Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cascades du Hérisson
The Hérisson is a river of the Jura massif, about twenty kilometres long, which rises at Lake Bonlieu in the lakes region before joining the Ain. Over a stretch of about three kilometres, it drops nearly 300 metres in altitude through some thirty leaps, including seven main waterfalls.
The best known are the Saut Girard, the Grand Saut, which falls 60 metres, and the Éventail, more than 60 metres high, whose water spreads in a sheet as it crosses a bar of Upper Jurassic limestone. Along the path you also pass the remains of old mills, sawmills and forges that used the force of the water from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, such as the Jeunet mill or the Saut de la Forge.
The valley has been a listed natural site since April 2002 and covers nearly 1,200 hectares. The route, partly developed with viewing platforms and followed by the GR 559, runs through forest, beside the water. The Maison des cascades provides explanations on the geology and hydrology. The falls are particularly abundant after rain or at snowmelt.
