Time: 10 min
Distance: 2km
Yellow markings

The name Chapeau de Gendarme refers to the "bicorne" hat worn by Napoleonic gendarmes at the time. This
This geological fold, with its peculiar shape, is made up of a series of thin limestone layers which were separated from the rest of the fold and packed down at the base, during the formation of the Alps.

Access: leave Saint-Claude and take the D436 road (towards Geneva). Go through the hamlets of Essard and Montbrillant. Go through the Roche Percée tunnel, and 1 km further on you will find the Saut du Chien car park (on the right). From here you can go to the Moulin d'Aval waterfall: walk along the road up 50 m from the car park. Take the path on the right that goes down to the waterfall. For the Chapeau de Gendarme: go back up to the intersection with the road, cross over and take the path that goes up through the woods. At the end of the path, cross the road again. Follow the yellow markings and at the top road exit, leave the markings and go right along the road to the car park.
/! Walk in single file, busy road, be careful!

GPS coordinates of the car park (decimal degrees) :
latitude N 46.356825 / longitude E 5.902423