easily reached from other European & Worldwide destinations by road, rail, coach or plane. For suggested travel links please refer to our Booking & Information pages for further details.
Our starting point for this trip is Saint Hippolyte, France. We offer a transfer to the start and from the end to Geneva Airport for this trip. Depending on the timings it's possible that we might be able to also collect clients from Neuchatel train station.
If you do not require our transfer back to Geneva then onward travel at the end of the trip is from the village of Lancrans. Lancrans is situated a few kilometres away from Bellegarde-sur-Valserine train station in France. There are many train links including: 1h15 minutes to Geneva Airport or the TGV to Paris. Taxis are available to Bellegarde from Lancrans for approximately 10 Euros.
Bikes can easily be transported on both Swiss and French trains but we suggest that you contact them in advance to book your bike on as places are sometimes limited and there is normally an extra fee for the bike. Full rail details can be found on either the Swiss Rail site or for France use TGV Europe.
Please contact us if you need further advise on your specific travel requirements or on your suitability for this holiday.
A complete kit list will be sent out upon booking.
