The Département of Doubs is home to some of the finest river scenery in France. While the Loue valley deserves its fame, four other rivers cut outstanding gorges through the Jura limestone: the Doubs itself, the Lison, the Hérisson, and the Dessoubre.
The falls of the Hérisson are a must-see — a series of cascades dropping through forest. Go on a weekday if you can; summer weekends bring crowds that take the edge off the quiet magic. The sources of the Lison and the Doubs are remarkable places where powerful rivers emerge fully formed from cliff faces, a spectacle that never quite loses its strangeness.
The Dessoubre is the least famous of the four, but its source at the Cirque de Consolation is exceptional — a natural amphitheatre of rock and forest, peaceful and grand in equal measure. If you visit only one river gorge in the Doubs, the Loue gets the most attention; if you have time for a second, make it the Dessoubre.