To get to Crêt-du-Locle, or even further to Le Locle on foot from La Chaux-de-Fonds, you may be tempted to cross the whole town and exit from it via the southwest. You then experience quite a nuisance, as traffic along this axis.
For this reason, it is more advantageous to pass behind the crest of Mont Jacques and Foulet to follow the Combe des Grandes-Crosettes. While following a paved road and sometimes passing a car, it is still much quieter than following the main road.
The two rather noisy places that we cross along this walk are on the one hand close to the Bois du Couvent, as we pass not far from the entrance of the Vue des Alpes tunnel. Further on, after crossing the crest towards Les Herses, we have the noise of the semi-motorway leading to Le Locle.
An interesting fact is worth mentioning: the houses of the Roulet and the Bénéciardes, near which we pass, are in the commune of La Sagne. Not so long ago, children living here had to go to school in the Valley of La Sagne and Les Ponts by crossing the Communal hill.
After passing Les Bénéciardes and descending on the other side towards the Herses neighborhood, you follow a stretch of road lined with trees. This section is very representative of what roads might have looked like before the advent of the automobile. The goal was to provide the traveler with the comfort of being able to walk under the shade of the trees when the sun was beating hard. In many places, the trees along these roads were removed as they became hazardous to vehicular traffic.
Itinerary: La Chaux-de-Fonds – Bois du Convent – Les Grandes-Crosettes – Les Bénéciardes – Les Herses – Le Crêt-du-Locle
Distance: 8.5Km
Altitude gain: 195m
Duration: 2h30
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