Chapelle-des-Bois, a village resort in the Haut-Jura
The destination

Chapelle-des-Bois, a village resort in the Haut-Jura

Chapelle-des-Bois is a village of 268 inhabitants at 1,100 m, at the southern tip of the Doubs département on the Swiss border. Tucked into a valley between the Mont Noir forest and the cliffs of the Risoux, in the Haut-Jura Regional Nature Park, it is nicknamed “the Mecca of Nordic skiing”. No ski lifts here: cross-country trails, lakes, pastures, cheese dairies and old Comtois farms.

  • 1,100 mvillage altitude; the commune spans 1,000 to 1,375 m
  • ≈130 kmof cross-country ski trails in the Nordic area
  • 2 lakesMortes and Bellefontaine, Natura 2000 and Ramsar site
  • 1976France’s first organic Comté cheese dairy

Winter

Classic and skating cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, dog sledding, sledging, biathlon. Trail head one minute from the chalets.

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Summer

GR 5 and Grande Traversée du Jura, mountain biking, the lakes loop, viewpoints over Switzerland, waterfalls and the source of the Doubs.

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Webcams

Live snow conditions at the trail heads of Chapelle-des-Bois and the neighbouring villages.

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Getting here

Frasne TGV station 38 km away, Geneva airport 1 h 20, Lausanne 1 h 15. Winter driving tips.

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A human-sized village resort

A human-sized village resort

A certified “Station Verte” and Nordic France site, Chapelle-des-Bois is a real village: a grocery, a cheese dairy, two sports shops, three restaurants, a 17th-century listed church and an eco-museum in a farmhouse built in 1683. Children sledge on the free toboggan run while parents clip into their skis at the door.

The commune is the southernmost in the Doubs. Its 40 km² of forest and pasture border the Jura département and the canton of Vaud: the Vallée de Joux, cradle of Swiss fine watchmaking, is 30 minutes away.

The Risoux forest and the viewpoints

The Risoux range, peaking at the Gros Crêt (1,419 m) on the border, towers over the village. Its centuries-old spruce forest, protected under Natura 2000, has always supplied “tonewood” to violin makers. During the Second World War it was a secret crossing into Switzerland; three villagers are honoured as Righteous Among the Nations.

From the lakes, a path climbs to the Roche Bernard and Roche Champion viewpoints (1,327 m), a few steps from the dry-stone wall that marks the Franco-Swiss border.

The Mortes and Bellefontaine lakes

Two connected lakes totalling 23 hectares, surrounded by peat bogs: one of the richest natural areas in the Haut-Doubs, a Natura 2000 and Ramsar wetland. Dwarf water lilies, sphagnum moss and 17 protected plant species; a nature trail runs along the Lac des Mortes. Swimming is forbidden to protect the site, but fishing is allowed with a permit (trout, pike, perch, whitefish).

Organic Comté, Mont d’Or and Comtois cooking

The village’s organic cheese dairy has made organic Comté since 1976, a first in France. Guided visits and tastings on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings by reservation, with a shop in the village centre. Nearby: Mont d’Or from September to May, Morbier (the village of Morbier is 12 km away), Bleu de Gex, Morteau sausage smoked in a “tuyé” chimney, and Jura wines.

Three restaurants in the village: the Auberge de la Distillerie (morels, chicken in vin jaune, Comté fondue), Les Clochettes du Risoux and Les Pâturages. In summer, a producers’ market on Tuesday evenings in July and August, and the Organic Fair on the second weekend of August.

Within an hour

  • Bellefontaine (8 km): small family downhill ski area, lakes.
  • Chaux-Neuve (10 km): ski jumps, Nordic combined World Cup venue.
  • Morez (15 km): Eyewear Museum, free via ferrata, viaducts of the Ligne des Hirondelles railway.
  • Mouthe (20 km): source of the Doubs, “the coldest village in France”.
  • Les Rousses (23 km): downhill skiing, Fort des Rousses and its Comté maturing cellars.
  • Vallée de Joux, Switzerland (30 min): Lac de Joux, skating on the frozen lake in winter, watchmaking museums.
  • Métabief and Mont d’Or (30 km): downhill skiing, 152 km of marked mountain-bike trails, 1,463 m summit.
  • Lac de Saint-Point (40 km): swimming and beaches; Hérisson waterfalls (50 km); Château de Joux (55 km).

See our chalets and gîtes

See our chalets and gîtes