Geneva Hiking with Dogs - June Edition - Bois de la Bâtie and across the viaduct
I happen to also be the organiser of a group called Geneva Hiking with Dogs, which I do on a voluntary basis and has been running for around 2.5 years now!
Walks generally take place around once a month, and I try to do them in different locations to encourage people living in all corners of Geneva and the surrounding areas to attend.
If you are interested in joining one of the walks, you will find the group on meetup.com, Facebook and glocals.com
As we are still in fawning season, I have to pick city walks which are legal off-leash zones year-round so we were at one of my favourite walks for a hot summer’s day, because this walk gives us a lot of water access so the dogs can cool down. Today we had 4 lively dogs, at times they were getting so over-excited we had to calm them down! We were also joined by a few non-dog-owning dog-lovers, which is always nice.
Total walking time approx. 1.5hours-2 hours depending on how long you stop off at the beaches
For a full map of the route we did today, click here.
The dog park in Bois de la Bâtie is a bit of a mess at the moment, as there are constructions going on with half of the main field being fenced off while they build gazebos which I understand are going to be used as a seasonal buvette.
We were expecting over 10 dogs today which I was a bit worried about, since a lot of the paths along the river are very narrow and frequented by families with children. Thankfully in the end we were a respectable sized group of 4 dogs. Enough to cause chaos though!
We started the walk from the big field in front of the gazebo currently in construction, and walked towards the Cafe de la Tour, where we took the winding path down to bring us over the viaduct. The view of the two rivers merging here is always impressive, particularly on a sunny day like today.
We go down to the river on the other side of the viaduct, and walk along the Rhone where our water-loving dogs didn’t waste time to find the first spot for getting in for a dip!
We keep walking along the river where there’s an even bigger beach where the dogs went a bit crazy chasing each other around and splashing through the water. There were people paddle boarding down the Rhone which seemed like a lovely thing to do on a day like today.
We then get to Pont Butin which is a very high bridge, giving you a nice view of the Rhone still mixing the glacial waters of the Arve and the crystal clear waters of the Rhone below you. We then walk back along the Rhone on the other side, getting back to the start point.
It’s not a very long walk, but since Luka and I walked there from home, it ended up being a 3 hour outing and sufficiently tired Luka out!
Fun factor for child: 3/5 - A nice walk along the river and through the woods. Stop at the beach for a splash around or BBQ on a hot day!
Fun factor for dog: 5/5 - Run, swim and sniff!
Pram-friendly: No
Water Access for dogs: Yes, there are multiple entry points to the river along the route
Potable water: Yes, in Bois de la Bâtie, and also one by Cafe de la Tour near the Zoo
Baby changing facilities: No
Other Notes: There are some paths and beaches which are highly frequented by families with children, and people doing BBQ
Please review the Disclaimer before attempting any walk or activity mentioned on this website.
