GR 59
Footpath in France
title: "GR 59" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["hiking-trails-in-france"] description: "Footpath in France" topic_path: "geography/france" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GR_59" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Footpath in France ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox hiking trail"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | GR59 |
| photo | Château-Chalon - site.JPG |
| caption | The village of Château-Chalon |
| location | France |
| designation | GR footpath |
| trailheads | Ballon d'Alsace, Izieu |
| use | Hiking |
| highest_name | Ballon d'Alsace |
| highest_m | 1247 |
| difficulty | Easy |
| months | May to October |
| :: |
|name=GR59 |photo=Château-Chalon - site.JPG |caption=The village of Château-Chalon |location=France |designation=GR footpath |length= |trailheads=Ballon d'Alsace, Izieu |use=Hiking |elev_change= |highest_name=Ballon d'Alsace |highest_m=1247 |lowest= |difficulty=Easy |season= |months=May to October |sights= |hazards=
The GR 59 Grande Randonnée long-distance footpath in France connects two mountain ranges across relatively low-lying terrain. In the north, it begins at Ballon d'Alsace in the Vosges at a height of over 1000m. It loses height rapidly, and runs south-south-west through the département of the Haute-Saône to Besançon on the river Doubs, in the département of the same name. It then follows a circuitous route, partly along the river Loue (a tributary of the Doubs) to Lons-le-Saunier in the département of Jura. At St-Amour just south of Lons, the GR 9 splits from the GR 59 and takes a more easterly route, near the Swiss border, while the GR59 continues into the regions of Bugey and Revermont in the département of Ain, finally rejoining the GR 9 near Yenne on the banks of the Rhône; the GR 9 then continues to the Mediterranean at St-Tropez.
Towns and villages that the path passes through, with approximate heights and distances from the northern end of the path, include: :Ronchamp, 340m, 34Km :Saulnot, 370m, 52Km :Abbenans, 325m, 80Km :Hyèvre-Paroisse, 285m, 104Km :Baume-les-Dames, 291m, 112Km (plus 1Km off the path) :Roulans, 327m, 130Km :Besançon, 247m, 155Km (plus 3.5Km off the path) :Quingey, 265m, 181Km :Salins-les-Bains, 331m, 226Km :Arbois, 306m, 242Km :Poligny, 332m, 270Km :Passenans, 320m, 286.5Km :Château-Chalon, 450m, 296.5Km :Baume-les-Messieurs, 305m, 319Km :Perrigny, 350m, 333Km :Lons-le-Saunier, 250m, 356Km :St-Amour :Saint-Laurent-la-Roche :Treffort :Ambérieu-en-Bugey :Yenne
Detailed guides to the path (in French) are available from the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre in two sections: No. 510, "Des Vosges au Jura", and No. 901, "Tours et traversées dans l'Ain".
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