Astronomy Trail - The Trail of the Stars

A walking trail that combines two distinct atmospheres: one along the main road, lined with solid-wood sculptures evoking the stars, and the other alongside the Nant d’Aillon, featuring wrought-iron animal constellations.

☆ The Carved Stars ☆

They were born at the Petit-Roulet sawmill in Bellecombre-en-Bauges, carved from large logs of fine wood by Maxime Cadoux, a luthier and sculptor based in Le Châtelard. Four oak logs transformed into stars in this traveling workshop.

The first is the Shepherd’s Star. This wooden shepherd awaits us at the entrance to the Aillon-le-Jeune trail, pointing the way forward, much like the star that has guided humanity since the dawn of time. Then, the hiker enters a tunnel of hazel trees, from which one can sometimes glimpse the main road of the ski resort below.

Walking further beneath the green arches from which the song of the spotted nutcracker emerges, a mischievous sun, all rays, will illuminate the snowy days.

In an opening suspended like a balcony stands the third sculpture—a magnificent bear holding a star at the tip of its paw, evoking the North Star—whose wide-open mouth will soon welcome a bird’s nest. The richness of the textures is worth a closer look: variations in the woodwork, ranging from the rough, textured finish of the bear’s fur to the smooth surface and sharp edges of the star, and the delicacy of the beast’s claws and teeth.

The final landmark on this stroll among the carved stars, we can make out between two tree trunks a shooting star, slender as it hurtles along on its wild course, frozen in wood just as it might have been frozen in ice.

☆ Animal Constellations ☆

Under our feet, the fallen leaves crunch. This path is a thread stretched between two currents along which we walk, like tightrope walkers. On one side, the flow of the road where cars rumble by. On the other, the river, flowing and leaping at the bottom of the valley.
And suddenly, it seems as though animal-like curves are taking shape among the vines of ivy and clematis in the undergrowth. Did we dream, or imagine their presence in the tangle of branches?
We approach an island formed between two trails, and our eyes make out the rounded wrought-iron shapes that form the bear’s body. Further on, in the dark shade beneath the canopy of fir trees, the feline with brush-like ears, as if on the lookout, takes us by surprise. Let’s walk on, alert to these animal presences and absences, until a broad set of wings made of iron feathers glides silently overhead, amid the rustling of the foliage. They blend into the branches, into the hushed atmosphere of the undergrowth, where the Nant d’Aillon flows ceaselessly.

Near an opening in the thicket that separates us from the road—where the view opens up to Mont Colombier bathed in the pink hues of evening—a fox with quivering whiskers brushes past us.
The animals that inhabit this forest—represented by the transparent arched forms forged by sculptor Hugues Grammont in his studio in Ecole-en-Bauges—have all lent their names to a constellation, a pattern traced across the night sky by connecting the stars.
Will you spot others amid the tangled foliage of the undergrowth?

D/ From the visitor center parking lot, walk up to the entrance of the building at the base of the slopes.

1/ Follow the path that runs along the base of the slopes toward the buildings to the northeast, until you reach the “Le Rossane” building.

2/ After passing the “Le Rossane” building, take the road on the left toward the Chapelle de La Correrie.

3/ Cross the road (be careful!) and look for the first sign marking the start of the hiking trails. Follow the path on the left to discover the first four sculptures.

4/ At the end of the trail, continue right onto the road toward the via ferrata parking lot (turn left at the fork). At the parking lot, continue straight ahead on the trail (toward Aillon-village).

5/ At the end of the trail, cross the road (be careful!) to reach the Nant d’Aillon (toward the station).

6/ From the small square by the roadside, find a narrow trail through the forest (marked with green and yellow signs) that will take you back. It is along this trail, which winds up alongside the stream, that the second section begins.

7/ When you reach a clearing, continue in the same direction and find the forest trail to see the last sculpture. Finally, rejoin the road at the end of the path to return to the parking lot.