Climbing out of Giron, the trail narrows as it heads north. To the left of the ledge lies the Combe d’Evuaz and  its 18th-century school and abandoned town buildings. Rolling “combes” are characteristic of the Jura, a sequence of accordion like geologic folds with the most abrupt uplifts on the Swiss border, offering spectacular views of Lake Geneva and the Alps across the Rhône Valley.  Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest peak, serves as a  beacon to the surrounding region.

After an arduous 9 miles from Combe d’Evuaz is a junction perched at 4,229 feet where you can enjoy the views and take in a bit of history. The Borne au lion, formerly called the Borne des Trois Empires, is a stone marker that used to indicate the borders of France and Spain, and the duchy of Savoy before the region became a part of France in 1613. The area was also home to 3,000 resistance fighters in 1943 and 1944, and a new shelter has been built in honor of the top commander, Henri Romans-Petit.

Looking to the right,  you will spot the omnipresent Crêt de Chalam, a rock outcropping dominating the landscape at a lofty 5,067 feet. An offshoot of the trail continues on from here, forming a rousing 15-mile loop called the Closettes trail, which climbs farther before an incredibly long downhill drops into Les Moussières. This broader area is called the Hautes Combes and features some 125 miles of impeccably groomed trails.

This loop covers eight miles and rises out of the car park  in  La Pesse, past a slope-side bed-and-breakfast, La Maison de Teiss, and up a wide paved road. It eventually drops into the Combe Berbois where Le Refuge du Berbois, a renovated traditional farmhouse, welcomes weary skiers for the night or for a stopover refreshment. The rest of the 125 miles of the Hautes Combes/La Pesse area, which comprises six towns, is clumped around the trail.

The trail is groomed daily and is more easy going in this particular stretch which passes the town of Les Molunes and into Lajoux, and you’ll spot the approaching church and its round, almost onion-shaped bell tower, which is typical of the Jura region. Lajoux is the last town before the climb into the Massacre forest.

The Massacre is the highest forest in the Jura, culminating at nearly 5,000 feet (by way of comparison, Mount Washington reaches 6,288 feet). The high-altitude Tuffes trail, at nearly eight miles, is a favorite loop.

The Grande Traversée du Jura then drops down into the resort area Les Rousses, composed of four villages (Lamoura, Prémanon, Les Rousses and Bois-d’Amont) and its nearly 140 miles of trails.

Beyond Bois-d’Amont lies the Swiss border, and then the spectacular Lac de Joux, the Jura’s biggest lake, perched high above sea level. The Dent de Vaulion majestically rises another 1,568 feet above the north end of the 5.6-mile-long lake. Some 88 miles of cross-country trails encircle the lake, including some of the highest in the Jura. Ridge trails link the Col du Marchairuz, a mountain pass, to the 5,509-foot peak of Mont Tendre, which is worth the extra effort for the views of Lake Geneva alone.

The Risoux forest starts from the shores of Lac de Joux and extends up to the French border, opposite Mont Tendre, before dropping down into perhaps the densest concentration of Nordic trails in France or continental Europe. Its capital is the tiny village Chapelle-des-Bois. The flagship loops are named after Fabrice Guy and Sylvain Guillaume, two friends who won Nordic combined gold and silver medals, respectively, at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville.

In addition to the roughly 83 miles of trails at Chapelle-des-Bois, the same amount awaits at adjoining areas that can be reached by skis from the village center. If you become stranded on the trail without an energy bar, Chez Liadet serves a savory saucisse de Morteau, a smoked sausage named for the town in the northern part of the region that seems to be the perfect reward for a long day of skiing.

From Mouthe there is an excellent high-altitude loop more than seven miles down the trail called the Seven Chalets as you approach Mont d’Or and Métabief.

In nearby Les Fourgs, which is just outside Pontarlier, a small city with train service, there are many typically Jurassian moments to experience. The trail network north of the main drag features charming incursions into Switzerland, where the trails cut through farms and have a country-road feeling to them.

To the south in Les Fourgs, it is possible to ski more than 21 miles in one extended loop that features a 4,275-foot peak and one of the most vertiginous descents available on skinny skis. Les Fourgs, and its 147 miles of trails, stands along with Chapelle-des-Bois and Les Rousses as Nordic hubs in the Jura.