Les Rousses, the little Lapland made in France - Montagnes du Jura

Les Rousses, in the heart of the Jura Mountains, is the starting point of our week-long itinerary in the massif. On snowshoes, cross-country skis and sled dogs we set off to meet the people of the Jura, their gastronomy and their culture, all in a setting worthy of the Great North. It was at the end of January that we crossed the Jura mountains and the snow was there. We fell under the spell of this territory with its strong character and it was in the village of Les Rousses that it all began. A stay close to home, close to you! And a foretaste of a trip to Lapland.

In this post, we tell you how our blogtrip in the Jura mountains and especially in Les Rousses went. We also share our tips and good addresses for accommodation and restaurants for a successful stay. If you follow us, you know that we are rather two specialists in exotic destinations where we prefer to wear a swimming costume instead of a fleece.

So why did we choose to live such an experience? To make a common kid's dream come true: to spend a week roaming in virgin, protected and snowy environments. So thank you to the Jura mountains for allowing us to live such an intense experience as two experienced travellers! And you know what, we loved it and we really want to go back there. And why not in summer?

We arrived in Les Rousses after a series of TGV, TER and taxi journeys from Paris. After only 4 hours of travel, we are already taking our first steps in a freshly fallen snow. It's mid-afternoon and after the recent snowfall, a happy blue sky appears for an hour, the time to take some colourful pictures.

We walk in a protected environment magnified by the spruce forests. You meet cross-country skiers and snowshoe hikers. In the background, the downhill ski slopes.

The great thing about Les Rousses is that you can enjoy a wide range of Nordic activities with friends and family.

Les Rousses became famous at the beginning of the 20th century with the famous Route Blanche, the RN 5, linking Paris to Geneva. Ski enthusiasts looking for a less demanding mountain than the Alps took advantage of the resort. Since the 1970s, with the rise of tourism, Les Rousses has made a name for itself by promoting its many assets. Indeed, with a preserved natural setting, an impressive military fort that has become a Comté cheese maturing cellar and a frozen lake in winter, all the ingredients are there to make the resort a real alternative to the Alpine resorts.

Don't confuse Les Rousses - the village with the Station des Rousses which includes 4 villages including the village of Les Rousses!

1. What to see and do in Les Rousses

1.1 What is the village of Les Rousses like?

Les Rousses is a quiet and typical Franche-Comté village with wooden chalets and houses, shops and restaurants. The surrounding countryside is dotted with typical Jura mountain farms. It is like a children's story with all the snow and the presence of stalactites at the bottom of the roofs.

With its 6286 inhabitants, the resort of Les Rousses is made up of 4 villages, Les Rousses, Bois d'Armont, Prémanon and Lamoura located in the Haut-Jura Natural Park, in the south of the region Franche-Comté region. Yes, yes, let's be precise! The resort is the first French resort to be awarded the Flocon Vert label. The resort offers a host of activities for all, from the youngest to the oldest. In addition to the ski area, the resort of Les Rousses is home to other points of interest to be discovered a little further down.

This is the town! There are shops, ski and snowshoe rental companies and more. Several restaurants where cheese is king are also not to be missed. More about this below. The church of Les Rousses is worth a visit. It is a church with typical architecture of the region. Its particularity comes from the fact thatin the middle of this Comtois roof the watershed passes.

1.2. Nordic activities in Les Rousses, a whole history!

The resort of Les Rousses is one of the most beautiful in France. In the heart of the Haut-Jura Regional Nature Park, the area offers 220 kilometres of Nordic skiing open to all. And the landscapes of the resort of Les Rousses, under the snow, look like a real white paradise with an exceptional fauna and flora. So why not go and discover it by sledging, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or dog sledding?

There is something for everyone in Les Rousses. And let's not forget that it is here, on the Les Rousses domain, that Jason Lamy-Chappuis, a child of the resort, forged his Olympic title and his international victories in Nordic combined.

The Grande Traversée du Jura: where it all began

And why not try an itinerant adventure along the GTJ, the Grande Traversée du Jura. We rode part of this route during this week of roaming in the Jura mountains. The Grande Traversée du Jura, the GTJ, is 180 km of marked trails linking Mouthe in the Doubs to Giron in the Ain. The routes of the GTJ follow the long curves of the Jura relief and offer an ideal setting for roaming. Created in 1978, it can be discovered today on snowshoes, cross-country skis but also on foot or by bike in summer.

Although not mountainous, the route, which follows the undulating terrain of the Jura, requires a minimum of physical preparation. The most suitable periods for the GTJ on snowshoes depend on the snow conditions. We can expect snow from December to April. At the end of January we had a lot of snow in the area. Sometimes more than 70 cm of fresh snow fell during the night, erasing all tracks. The Franche-Comté region was even under an orange alert for snow. Very impressive what can fall in 24 hours!

Snowshoeing

This is our favourite activity because it is with snowshoes that we enjoy the most the magnificent spaces of the resort. In complete safety, you can enjoy the calm and the scenery at your own pace. The resort of Les Rousses has 55 km of marked routes and 22 km of special snowshoe trails!
Snowshoeing among the spruce and fir trees, you can enjoy the peace and quiet and the unspoilt nature that every hiker must respect. The signs set up by the Haut-Jura Natural Park prevent us from getting lost and allow us to enjoy the best views.

If you too want to try this activity, know that for your own safety, never walk alone or at least tell someone around you. Choose a route that corresponds to your level and bring equipment adapted to the cold. Don't hesitate to ask local professionals for information before you leave.

Here are 2 hikes that we have tested:

The lake of Rousses - Easy - duration: we take our time

It is even without snowshoes, as soon as we arrived at the resort of Les Rousses, that we wanted to go to the lake of Les Rousses. We then crossed the Golf de Les Rousses without knowing it, which is a great snowy playground for hikers at this time of year. A tip: rent snowshoes as soon as you arrive in the village of Les Rousses, you will be able to move around more freely in this exceptional environment.
It is hard to imagine that in summer the Lac des Rousses looks like an inland sea with its beaches and water sports.

La forêt du Massacre - Chalet de La Frasse - About 6 km - Easy

Starting point: the La Frasse car park. Go to the small chalet that serves as a sales point and turn right. The itinerary of this snowshoe hike follows a forest path that reaches the chalet of La Frasse after 1.6 km. An ideal walk for families or friends. Immerse yourself in the middle of snow-covered fir trees by following a well-marked path that winds through the forest.

You can extend the walk (which is what we did) to go a little deeper into the Massacre forest. We follow the GTJ snowshoe markers which lead to themutated spruce, one of the curiosities of the Massacre forest. Nature's little fantasy, the lower part of the tree is that of a normal spruce while its upper part is that of a columellar spruce, perhaps due to a climatic adaptation or a genetic mutation. We didn't manage to spot it, like many people, but it didn't matter, the path was so beautiful.

But the hours were ticking and we had to turn back because a heavy snowstorm was hitting the region and walking became difficult. We will return to Les Rousses by hitchhiking very easily. We didn't have the courage to wait for the bus.

Attention: the described itinerary does not form a loop because from the chalet of La Frasse we follow the Grande Traversée du Jura on snowshoes. You will then have to turn back and think about calculating the walking time for the return.

Cross-country and alpine skiing

Cross-country skiing is the main activity here with 220 km of trails. You can do it just about everywhere. As for us, it is between Les Rousses and Lajoux that we tested this activity. As for alpine skiing, within a radius of about twenty kilometres, it is practised on 4 different massifs: Les Tuffes, la Dôle, la Serra and le Noirmont with a total of 50 km of slopes and 34 ski lifts. There is really nothing to be bored of in Les Rousses!

With its 10,000 hectares of virgin snow fields, the resort of Les Rousses offers a range of activities that we were not able to try out. You can also come to Les Rousses for dog sledding (we had the chance to do some at Giron at the end of our itinerary), cani-racket, kite-surfing, curling, speed riding and why not ski joëring, an ancestral activity which combines skiing and horse-drawn carriage.

Towed by a horse, you travel through snowy fields wearing a pair of skis. So, are you tempted by a future escapade in Les Rousses and the Jura mountains?

1.4. A visit not to be missed: the Fort des Rousses

In Les Rousses, there are Nordic sports but not only. You can also set aside a few hours to visit the second largest fort in France after the Mont-Valérien fort, which is well known in the Hauts-de-Seine. The Fort des Rousses, a former military fort, is nowone of the largest Comté cheese maturing cellars in Europe.

It is an exceptional place that provides the best conditions for releasing the best flavours of Comté cheese. With over 50,000 m2 of vaulted rooms, this fortress could house 2,500 men and horses. Today, nearly 100,000 wheels of Comté cheese are peacefully matured here. Impressive!

During the visit, you will discover how the cheese maker, thanks to his daily care, succeeds in revealing flavours of an incredible finesse. We guarantee that the smells go with it! After a fascinating visit of about 1h30 to 2h, the tour ends with a film on the history of the place. The tour ends with a tasting of comtés from 6 to 18 months of age.

We recommend that you book your visit to Fort de Rousses in advance. The Rousses fort is open every day except Saturday. If you come across Bernard as a guide for the tour, please give him our best regards! He is a very good guide and shares his knowledge of the region and the Comté with passion. A fascinating visit that combines history and local products.

2. Where to sleep? Where to eat in Les Rousses ?

It's at the Ferme du Père François that we stayed. Located in the centre of the village of Les Rousses, this 3 star hotel has the advantage of being close to shops, restaurants and rental companies. The 7 rooms run by Mireille and François are warm, clean and quiet.

To contact them by phone: 03 84 60 34 62.

On the ground floor of the hotel is a very friendly restaurant. Mireille and François do not hesitate to share their good tips with us and the other holidaymakers, whether it is to talk about local gastronomy or good tips for going snowshoeing.

It is in their restaurant that we tasted for the first time the Jura flavours. We particularly recommend the Jura fondue, with Comté cheese of course, and its plate of charcuterie. Accompanied by a good Jura wine, why not a Côte du Jura or a Château-Chalin, to be consumed in moderation of course, we are sure to spend an excellent moment with our two lovers of the land and quality local products. Our taste buds still remember them. Bon appétit!

And yes, gastronomy is an integral part of the discovery of the Jura mountains and therefore of Les Rousses. In your plate, you won't be able to resist, you will almost always find one of the specialities of the region: comté, morbier, bleu de Gex but also morels or even sausages.

3. How to get around Les Rousses?

To reach the starting point of a hike or another village, think of the SkiBus. The SkiBus is for everyone, including skiers with their equipment. The bus service operates 7 days a week and serves the four villages of Les Rousses as well as the ski areas from December to March.

The fare is 1 euro per journey to be paid on the bus. The journeys are free for children under 13 years old, for holders of a valid ski pass and also for holders of the Rusée card, sometimes offered by your accommodation provider. Remember to ask for information when you arrive in Les Rousses.

4. How do I get to Les Rousses?

There are several options: by train, by car or by plane.

We took a TGV from Paris to Dôle and then a TER from Dôle to Morez. We then took a taxi to the village of Les Rousses. Total travel time: about 4 hours.

By train

• TGV Paris - Geneva then Geneva - La Cure, 3 km from the resort.

• TGV Paris - Dôle then Dôle - Morez, 6 km from the resort.

By road

• By the A39, Poligny exit, 60 km from the resort.

• By the A404, exit Oyonnax, 40 km from the resort.

By plane

• The nearest airport is Geneva, 45 km from the resort.

5. Conclusion - Our opinion of Les Rousses

We were very pleased with our 2 night stay in Les Rousses. Les Rousses is the ideal resort if you are looking for peace and quiet, nature, and Nordic activities accessible to all. For local products, the wide choice of restaurants in the resort will satisfy the desires of the most demanding gourmets. A visit to the Comté cheese maturing cellars is a must in the village of Les Rousses.

Another positive point is that the resort is easily accessible from Geneva, Lyon and Paris. So with all this, you have no more excuses not to stay there! We invite you to come and discover the Jura mountains and more particularly Les Rousses, a serene resort where you can also experience emotions and thrills made in France!