To the magical moor lake in the Freiberge

At the small village of La Chaux-des-Breuleux, the train station is located a bit away from the few houses. Just below the station stretches a large horse pasture. You walk down to this pasture and turn left there. The path goes under the railway tracks and runs along the moor “La Tourbière,” which means peat or raised bog. The Freiberge are on the one hand very dry because rainwater immediately seeps away into the karst subsoil. On the other hand, terrain depressions filled with clay and marl layers form an impermeable layer. In the wet and oxygen-poor soil above these layers, dead plant parts are not fully decomposed but turned into peat. Slowly, a peat or raised bog develops. Such a peat layer grows only about one millimeter per year. Therefore, at least a thousand years are needed for a peat cushion one meter high.

The hiking trail leads from the moor basin over a forest hill to the road near the sawmill and the PostBus stop “Moulin de Gruère.” A few minutes later, you reach the shore of the Etang de la Gruyère. The lake and its surroundings are again a raised bog area. On a path, partly on the soft forest floor, partly on wooden planks, you can circle the lake and learn much interesting information about this moor area from information boards. The paths should not be left to avoid damage to the surrounding nature.

With watching, marveling, and picnicking, one can spend quite a lot of time at the lake. The hike then continues toward the farm “Le Gros Bois-Derrière.” Repeatedly, you pass moist, marshy spots and then very dry places with sinkholes where water immediately seeps into the ground. After the farm, you walk through a wide, open hollow to the height of Les Reussilles. Finally, a short asphalt stretch leads to the train station and restaurant.