[:fr]Randonnée sur la Haute Chaîne du Jura[:en]Hiking in the High Jura[:][:fr]La préservation de ce territoire d’exception dépend, entre autres, de votre comportement. Il mérite que vous restiez sur les sentiers, que le chien soit laissé à la maison et la voiture sur l’aire de stationnement prévue à cet effet. Vous découvrirez alors en toute sérénité les innombrables curiosités et richesses de la Haute Chaîne du Jura (crédits photo : RNNHCJ)[:en]We all bear responsibility for preserving this unique landscape, so we ask you to please remain on the marked paths, leave dogs at home and park cars in designated areas. Following these simple steps will enable us all to safely enjoy the Jura’s myriad natural attractions and wonders (Photo credits: RNNHCJ).[:]
Leisure activities
The proximity of the city of Geneva generates an ever-increasing border-population of 800,000 at the foot of the Haute Chaîne. The district of Gex, which comprises 29 communes of the Pays de Gex and of the Valserine valley, will soon have a population of 90,000.
This considerable population, alongside profound changes in society in less than 50 years, has placed a heavy burden on the High Jura: from being a working area it has evolved into a leisure space. It has become a consumer commodity like any other. Access is considered a “right” and the Reserve an area of freedom where the visitor is relieved of all constraints. It is seen as a “return to nature”, a need which has never been so vital nor so promoted by the media.
In order to limit their impact on the area, tourist activities and sport (rock climbing, potholing, walking, horse riding, VTT biking, snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, ski touring, hang gliding, and dog-sledding) must conform to the access plan drawn up by the Prefect (articles 18 and 21 of the original statutory decree).
