Switzerland / France Wernain Samuel at French Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
377 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges du Doubs where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
377m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
4.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
30°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
40km
Length
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 22 °C on the floor, against 19 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to September. The rim freezes at night from November to March.
- 2°-1°Jan
- 3°0°Feb
- 8°5°Mar
- 13°10°Apr
- 16°13°May
- 21°17°Jun
- 22°19°Jul
- 22°19°Aug
- 18°15°Sep
- 14°10°Oct
- 7°4°Nov
- 3°0°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Gorges du Doubs is a canyon in Switzerland, cut by the Doubs river. The relief model measures 377 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 492 m to the higher one. It runs for 40 km. Rim to rim it is 4.4 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Watchmaking Doubs Regional Natural Park.
Getting there.
- Les Brenetsnearest town · 1.9 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,120 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- vue sur Saut-du-Doubsnearest viewpoint · 0.3 km from the floor
- Bern Airport (BRN)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 63 km in a straight lineCar hire at BRN airport (Bern)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to Septemberbest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The river
The Doubs runs highest in January, from March to August and in October.
The Doubs carries about 33 m³/s on average here. It runs highest in January, from March to August and in October.
- 28 m³/sJan
- 18 m³/sFeb
- 36 m³/sMar
- 34 m³/sApr
- 54 m³/sMay
- 40 m³/sJun
- 27 m³/sJul
- 28 m³/sAug
- 13 m³/sSep
- 22 m³/sOct
- 13 m³/sNov
- 21 m³/sDec
From about 13 m³/s in the lowest month to 54 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 890 km².
Follow the Doubs from source to mouth on Riveryas
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 10 × 10 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 34viewpoints within 5 kmLes Roches de Moron, Vue sur Saut-du-Doubs, Bateau pour le Saut du Doubs and 31 more
- 58marked hiking routes within 4 kmMoulins Calame - Le Châtelot, Hôtel du Saut du Doubs - Saut du Doubs, Parc de la crête - Gare des Brenets and 55 more
- 6footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmPasserelle Gilbert Petit-Jean and 5 more
- 4rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 kmMise à l'eau du Port and 3 more
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmSaut-du-Doubs
- 4caves within 3 km
- 106car parks within 3 km
- 27information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 7bus stops within 2 km
- 5campsites within 8 kmAire des Vedettes panoramiques du Doubs, Aire des Bateaux du Saut-du-Doubs, Camping La Belle Verte and 2 more
- 44hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLes Saneys, Les Rives du Doubs, Les Cygnes and 41 more
- 46restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Les Brenets1.9 km in a straight line
- Villers-le-Lac4.0 km in a straight line
- Le Locle4.3 km in a straight line
- Les Fins6.1 km in a straight line
- Morteau8.3 km in a straight line
- Le Russey8.6 km in a straight line
- La Chaux-de-Fonds8.9 km in a straight line
- Montlebon9.1 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges du Doubs.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas25 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 3 |
| Afternoon · rim | -1 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| Night · rim | -7 | -7 | -3 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 2 | -2 | -6 |
| Rain (mm) | 85 | 66 | 86 | 83 | 124 | 112 | 113 | 118 | 83 | 100 | 85 | 96 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.2 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 7.6 | 6.4 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 1.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | -1 | -7 | 85 | 2.2 |
| Feb | 3 | 0 | -7 | 66 | 3.5 |
| Mar | 8 | 5 | -3 | 86 | 5.1 |
| Apr | 13 | 10 | 0 | 83 | 6.5 |
| May | 16 | 13 | 4 | 124 | 6.8 |
| Jun | 21 | 17 | 9 | 112 | 8.4 |
| Jul | 22 | 19 | 10 | 113 | 8.5 |
| Aug | 22 | 19 | 10 | 118 | 7.6 |
| Sep | 18 | 15 | 6 | 83 | 6.4 |
| Oct | 14 | 10 | 2 | 100 | 4.3 |
| Nov | 7 | 4 | -2 | 85 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 3 | 0 | -6 | 96 | 1.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (722 m) and the rim (1,214 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 55% | 187% | 90% | 46% | 92% | 150% | 42% | 94% | 96% | 178% | 31% | 92% |
| 2021 | 122% | 73% | 62% | 49% | 128% | 148% | 158% | 64% | 73% | 74% | 63% | 147% |
| 2022 | 54% | 119% | 28% | 124% | 45% | 102% | 36% | 65% | 214% | 88% | 136% | 113% |
| 2023 | 92% | 23% | 137% | 126% | 64% | 40% | 89% | 81% | 55% | 141% | 281% | 160% |
| 2024 | 119% | 108% | 113% | 112% | 143% | 132% | 82% | 78% | 228% | 150% | 83% | 113% |
| 2025 | 154% | 58% | 50% | 88% | 70% | 107% | 108% | 109% | 189% | 135% | 155% | 28% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges du Doubs
Switzerland
- 377 mDepth
- 4.4 kmRim to rim
- 40 kmLength
- 30°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3111009) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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