About Cascade d’Entraigues and Cascade du Bois de Chaux
The Cascade d’Entraigues and the Bois de Chaux (or the Cascade du Bois de Chaux) were a pair of waterfalls that I was able to visit on a single, short excursion in the Massif Central of South Central France.
Entraigues meant “between the waters”, and there was also a small lake called Lac d’Entraigues that sat in between these waterfalls, thereby adding more scenic allure to this excursion.
As for the waterfalls themselves, they were on separate streams – the Ruissea de la Clamousse (or Clamouze; also the Rhue) and the Ruisseau d’Entraigues (also called Grosleix).
The Cascade d’Entraigues was where the Ruisseau de la Clamousse (or Clamouze) dropped 18m over a basalt cliff (a pretty familiar feature of the Central Massif thanks to its volcanic nature), and was thus the taller waterfall of the two.
The Bois de Chaux was where the Ruisseau d’Entraigues dropped some 8m, and this was the shorter and stockier waterfall compared to Cascade d’Entraigues.
Experiencing Both Waterfalls and the Lake
I wound up doing a sort of loop hike (with two out-and-back spurs) that started from the parking area adjacent to the Lac d’Entraigues (see directions below).
I then proceeded to follow a signed trail that went by a house across from a fountain or piped spigot where the water apparently came from direct from the source of the mountain (i.e. it was extra pure water).
During my visit in June 2025, I also noticed that the resident did a cheeky prank by putting a Scream mask by the window to spook passer-bys.
Anyways, this trail junction, which was about 200m from the parking area, already had a partial, elevated profile view down at the Cascade d’Entraigues.
Signs discouraged people from climbing down to the bottom from here, and I’d imagine that perhaps that used to be the way down to bottom (though clearly, that’s no longer the case anymore).
So heading downhill (left) from this trail junction, it then went nearly another 200m before reaching yet another trail junction though this one had an interpretive sign.
From this trail junction, I then went right (don’t cross the bridge) to essentially follow the Ruisseau de la Clamousse Stream.
Following this trail past some grassy openings with blooming wildflowers for another 200m ultimately led me to the base of the Cascade d’Entraigues.
After backtracking to return to the parking area, I then opted to walk around the southern and eastern shores of Lac d’Entraigues.
Eventually, I got to a point where the trail around the lake intersected with an asphalt road descending towards the right.
After about 200m of descending this asphalt road (which did one switchback), it ultimately reached a trail junction by a bridge over the Ruisseau d’Entraigues and viewing area adjacent to the Cascade du Bois de Choix.
While it seemed like a handful of visitors would go for the Cascade d’Entraigues, I didn’t really encounter anyone for the Bois de Choix.
It made me wonder if people just overlooked it, if it just wasn’t compelling enough to visit, or if the signage for this waterfall wasn’t obvious enough for people to come here.
Nevertheless, this waterfalling experience seemed more tranquil and certainly a worthwhile detour before returning to the lake and resuming the end of the hike.
I ultimately went around the north side of the Lac d’Entraigues for about 200m beyond the trail junction with the asphalt road on the east side of the lake, and I was back at the parking area to complete this loop hike.
Overall, I spent around an hour to take in both waterfalls as well as the lake (the hiking distance was around 2km total), which made for a rather leisurely experience.
If I didn’t do a loop and made this into two out-and-back hikes, then Cascade d’Entraigues would be 500m (1km round-trip) and Cascade du Bois du Chaux would be 300m (600m round-trip).
Authorities
Cascade d’Entraigues and Bois du Chaux reside near the town of Engliseneuve-d’Entraigues in the Puy de Dome department of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Region of France. It may be administered by the authorities of the Engliseneuve-d’Entraigues Commune. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their town website.
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