A linear village in the French Jura, located in the Doubs department at an altitude of just over 900m, Mouthe is a winter sports resort and, in summer, a region offering great hiking opportunities.
In winter, Mouthe competes with La Brévine, in the Neuchâtel Jura, for the title of "Little Siberia". Its official record cold temperature is -36.7°C (-34.06°F), whereas in La Brévine it is -41.8°C (-43.24°F), but the Meuthiards (the name of the inhabitants of Mouthe) claim that it has been as cold as -41°C (-41.8°F)...
From spring to autumn, the temperatures are much milder and the Val de Mouthe becomes a small paradise for hikers.
A must-do walk is the one that takes you to the source of the Doubs river and the nearby peat bog.
The Doubs is the 453km long river that runs through a large part of the Jura, passing through the French departments of Doubs, Jura and Saône-et-Loire and the Swiss cantons of Neuchâtel and Jura.
Its source is a bit of a mystery. It springs from a cavity at the foot of Mount Risoux and the Noirmont forest. Spelunkers have discovered siphons upstream of the exsurgence, one of which plunges vertically to a depth of over 50 m, and the cave has apparently not been fully explored.
Useful links
French Region of
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté -
Wikipedia