Cascades du Herisson

The Herisson leaves the plateau lakes of the Jura and falls through a wooded gorge in a long series of drops, of which two are the reason people come. The Eventail is the lowest and widest, spreading over its rock face like the fan it is named after; the Grand Saut just above it comes down in one clean sixty-metre column into a pool you can walk to. Between and above them the stream keeps dropping in smaller steps, and the path climbs beside it on rock-cut stairs and handrails for around three and a half kilometres. The whole thing depends on water: in spring it thunders, and in a dry August it can shrink to a stain on the rock.

What you actually see

• The Eventail - the lowest and broadest fall, spreading across its rock face.
• The Grand Saut - a single sixty-metre drop seen from the pool at its foot.
• The stepped path - rock-cut stairs and handrails climbing close beside the water.
• The plateau lakes - the still water above the gorge that feeds the whole staircase.

When to go

April to June, on snowmelt and spring rain, is when the falls are at full volume. Autumn after a wet spell works too, with colour in the beech. Hard frost turns parts of the gorge to ice and the path is then closed or genuinely dangerous. Check recent rainfall before committing to the drive.

Honest expectations

In a dry summer people arrive to find far less water than the photographs promised. Parking is charged and fills early on holiday weekends. The path is wet rock, roots and steps, unsuitable for pushchairs and treacherous in smooth-soled shoes. The full round trip climbs a couple of hundred metres, and the lower section is crowded and noisy in August.

Nearby

Baume-les-Messieurs and its blind valley sit a short drive west, with Lons-le-Saunier beyond.