Miribel-Jonage Escape
Cycling RouteLeaving the eastern suburbs behind, the path opens up into a massive, 2,200-hectare nature reserve. You ride along wide dirt trails alongside unmanicured canals and dense thickets of trees. The landscape feels distinctly rural, populated by herons and the occasional beaver rather than pedestrians. Small, hidden beaches appear suddenly along the edges of the central lake. The flat terrain allows for long, uninterrupted stretches of pedalling in complete silence.
SURFACE BREAKDOWN
ELEVATION PROFILE
WHY WE LOVE THIS ROUTE
It offers a genuine wilderness experience accessible entirely by pedal power from the city centre, replacing concrete and noise with lakes, forests, and wildlife.
RIDER'S NOTEBOOK
- • Take plenty of water; there are very few places to buy supplies once you are deep inside the park.
- • The dirt trails can get muddy; a mountain bike or a sturdy hybrid is better here than a thin-tyred road bike.
- 1WAYPOINT
Jonage Canal
CANAL DE JONAGEA straight, engineered waterway cuts through the greenery, originally built to control flooding and generate power. The path alongside it is straight, flat, and perfectly isolated.
to next stop - 2WAYPOINT
Fontanil Beach
PLAGE DU FONTANILA stretch of sand and grass slopes gently down to the water. It offers a perfect, quiet spot to rest the legs and cool down.
to next stop - 3WAYPOINT
Lake of Blue Waters
LAC DES EAUX BLEUESA vast, clear lake forms the centrepiece of the park. Small sailboats and windsurfers catch the breeze out on the open water.
to next stop - 4PARK & NATURE
Forest Backwaters
LES LÔNESDead-end river branches create still, marshy pools surrounded by thick vegetation. Wildlife thrives in these undisturbed, muddy backwaters.
FULL PLACE DETAILS
OVERVIEW & STATS
- Established
- In 1968, making it 58 years old
WEB & AMENITIES
Other Cycling Routes
Check out other routes in Lyon
ViaRhôna Urban Stretch
The European cycling route cuts a clean line directly through the city along the eastern bank of the Rhône. You drop down to the water level, leaving the noise of cars and trams entirely behind. The path glides past long stretches of wooden decking where university students sit with their legs dangling over the water. Massive stone bridges cross overhead, creating sudden, cool shadows on sunny days. The smooth surface makes for completely effortless pedalling from one end of the city to the other.
view route
Tête d'Or Loop
Wide, paved avenues circle a massive boating lake and cut through dense patches of ancient trees. You ride past botanical greenhouses and open plains where African animals graze behind subtle barriers. The air cools noticeably as you enter the shade of the forest sections. Pacing here is slow, dictated by families walking dogs and children learning to ride. It feels entirely removed from the concrete blocks of the business district located just a few streets away.
view route
Croix-Rousse & Caluire Greenway
An elevated, car-free ride traces an abandoned nineteenth-century railway line directly out of the historic silk-weavers' district. You pedal across the flat, bustling plateau of the Croix-Rousse before slipping into a completely shaded, tree-lined corridor that cuts through the northern suburbs. The tarmac is perfectly smooth and heavily used by locals for evening rides. It feels like riding through a green tunnel suspended entirely above the traffic of the city below. The route eventually opens up near old military forts, offering sudden, high-altitude glimpses of the Rhône valley.
view route
Alternative Ways to Tour the City
Switch your pace. Discover curated routes by bike, foot, or self-guided exploration.
Renaissance Vieux Lyon Walk
Tall, pastel-coloured facades lean slightly over narrow cobblestone streets, blocking out the modern world. You press heavy iron buttons to unlock wooden doors, revealing hidden courtyards with spiralling stone staircases. The smell of frying onions and roasted pork wafts out from the tiny kitchens of traditional bistros. Tourist crowds gather around the most famous monuments, but taking a sudden turn down a dark passageway instantly restores the quiet. You emerge back onto the street several blocks away, having passed entirely beneath the residential blocks.
Birth of Cinema
Venture into the eastern Monplaisir district to stand exactly where the moving image was born. This route circles the remnants of the massive Lumière factory and the family's opulent Art Nouveau villa. You walk the exact pavement featured in the first film ever screened to a paying public. It is a pilgrimage for cinephiles, showing how a local industrialist family accidentally changed global culture.