Gorges de l'Orbe
Description
Every child in western Switzerland knows the Gorge de l'Orbe, as the gorge between Vallorbe and Orbe is a classic school trip destination. The bike tour starts in Le Pont on Lac de Joux, where you can easily take the train up from Lausanne. Follow the little road up to the Pétra Felix pass and on to the summit of the Dent du Vaulion. This is one of the most panoramic points in the Jura, with views of the Bernese and Valais Alps, Lake Geneva and the Vallée de Joux. Mont Blanc always looms in the background. From the summit, it's all downhill, via the Crete trail past La Mâche to Vallorbe, then to the large railroad viaduct and the dam wall a little further down, then on a singletrack trail to the "Saut du Day" waterfall. Here you can take a refreshing dip in the Orbe. Now a very long flow trail leads to Les Clées, followed by a section on a forest road until finally another singletrail high above the course of the river leads out of the valley. The trail finally rides to the village of Orbe, a picturesque village that is an ideal destination for a bike tour. The regional train takes you to Charvonay and from there back to Lausanne or Yverdon.
Tip: From Orbe, cycle under your own steam along the Veloland route to Yverdon
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
32 km
700 m
1225 m
450 above sea level
1426 above sea level
1 day
Le Pont
Orbe
1066
well suited
More tours nearby
User comments (5)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
The first descent (over the ridge of the Dent de Vaulion Ri Vallorbe) is indeed quite steep and blocked and we had to push the bike. We did the tour as described by SamOs and it was very rewarding. Gorges de l'Orbe are very flowy and easy to ride. There are a few passages where you have to push your bike (uphill), but you quickly forget about them in view of the beautiful area and the flowing trails.
Tip: Continue the tour from Orbe to Romainmôtier and ride the flowing trail through the Vallon de Nozon to La Sarraz. This is a total of approx. 48 km and 1000 m elevation gain.
As a local, or almost, I should give a hint here.
At Les Clées, instead of crossing the Orbe and riding several kilometers on a 4x4 path and then on a singletrack trail wide enough for strollers:
- stay south of the Orbe, on the right bank;
- Ride uphill for about 1 km on the road (towards Bretonnières) and then turn left onto a passable path;
- Ride to the Bois de Fives and then to the Bois de Chênes and enjoy the single trails that wind along there until you reach the village of Le Puisoir in Orbe.
hey.
do you have the exact track you are describing in the georges de orbe?
there are many ways;-)
Thanks for the tip to stay on the right bank starting at Les Clées. Very varied trails, ranging from easy to very tricky. Across from the Grotte de Montcherand, a new “secured” trail leads up through the rock ledges: a spectacular highlight—the trail is rightly marked red-white-red instead of yellow. Shortly after the Grotte d’Agiez, keep left onto the trail.
The descent from the Dent de Vaulion along the ridge is very steep at first and only partially rideable on the flatter section. In this dry, hot summer of 2026, the trail from 1,156 meters above sea level down to the left toward Vallorbe is extremely loose—a killer trail (category: “Scheibenglüher,” where there’s no room for error).
On Ascension weekend, as part of our crossing of the Jura, we took on the famous Gorge de l'Orbe trail. And to start with, the trail really has its great views of the gorge and beautiful moss-covered forests, which sometimes seem mystical. The gorge is also impressive, as the Orbe has eaten into the rock here, and there are also flow trails. BUT a good third to 40% of the trail is not good or not rideable at all in wet (and I think also in dry) weather. Either the trail is too narrow, sloping or just totally blocked. And we had to push the "Göppel" steeply uphill several times. BUT all in all, we enjoyed the ride and hike through the Gorge. The comment is simply intended to help you not to go down there with the wrong expectations about flow trails (yes, it has them). Take care and always stay tuned. Chris