Un ravissement des yeux, une magnifique randonnée en perspective. Pour les amoureux de décors naturels, c'est un site à visiter absolument ! Tout était gratuit et ouvert en octobre. La randonnée peut-être modulée en ce sens que le parcours n'est pas une boucle : si la fatigue se fait sentir (et elle viendra car la marche est exigeante...), il suffit de rebrousser chemin et de redescendre. Conseil : se garer en bas, pas en haut ! Conseil 2 : prévoir un repas tiré du sac pour pouvoir faire le parcours aller-retour complet...
Great walk, gentle start to the first and largest waterfall, then a zig zag path, quite a lot of steps after that but well worth the effort, stunning views. Our 8 year old managed fine and loved the adventure. Be self sufficient with snacks and drinks, sensible shoes required. We went after a dry period and the water flow was low as you can see from the photographs. You need to pay for the car park only.
As I'd already tackled the mountain roads and driven 56km from Geneva to get up in the Jura to visit Lac du Lamoura this morning, I decided while I was there to drive just a little further to Les Cascades du Herisson which was an additional 64km away. However distances are deceiving in the mountains and while it wasn' t many km it was a bit further away than I thought so what had started out as a morning outing became a whole day excursion. It was well worth it though as the waterfalls were quite spectacular. The Hérisson river starts with the Saut Girard which is about 35m high. The highest falls there are the L'Eventail which are about 65m high. The falls are fed by the waters of Lake Bonlieu and the Ilay Lakes. It's a 7,4km hike to see all 31 waterfalls and torrents. It's free to get into the falls but they do charge for parking at the falls.
Make sure you visit the 'second' falls where you can walk behind them. 4 euros for parking, worth every cent!
A scenic and rewarding hikeParking is plentiful about 200m away from the entrance.There is a charge to enter the site – about €5 per person from memory when we visited in early June 2012, although the fee was waived when we went there – no idea why.At the entrance there is an information point, shop, restaurant and toilets.It is strongly recommended in literature and on signs, to wear good hiking shoes / boots as the ground is uneven in places and can be very wet after rain. In our experience this is good advice.The return walk from the bottom (main) entrance, to the top of the 7 waterfalls is 7.4 kms with a climb of 255 meters.However it is possible to reach the main falls (called L’Eventail) with a short and relatively easy walk – and these falls are spectacular, especially after a good rainfall. We did this and then went on for another 15 minutes or so to the pool called Gour Bleu just below another set of falls. This was a well-worthwhile hike and on a reasonable day, after some rainy days, the falls were magnificent.It is also possible to park at other places at the top of the series of falls and walk down – according to the map provided there are snacks are available at the Hameau de la Fromagerie, Saut Girard and at Saut de la Forge with footpaths linking tp the main “cascades” footpath.
We went in peak tourist season and it all went well....there is ample parking and the walk is minimal . We only went to the cascades de Harrison as we have 3 kids but it was excellent. The kids spent an hour or two playing in and under the waterfall. It was a great place to get away from the heat of the summer day...there are restaurants and ice cream areas near the parking and good clean toilets
Must visit when in the region - great views of a natural wonder... and a good workout walking up the steep climb - you'll need decent walking shoes!
The waterfalls are very beautiful and there is a long path up to the top which we did not complete as it was too steep and too far. We walked for about 20-25 minutes. It had not rained for a while so the river was not carrying much water. The falls would look better with more water flowing - no doubt.We were there on 30 September which is the last day that the information centre is open. Very few people were there that day so it was very peaceful.
This was one of the highlights of our holiday. The area had had a wet few weeks running up to our visit so the falls were impressive. We got as far as the 5th waterfall - that was enough for our 7 year old. It is a natural site so expect muddy paths, you do need walking boots or sturdy shoes.
La ballade jusqu'aux cascades est sympa on se gare près du magasin de jouets en bois. Ça se fait bien même avec des enfants.