A loop by the Rhone with perks

Another day, another stroll. Or a hike. What’s the difference? In this case, there is none. It’s a perfect (long) loop, so you can start at various points. You can also adapt the length if this hike to your liking, but then it won’t be a loop.

You’ll find a map at the bottom of this article – click on it and you’ll understand better what is what.

This hike is very easy to navigate as there are not many paths in the forests by the Rhône river in Vernier. But, if you’re like me and manage to get lost anyway (and call a relative back in Poland who walked this trail a million times), you can help yourself with Google Maps – it works great in this area.

Let’s start!

Let’s start at Pasarelle de Chevre (Givaudan side). It’s my favourite pedestrian bridge in Geneva. I love its design, and the steel reminds me of two of my favourite bridges back home in Gdansk. It’s a bit noisy here from the highway, but the river’s view from the Passerelle makes up for the noise.

Cross the bridge and turn left. Walk the path in the direction of Le Lignon – the humongous (in every dimension) building across the river. You’ll get to another bridge.

Another pedestrian bridge but one completely different from the Chevres bridge. A fun place for some cool pics! Fun fact: this footbridge is lined with an oil pipeline on its right side and is used to transport petroleum products coming from France to the Vernier storage area.

Ok, let’s move one. From the footbridge, follow the path up. You’ll find animals at the Jardin Robinson du Lignon. If you’d like, you can continue farther towards Lignon buildings and reach a beautiful Ferme du Lignon – a great place to purchase fresh fruit, veggies and more (open from Tuesday to Saturday).

It’s a place that Verniolans love – a picnic zone, barbecues, a pond, wooden platforms on the river, and an outdoor gym, and a clean toilet. This is also another good place to start this loop because of the parking (fills up quickly on weekends).

From the Zone Au Moulin, continue walking by the river in the direction of The Chevres footbridge. You’ll find a gate opposite the gym area and by the river. Don’t worry, you can open it and go inside. Another 30-40 minutes and you’ll reach the starting point.

On the way, you’ll pass Givaudan – the factory of scents. Your nose will feel it when you’ll get close. If you’re lucky you’ll be able to see the horses from the local stables joyfully eating the grass. This part if the loop is a fun mix of a beautiful forest and industrial elements.

It is definitely a long walk that you can divide into parts. You can start and finish at any point and reach the spots I mentioned by public transport. It is not a pram accessible or wheelchair friendly walk.

To make it more fun try to find some caches along the way – I wrote all about this game, Geocaching, here. Some of them are quite easy to find, and with others, we gave up after several tries.