Alpine Passes Trail, Stage 43/43

A picture-book landscape at the start: the lake, mountain flowers, a lovely path. At the top of the Lovenex pass, the view opens up to the lake of Lovenex and lake Geneva beyond. This is the destination of the last stage: through an enchanting forest, the alpine passes trail ends in St. Gingolph on the border with France.

The starting point is Taney, near the Lac de Taney. It lies away from public transport; the nearest stop, Miex, Le Flon, is almost two kilometres away. The trail initially climbs across open meadows and pastures. At the Pas de Lovenex, the route reaches its highest point at around 1,850 m. The white-red-white waymarked mountain trail then traverses rockier terrain to the Col de la Croix.

The long descent now begins. At Au de Morge, the route passes the restaurant before continuing on easier hiking trails. Open alpine pastures gradually give way to forest, while the first houses at Clarive signal the lower elevations. Towards the end, the trail descends steadily to Lake Geneva and reaches St-Gingolph after just over five and a half hours. On the lakeshore, the destination lies only a few steps from the St-Gingolph (Suisse) (lac) stop. This is where the 16-kilometre hike ends, after a total descent of around 1,800 metres.