Mont d'Or

🗺️ Overview

• Starting point: Métabief (1040 m) – large free parking at the ski lifts

• Highest point: Mont d’Or (1464 m)

• Total elevation gain: ~625 m (or ~250 m if taking the chairlift to Morond)

• Total distance: ~9 km (or ~6 km with chairlift)

• Total time: ~3 hours (or ~2 hours with chairlift)

• Technical difficulty: Easy, suitable for families (especially with the chairlift option)

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Mont d’Or, known for the cheese of the same name, is the ski resort closest to my place. Only 35 minutes away, just across the border in the French Jura. In summer it becomes a mountain biking paradise, but as usual I went there for a hike.

In this post I describe the hike from Métabief, the French ski resort. It is also possible to get there from Switzerland, leaving the car at the station in Vallorbe. The summit itself is in France, but only 5–10 minutes away from the Swiss border.

At Métabief (1040 m) there is a huge free parking lot at the bottom of the lifts. And this is where I got it wrong. It comes naturally to follow the well-visible paths going uphill, but those are all for mountain bikes. The hiking trail actually starts further left, after the lifts.

Since I did the first part wrong, I restart my story from the top of the Béche ski lift. Here, signposts indicate Morond (1419 m), which is also the end of the chairlift. The trail enters the forest, and after about 10 minutes it emerges on the ski slopes. The markings are not always clear, but if you simply follow the slopes uphill you’ll find your way.

Just below the small hill where the chairlift ends, you can take a left-hand path to skip it, or you can go up and over before descending on the other side. If you’re hiking with kids, this is also a good place to start by taking the chairlift up, saving an hour of uphill walking before continuing towards Mont d’Or.

From Morond you descend towards a small lake – a lovely picnic spot. Beyond the lake the path climbs gently again, and after about 10 minutes you reach the ridge. From here you can follow the ridge all the way to Mont d’Or. There are actually two options: one trail directly on the ridge with small ups and downs, and another slightly lower on the right that passes by a parking area. Yes, you can almost drive to the summit!

The summit of Mont d’Or (1464 m) is broad and grassy, marked only by a large cairn. It offers, however, fine views of the Alps in the distance.

The way back follows the same path, or one of the nearby variants. In my case I used my MagicPass to return via Morond and take the chairlift downhill.

Overall, the hike took me 3 hours for 9 km and 625 m of elevation gain. Taking the chairlift to Morond shortens it to 6 km and 250 m – an excellent family option.