The gorges de la Langouette with children
By Robin — your host · sources at the end · 12 July 2026 · updated 11 October 2026 · 2 min read · Our method
The gorges de la Langouette work beautifully with children, on one condition: come to look, not to swim. The Saine rushes into a narrow gorge, followed along footbridges. From Jura 835, driving to the car park takes 5 min: a perfect morning out.
What the water did
Leaving Foncine, the Saine narrows all at once and rushes into a narrow gorge cut into the limestone. The water runs clear at the bottom, the rock worn smooth where it has rubbed for ages. For a child the story fits in one sentence: a small river sawed through stone, unhurried, over a very long time. And all of it shows from above. Before setting off, ask the children to guess how long it took: their answers, often funny, start a conversation that lasts the whole morning.
The trail, at a child’s pace
From the Langouette car park at Les Planches-en-Montagne, the Département du Jura waymarks a 1.2 km loop with 34 m of climb. A staircase leads to the path, then you follow des passerelles métalliques qui surplombent les gorges. Allow a relaxed morning, longer if small legs stop at every viewpoint, which is exactly as it should be. With a baby, a carrier works better than a pushchair.
The fairy Langouette
For children, the trail tells a story: 6 playful panels follow the fairy Langouette, around water, stone and the village houses. Each one becomes a stage, and the walk a treasure hunt. Let the older ones read aloud; the little ones look for the next panel. On the way back you cross the village of Les Planches and pass its old washhouse. Bring a snack and a water bottle: a bench or a flat stone by the path makes a very good halfway stop.
By the water, hold a hand
Wet rock is slippery and the gorge drops a long way. You walk, you look, you keep a hand on the small ones along the footbridges. Below, the Saine is fast, cold water that growls the moment you fall quiet; you listen to it more than you approach it. The vertigo is for the parents, the questions for the children. On rainy days, good shoes are enough, and the gorge only sounds louder. Always stay on the waymarked trail: that is where the view is best, and safest.
And the afternoon
The morning at the gorges turns into a quiet afternoon. The house is reserved whole, for a single family of 6 to 8 people at most: lunch at the long table, then the enclosed garden, 400 m², for whoever still has running left in them. For another outing by the water, see the Bief-de-la-Ruine waterfall, right in the village.