N°28 : THE JEAL LOOP

Join the tour :From Bruyères, head for Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, cross Brouvelieures, Neuf Moulin and Bois de Champ. 1,5km (0.9miles) after the exit of this village, turn right and follow the direction of the Auberge De La Cholotte which is 1km (0.6miles) away. Park there.

Description of the tour :At the parking lot, turn your back on the farmhouse inn to enter in the forest and go on the pathway that goes up to the left. A sign indicates the direction to the Rock of Belles Jambes. the slope is rough, but short. Turn left on the forest pathway, the rock of Belles Jambes on your right will surprise you by its pink sandstone, caves and pillar. Continue and you will see the first houses of Les Rouges-Eaux; at the junction, continue straight. You will soon walk along a high embankment reinforced with large granite boulder, turn left in front of the last house. You pass over the Mortagne river. You will arrive on a tarred road that you will soon cross. Take time to look at the Grande Cheminée to the right (the big chimney is the name of the remaining part of this factory). Go up. Enjoy some beautiful views: the bell tower of the town’s church, the valley towards Saint-Dié-Des-Vosges. Turn left on the forest road of Basse du Jéal for 2,5km (1.5miles). Take advantage of this pleasant and relaxing pathway to observe beautiful fir trees and houses of the valley, including the farmhouse inn of the starting point. For those in the know, there are many animal footprints in the sand, most of them are the roe deer ones. At the first junction, turn left in the pathway that goes down, it will lead you to a tarred road. You may have noticed down the pathway, a nice isolated fir of nearly 40 meters high. Take this road to the left and soon you will see some houses. A hundred meters away, turn right (Auberge De La Cholotte) in order to go back to the parking lot.