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The Jura Ridgeway, as its name suggests, follows the Jura mountains in an arc from German-speaking northern Switzerland around to the French-speaking west. It starts in Dielsdorf, just north of Zürich, and heads westwards through Baden, over the Weissenstein near Solothurn, over the Chasseral north of lake Neuchâtel, past the Creux du Van, over the Chasseron, Mont Tendre and La Dôle, and down to Borex not far from Nyon by Lac Leman.
In the German-speaking areas it's known (and signposted) as the Jura Höhenweg, but in the French-speaking areas (which cover the greater portion of the whole route) it's marked as the Chemin des crêtes. We'll call it the "Jura Ridgeway" because the English word "highway" is open to more confusion!
Current progress: |
After 12 days of walking, and 224 km, just over three quarters of the route has been covered so far. The language border has now been crossed, as reflected by the place names, and the signposts no longer say "Höhenweg" but instead "Chemin des crêtes".
Many of the towns along the route have good transport connections, making shorter sections practical. Dielsdorf, Baden and Brugg are all connected to Zürich with regular, direct trains. Staffelegg and Salhöhe have buses to Aarau, and Hauenstein and Allerheiligenberg have buses to Olten. Balsthal has trains to Oensingen and Oberbalmberg has buses to Solothurn. Untere Grenchenberg has infrequent buses to Grenchen Süd, and both Frinvillier and Orvin have bus connections to nearby Biel/Bienne. The hotel at Chasseral has buses to St Imier on the train line to Biel, but buses between Vue des Alpes and La Chaux de Fonds are very unreliable. La Tourne has buses to Neuchâtel and Noiraigue has a regular train service. La Combaz has buses to Couvet on the same train line as Noiraigue, however these buses only run for a certain period of the year - otherwise the nearest option is Môtiers which is a roughly 2-hour walk away from La Combaz through the Poëtta Raisse (see the Hiking to the Creux du Van hike for details). Sainte Croix has trains to Yverdon-les-Bains.
This kmz file (8 kb) contains waypoints from the Jura Ridgeway and shows the path as a red line snaking along the ridgetops. Simply open it in Google Earth (File -> Open) and you'll see the route in full. Press the "Play Tour" button below the listed waypoints and you can fly a tour along the route (currently showing Dielsdorf to Sainte Croix).
If you haven't got Google Earth installed, you can see the same file in Google Maps in your browser instead.
In the following pages, each stage of the route is described in detail including waypoints and photos.
| Stage | Summary | Distance | Climb | Descent | |
1
|
Dielsdorf to Brugg | Over the Lägeren ridge to Baden, then on over a second ridge to Brugg |
25 km |
850 m |
930 m |
2
|
Brugg to Salhöhe | Climbing from Brugg along the ridge north of Aarau |
24 km |
900 m |
470 m |
3
|
Salhöhe to Allerheiligenberg | Along the ridge north of Olten |
21 km |
930 m |
820 m |
4
|
Allerheiligenberg to Balsthal | Undulating ridgetops and then sharply down to Balsthal |
15 km |
490 m |
910 m |
5
|
Balsthal to Oberbalmberg | Back up to the next ridge north of Solothurn |
17 km |
1000 m |
430 m |
6
|
Oberbalmberg to Obergrenchenberg | Spectacular views of the alps from two lookout peaks of Hasenmatt and Stallflue |
13 km |
750 m |
450 m |
7
|
Obergrenchenberg to Orvin | Long downhill stretch across the language border |
18 km |
370 m |
1060 m |
8
|
Orvin to Chasseral | Long uphill stretch with more alpine panoramas |
15 km |
1040 m |
150 m |
9
|
Chasseral to Vue des Alpes | Down through the gorge of Combe Biosse, then back up to Mont d'Amin |
20 km |
710 m |
940 m |
10
|
Vue des Alpes to Noiraigue | Over Tête de Ran and Mont Racine, and down to the foot of the Creux du Van |
22 km |
780 m |
1320 m |
11
|
Noiraigue to La Combaz | Steep climb up to the Creux du Van, then tracks through idyllic countryside |
18 km |
900 m |
410 m |
12
|
La Combaz to Sainte Croix | Over the Chasseron with its dramatic ridgetop |
16 km |
700 m |
850 m |
The following are the coordinates for waypoints along this route, obtained from GPS. They can be used either in another GPS, or along with a map, to provide additional references if necessary. You can scroll this window to see all waypoints.
Latitude Longitude Altitude(m)
Dielsdorf N 47°28'57.6 E008°27'31.4 428
Regensberg N 47°28'56.0 E008°26'10.9 593
Hochwacht N 47°28'54.1 E008°24'03.0 856
Altlägeren N 47°28'53.3 E008°23'29.6 855
Lägerenburg N 47°28'50.9 E008°21'48.1 859
Lägeren Sattel N 47°28'47.4 E008°21'10.9 785
Sunnenberg N 47°28'31.5 E008°18'54.3 432
Schartenfels N 47°28'28.1 E008°18'52.8 464
Baden station N 47°28'34.9 E008°18'28.1 385
Baldegg N 47°28'12.9 E008°16'46.3 569
Chörnlisberg N 47°28'45.4 E008°15'43.7 553
Gebenstorfer Horn N 47°29'12.8 E008°14'56.4 514
Reusssteg N 47°28'48.7 E008°13'46.0 335
Unter Windisch N 47°28'58.1 E008°13'36.8 345
Brugg station N 47°28'51.6 E008°12'32.6 349
Riniken N 47°29'03.7 E008°11'11.8 393
Vierlinden N 47°28'49.0 E008°09'33.0 514
Widacher N 47°28'34.9 E008°08'21.0 572
Linn N 47°28'14.7 E008°07'57.9 580
Linnerberg N 47°27'47.0 E008°07'28.3 722
Möseren N 47°27'16.2 E008°06'45.5 665
Chillholz N 47°27'08.6 E008°06'02.2 649
Staffelegg N 47°26'01.4 E008°03'38.1 621
Herzberg N 47°26'10.2 E008°02'43.4 697
Bänkerjoch N 47°26'12.6 E008°01'46.8 668
Egghalden N 47°25'56.5 E008°00'55.1 720
Cholwald N 47°25'44.0 E007°59'36.0 762
Salhöhe N 47°25'42.3 E007°59'14.1 779
Geissflue N 47°25'11.2 E007°57'25.0 962
Romatten N 47°24'54.6 E007°56'49.5 793
Burggraben N 47°24'09.6 E007°55'27.7 791
Burgweid N 47°23'32.5 E007°54'23.6 802
Froburg N 47°23'01.6 E007°53'38.0 820
Hauenstein N 47°22'40.2 E007°52'21.5 674
Challhöchi N 47°22'09.1 E007°50'03.9 847
Belchen N 47°21'41.9 E007°48'30.4 1045
Gwidemhöchi N 47°21'36.7 E007°48'27.5 998
Wuesthöchi N 47°21'15.3 E007°48'12.7 966
Allerheiligenberg N 47°21'09.0 E007°48'51.2 880
Asp N 47°20'44.5 E007°47'42.3 772
Bärenwil N 47°20'21.4 E007°47'19.4 778
Schlosshöchi N 47°19'51.6 E007°46'32.5 856
Tiefmatt N 47°19'32.7 E007°45'11.1 820
Roggenflue N 47°18'21.2 E007°43'23.9 995
Balsthal station N 47°18'48.5 E007°41'40.4 489
Klus N 47°18'27.0 E007°41'21.9 480
Schwängimatt N 47°17'34.1 E007°40'34.4 1000
Hellchöpfli N 47°16'56.9 E007°38'59.5 1232
Hinteregg N 47°16'41.4 E007°38'13.3 1079
AlteBättlerchuchi N 47°16'29.6 E007°36'05.5 1090
Höchchrüz N 47°16'19.4 E007°35'02.5 1050
Hintere Hofbergli N 47°16'16.1 E007°34'24.6 1065
Nidw Stierenberg N 47°16'09.7 E007°33'27.1 1158
Oberbalmberg N 47°15'51.0 E007°32'23.3 1058
Hint Weissenstein N 47°15'02.8 E007°29'02.8 1226
Hasenmatt N 47°14'31.7 E007°27'03.4 1441
Stallflue N 47°14'20.9 E007°26'06.8 1400
Obergrenchenberg N 47°13'55.8 E007°23'49.2 1357
Untergrenchenberg N 47°13'18.0 E007°22'51.1 1295
Stierenberg N 47°12'38.2 E007°22'06.8 1086
Romontberg N 47°12'06.7 E007°19'38.7 1119
Plagne N 47°11'16.9 E007°17'10.0 879
Frinvillier N 47°10'09.1 E007°15'30.4 555
Orvin N 47°09'38.7 E007°12'50.3 669
Voigières N 47°09'21.3 E007°11'12.8 975
Prées d'Orvin N 47°09'21.3 E007°10'27.6 1069
Place Central N 47°09'20.2 E007°08'13.6 1288
Clédar Pierrefeu N 47°09'05.5 E007°07'20.7 1293
Colisses du Haut N 47°08'57.5 E007°06'57.5 1325
Chasseral N 47°07'59.5 E007°03'35.9 1603
Chasseral Hotel N 47°07'38.0 E007°02'45.1 1548
Combe Biosse N 47°06'23.8 E007°00'08.5 994
Le Pâquier N 47°05'53.7 E006°59'12.2 895
La Croix N 47°05'46.0 E006°58'45.7 867
Blanche Herbe N 47°05'08.4 E006°56'12.2 1030
Mont d'Amin N 47°04'53.6 E006°54'14.3 1417
Vue des Alpes N 47°04'21.4 E006°52'13.7 1283
Tête de Ran N 47°03'15.3 E006°51'12.7 1422
Pradières-Dessus N 47°01'53.7 E006°49'35.8 1365
Mont Racine N 47°01'17.8 E006°48'58.1 1439
Grande Sagneule N 47°00'49.1 E006°48'21.5 1313
La Tourne N 46°59'17.2 E006°47'31.3 1129
Les Tablettes N 46°58'37.2 E006°47'28.7 1250
Antenne TV N 46°57'29.4 E006°44'01.2 1119
Noiraigue N 46°57'17.3 E006°43'18.5 733
Les Oeuillons N 46°56'45.0 E006°43'02.2 1014
Le Soliat N 46°55'53.1 E006°43'20.4 1463
La Baronne N 46°55'28.0 E006°43'19.6 1376
Les Rochats N 46°53'22.2 E006°40'23.2 1164
bus stop N 46°52'51.0 E006°38'27.1 1247
La Combaz N 46°52'33.3 E006°38'14.6 1223
Les Gillardes N 46°52'15.5 E006°36'49.1 1322
La Cruchaude N 46°51'29.9 E006°34'57.8 1223
Les Illars N 46°51'38.7 E006°33'43.5 1427
Le Chasseron N 46°51'06.4 E006°32'17.7 1608
Les Avattes N 46°50'11.0 E006°31'25.6 1458
Les Praises N 46°49'54.2 E006°30'25.5 1255
Sainte Croix N 46°49'10.2 E006°30'04.1 1066
This walk is described (in German) at wandersite.ch and also (again in German) at tourenguide.ch. There's also a brief description in English at Switzerland.isyours.com.
For 2008 there's also a special railaway offer including accommodation and luggage transport, and the accompanying pdf has a useful overview with height profile and short descriptions.
Other ActivityWorkshop adventures in the area include Hiking up the Weissenstein, Hiking over the Chasseral, and Hiking to the Creux du Van.