Hamlet trail: family hike from the campsite in Le Petit-Bornand (Glières-Val-de-Borne)

You've arrived at the campsite with the kids and you want an easy hike, no car needed? In Le Petit-Bornand the answer is the Sentier des hameaux, the hamlet trail. It is the municipality's waymarked loop, and the official track passes about thirty metres from the campsite, on the Route de l'Église. You join it on foot as you leave the campsite.

The route, hamlet by hamlet

The tourist office guide starts from the village centre near the town hall, at 725 m. Times below are cumulative from that start; the signposts on the ground show very similar times.

1. Les Lignières (750 m), after about 25 min
2. Morat (860 m), around 1 hr 05: the highest point of the loop
3. Beffay (730 m), around 1 hr 25, then down to the Beffay chapel and across the Borne river
4. Saxias (715 m), around 2 hr 05
5. Le Villard (745 m), around 2 hr 20
6. Back in the village centre around 2 hr 30

You can also start from any of the hamlets, and shorten the loop by heading back down to the village.

What you'll see along the way

The guide points out the Notre-Dame-de-la-Visitation church and the presbytery at the start, the Beffay chapel by the Borne, the legend of the "turning stone" in Saxias, Guillaume Fichet's birthplace in Le Villard, sulphur springs, and views of the Rochers de Leschaux and the Jallouvre.

Trail rules

• No pushchairs (rock, stones, earth and tarmac) and not suitable for wheelchairs
• Dogs on a lead
• Stay on the waymarked path, don't pick plants, keep your voice down near houses
• Close the cattle gates behind you
• Not recommended in snow

After the walk

You can cool off in the Jalandre stream or the Borne river, close to the campsite. Swimming there is not supervised. Below the Beffay dam the water can rise suddenly, so take care by the river.

Day kit

Closed shoes, one water bottle per person, a cap, a windproof jacket and a snack for the break at Morat. Any questions about the route? Ask us at reception.