Why this ride
A 151 km round trip from Estavayer-le-Lac - roughly 2 h 11 in the saddle. The stops in between: Port-Conty, Baie de Clendy and back through Port-Conty. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Les Grèves and Baie de Clendy
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 151 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 11
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Jura Crest Scenic Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 54 km this is Jura Crest Scenic Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 54 km
- Named road
- Jura Crest Scenic Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Les Grèves
Reeds, mostly. That is the first thing you notice when you roll down to Les Grèves on the southern shore of Lake Neuchâtel: a soft wall of reed and willow between the fields and the water, with the Jura sitting long and blue on the far side of the lake. This stretch between Portalban, Gletterens and Chevroux belongs to the Grande Cariçaie, the biggest lakeshore marsh in Switzerland, and it only exists because people once moved an entire lake level.
Read the complete Les Grèves write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Les Grèves is where the day begins. Next is Port-Conty.
2. Port-Conty
Under the shallow water off Port-Conty lie the remains of villages that were built on stilts more than five thousand years ago, and you will see none of them from the shore. The site, near Saint-Aubin-Sauges on the north-western side of Lake Neuchâtel, is one of the many locations in the UNESCO listing of prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps. Archaeologists have found posts, tools, pottery and remains of food preserved in the lake mud, painting a picture of Neolithic and Bronze Age communities who farmed, fished and built their houses along the water's edge.
Read the complete Port-Conty write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Port-Conty comes up about 54 km into the recorded legs. Next is Baie de Clendy.
3. Baie de Clendy
At the southern tip of Lake Neuchâtel, just east of Yverdon-les-Bains, the shore curves into a shallow bay fringed with reeds, poplars and a beach where local families swim in summer. Behind it, in a meadow, stands a double row of tall grey stones. These are the menhirs of Clendy, raised by Neolithic farmers more than five thousand years ago and re-erected in the twentieth century after they were found toppled in the ground. Offshore and along the bay lie the remains of lakeside settlements of the same era, part of the UNESCO listing of prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps.
Read the complete Baie de Clendy write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach Baie de Clendy. Next is back through Port-Conty.
4. back through Port-Conty
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Port-Conty write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Port-Conty, late in the day. Next is Les Grèves.
5. Les Grèves
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Les Grèves write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Les Grèves. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Les Grèves to Port-Conty
Les Grèves → Port-Conty is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Port-Conty to Baie de Clendy
Port-Conty → Baie de Clendy is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Baie de Clendy to back through Port-Conty
Baie de Clendy → back through Port-Conty is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Port-Conty to Les Grèves
back through Port-Conty → Les Grèves is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.