Mont Tendre

🗺️ Overview

• 🏞 Mont Tendre is a classic Jura peak with multiple routes to the summit.

• 🗺 Main routes:

  • From Montricher: 6 km, 900 m elevation gain (2h–2h30)

  • From Col du Mollendruz: 9 km, 500 m gain (2h30–3h)

  • From Col du Marchairuz: 7 km, 400 m gain (about 2h)

  • From Les Bioux (described here): 8 km, 650 m gain (2h–2h30)

• 🌲 The first two routes pass by the Chalet du Mont Tendre, great for a break.

• 🌄 The route from Marchairuz offers the longest panoramic stretch.

• 🌤 On clear days, expect breathtaking 180° views over Lake Geneva and the Alps—sometimes even Neuchâtel and Geneva’s Jet d’eau!

• 🍃 The route from Les Bioux is less traveled and starts in the scenic Vallée de Joux, a quieter region.

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A Less-Conventional Route from Les Bioux

Mont Tendre is one of those mountains you return to again and again. I’ve hiked it from all sides, but this time I chose what might be the least conventional route—starting from Les Bioux, a small village on the shore of Lac de Joux, the largest lake entirely within Canton Vaud.

You can park your car near the little church and start walking uphill on the road just beside it. The trail climbs a grassy slope, which doubles as a ski piste in winter, then enters the forest behind. After a mossy stone wall section, you’ll reach a paved road. Turn left here.

You’ll stay on this road for about 15 minutes, passing a farm and eventually reaching a crossing—watch for the cross-country skiing signs, as this area becomes a ski route in winter.

I hiked this on the first day of spring in March, and since it's a north-facing slope, snow was still plentiful. After turning right at the crossing, you follow a mostly flat stretch of road for about 30 minutes. From here, you can already spot the summit behind the trees.

Soon after, marked signs will guide you left onto a wide, well-maintained trail. The path leads across a small valley, then climbs again. At this point, the summit is behind you—the trail takes a more scenic, indirect route.

Eventually, you’ll reach the alpage (high pasture) where you turn left and follow the ridge toward the summit. In another 15–20 minutes, you’ll be there.

One of the charms of this route is the way the landscape hides the final view: the mountains and even a final rock wall block the panorama until the very last moment. You’ll pass through a turnstile in the wall, and suddenly—boom!—you’re at the summit pyramid, with the full view over Lake Geneva and the Alps opening up in front of you.

💨 Be warned: it’s often very windy up there, so bring warm clothes!

If you came by car, the simplest way down is the same route. There are, however, variations possible on all paths. If you're relying on public transport, consider descending via one of the other routes—though buses in this region are not frequent, they do exist.

Me? I got a little adventurous—I came down the same way but skipped the trail entirely and went straight down the slope. Why not?