Walking tours
In the Jura, hiking can be practiced at all altitudes and many tourist offices propose circuits to follow freely or accompanied. The Permanent Centers of Initiatives for the Environment (CPIE) of the Haut-Jura and the Bresse du Jura organize outings to discover the flora of the peat bogs, the woods, the meadows, the rocks and other treasures. While following the trails, you will find arrows and posts indicating the places of passage and the directions. These arrows and yellow signs mark out marked routes. All these paths are registered in the Departmental Plan for Walking and Hiking Routes (PDIPR), set up by the Departmental Committee of Tourism with the local authorities and the hiking clubs. A homogeneous signposting is planned to cohabit with the red and white markings of the Grande Randonnée (GR) paths but also with the existing bicycle and horse routes.
Horse and donkey rides
The Jura is a land of livestock farming and all kinds of excursions, and is a great place for horse riding. Technical riding courses, family rides, accompanied or free rides... Everything is possible! With 1,500 km of equestrian trails, the Jura represents the largest part of the "Grand Huit", a signposted horse riding route in Franche-Comté. The Grand Huit association brings together professionals in horse breeding, horse riding, horse accompaniment and accommodation. It can help you to organize your equestrian stay. In winter, another equestrian pleasure to discover: ski joëring. On skis, you let yourself be pulled by a horse!
Land of the little queen
A varied terrain to suit all gears and many small quiet roads for the thin tyres of road bikes. The Jura is a cyclotourist's paradise! The Grande Traversée du Jura (GTJ), originally designed for skiing, has a cycle-tourist version: 360km of small tarmac roads between Montbéliard and Culoz in the Ain, via... the Jura. Not forgetting that the Nantes-Budapest cycle route passes through Dole and the north of the department. The leisure version of the Tour du Jura by bike is a 155 km itinerary, accessible to all, to be done over several days. It takes in greenways and cycle routes, as well as small roads, to discover the Dole area, the Bresse region and the vineyards. There is also a 250 km sporty version with an altitude difference of 3,900 m for more experienced cyclists. The GTJ is also signposted for mountain bikes. At all altitudes, mountain bikers will find routes through vineyards, fields or woods for a sportive or gentle discovery. Itineraries and topo-guides are available in the tourist offices, especially in Champagnole.
The beach in the mountains
This is the feeling that you will experience at the edge of the large lakes of Chalain and Vouglans whose banks are equipped. You can also practice scuba diving, mainly in Vouglans. But other lakes can welcome swimmers with supervised areas. For rivers such as the Loue, it is better to ask for information. There are also swimming pools in the Jura, such as the Aquarel center in Lons-le-Saunier, located a few meters from the campsite, or the Aquaparc in Dole.
Boats and cruises
At the crossroads of the Burgundy and Comtois rivers, the port of Dole can be the starting point for a vacation on the water in a barge to rent for a weekend or a week. You can also opt for a guided tour on board an ad hoc boat. On the Vouglans lake, the trip becomes a cruise on a boat reminiscent of the old paddle steamers. You can also rent a motorboat without a license or even an electric one. In a more sportive style, you can rent a kayak to go down the Ain, accompanied if you wish, from Crotenay, Pont-du-Navoy or Châtillon. More tranquil without doubt: canoeing on the Loue in the Val d'Amour between Salins and Dole. Finally, paddling on a lake is possible from the bases of the lakes of Clairvaux, Chalain and Vouglans. But also on the lake of Ilay or the one of Les Rousses. Sailing : the best equipped ports and nautical bases are in Vouglans. But you can also learn to sail and windsurf at the lakes of Clairvaux and Chalain, as well as at the lake of Les Rousses. Water skiing is also possible.
Caving
The Jura can also be visited from below! With nearly 2,300 caves and chasms listed, the department is one of the most popular with cavers. Dozens of underground caves are accessible to groups supervised by specialized guides.
Course in the trees
Climbing in the trees is a child's game that becomes an adventure for everyone if specialists have installed ladders, ropes, footbridges and monkey bridges. The Jura, a land of woods and mountains, lends itself perfectly to this exercise that can be practiced with the whole family, as the sites offer several routes of different levels. In Dole, Lons-le-Saunier, at the lake of Chalain, in Salins-les-Bains, Prénovel, Cerniébaud... The exercise is not only practiced in the trees: courses are arranged to climb on the walls of the Fort des Rousses, in the quarries of the Jardin Fantastique in Saint-Maur and one can even hang on to the viaduct of Villards-d'Héria for a course "accropont".
Mountaineering, climbing and via ferrata
Several natural climbing routes attract climbers in the Jura, such as in Bellefontaine and Mirebel. In Morez Hauts-de-Bienne, the Roche au Dade is equipped with a via ferrata as well as in Moirans-en-Montagne where there is a via ferrata overhanging the Vouglans lake. Gorges and waterfalls lend themselves to canyoning. Only undertake these activities alone if you are experienced. If not, have a guide accompany you.
Golf
With large green and hilly areas, the Jura landscape is naturally suited to golf. It has 11 courses with difficulties as varied as the relief of the Jura.
Discover the fauna of the Jura
The Jura is an ideal place for birdwatching with its beautiful preserved nature. You can observe the birds of the Jura by your own means by going to the forests, near the lakes or in the nature reserves, workshops are proposed. You can also contact the Groupe Ornithologique du Jura in Lons-le-Saunier.
Discover also entomology! In order for the big beasts to observe the small ones in their natural environment, the best is to go to the parks and the nature reserves of the department, in particular that of Lajoux. Through educational workshops, you can learn a lot about the microscopic life that surrounds us. Local clubs and associations also organize outings.
The sky is the limit
The vocation of the Dole-Tavaux airport was initially regional. Now called Dole-Jura, it offers cheap flights to Porto, Marrakech, Bastia, Nice... The department also has airfields: Lons-le-Saunier (Courlaoux), Arbois, Pratz and Crotenay. They are reserved for pilots who are members of a club and offer initiation flights. Hot air ballooning allows you to gain altitude in silence! Rise above vineyards or meadows, fly over villages, see landscapes from above... Specialists offer flights from Le Vernois (near Château-Chalon), Dole or Monnières. Be careful with the weather conditions. Flights are scheduled at dawn and in the evening, before nightfall.
Paragliding and hang gliding: there are several sites. Some of them offer initiations and first flights near Lons, Champagnole, Clairvaux-les-Lacs, in the Haut-Jura and especially at Mont Poupet which dominates Salins. Near the lake of Les Rousses you may also discover kitesurfing, practiced by surfers who let themselves be carried along by a sail. ULM at the ULM Alizé base in Doucier.
Winter sports
Downhill skiing is mainly practiced in the resorts of Les Rousses for the Jura, Métabief for the Doubs, and the Dôle massif for Switzerland, thus offering vast equipped domains, adapted rates, including a Franco-Swiss pass because the domains border each other. There are also small family resorts in Morbier and Bellefontaine and ski lifts in Longchaumois, Lajoux and La Pesse.
The terrain lends itself to cross-country skiing: "classic" skiing, in alternating steps on specially marked tracks; "skating", in skating steps, on groomed surfaces; and finally, Nordic hiking, on the route of the GTJ, Grande Traversée du Jura, through the massif and its regional nature park with 175 km of refuges and inns, between lakes and spruce trees, in the footsteps of the lynx, the capercaillie, and... of the most famous Jura skiers As for classic and skating cross-country skiing, more than 1,500 km of trails are marked out in the department but also in the Doubs, the Ain and in Switzerland. The "Massif" ski pass is valid in these areas.
For snowshoeing, you can bring your own snowshoes, rent some at your place of stay or have your guide provide you with some. The only limit is that you do not use the trails groomed for cross-country skiers. Sled rides: with dogs and on horseback. There are several dog sledders in the Haut-Jura. From the ride to the week of discovery, through the "driving lesson" of a team, many activities are proposed. You will discover the life of a pack. Horse-drawn sleigh rides are also organized. Some add to this offer a skijoring experience: skiing while being pulled by a horse.
Ice skating: the village of Prémanon is home to the ice rink of Les Rousses.
To get the adrenaline flowing
What a freedom to feel yourself sliding on the water and to go as fast as the wind! You can practice water skiing, wakeboarding, barefoot... supervised by professionals. Water sports centers (Orgelet), clubs (Pont-de-Poitte), or the French Federation of Water Skiing (in La-Tour-du-Meix): you are spoiled for choice. Populated by rivers and lakes, the Jura is not short of places to practice white water sports and disciplines such as rafting, canyoning, kayaking, hydrospeed... For this, you can turn to clubs like the one in La-Chaux-du-Dombief, which makes you paddle on the Bienne, the Ain, the Vouglans lake, the Coiselet lake or the Ilay lake, and even in Savoie! Other organizations offer this sport in Les Rousses, Orgelet, Marigny, Ounans...
