Camping de l’Île

Camping de l’Île is set in Ranchot, a village in the north of the Jura between Besançon (25 km) and Dole (28 km). The 3-star site covers more than 3 shaded hectares between the Doubs and the Rhône-Rhine canal, not far from a weir and a river port. The Forêt de Chaux borders the site, the EuroVelo 6 cycle route (Nantes-Budapest) runs alongside the campsite and Ranchot station is only 200 metres away.

The offer is deliberately compact: 33 pitches each taking up to 6 people, three 5-berth mobile homes with washrooms, three chalets sleeping 2 to 4 without water or washrooms and a two-person cyclist tent. Some of the pitches are accessible to people with reduced mobility. The managers, Franck and Charline, welcome guests for a one-night stopover as well as for a longer stay, provided it is not residential.

On opening, the campsite says it welcomes guests all year round, with reception open from 9am to 12pm and from 2pm to 7pm. The rate card distinguishes a low and a high season, and electricity is charged differently from 15 November to 15 March, a sign that campers are expected in midwinter. The washrooms are heated. This arrangement suits touring cyclists passing through, motorhome users (service point and hardstanding pitches) and stopovers between Dole and Besançon.

The campsite restaurant only serves every evening in summer; off-season, the village of Ranchot and its shops remain close by.

Themed evenings at the restaurant (Saint Patrick's, Beaujolais), cycling on the EuroVelo 6, mushroom picking in season in the Forêt de Chaux, visits to Besançon, Dole and Arbois.

On site, the campsite has heated washrooms, which remain useful off-season, a washing machine and a dryer, free wifi across the whole site and a common area. Motorhome users will find a service point and hardstanding pitches. Campers wishing to charge an electric vehicle should know that the campsite has no connection for this type of vehicle.

Food is provided by a restaurant serving regional cuisine (trout goujons, fondue with cancoillotte or comté), prepared with produce from local farmers and open to the public as well as to campers. It serves every evening in July and August and, for the rest of the year, offers themed evenings (Saint Patrick’s, Beaujolais) as well as two Friday lunches a month by reservation. A refreshment bar with ice creams, postcards and a few regional products completes the offer on site. ANCV holiday vouchers are accepted for the stay, but not at the restaurant.

For shopping, a bakery-grocery is 100 metres away, a petrol station selling gas 200 metres away and a supermarket 3 km away by cycle path. A SEB group factory outlet and a fabric and decoration shop, Jura Textiles, are in Orchamps, 6 km away. A taxi company, some of whose vehicles take 9 people, operates nearby. There is no swimming pool: water is enjoyed in the Doubs, where you can swim, and by canoe or paddleboard.

The riverside setting guides leisure activities. The campsite offers its guests canoes and paddleboards to hire in July and August, swimming, fishing (permits sold online or at the tobacconist in Fraisans), table tennis and pétanque. A climbing wall and a multisports pitch are nearby.

Cycling plays a central role: the EuroVelo 6 runs alongside the site and leads to Dole or Besançon, and a cycle path through the Forêt de Chaux leads to the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, 12 km away. The managers also point guests to local walking trails. The campsite is a member of the Made in Jura scheme.

Within a radius of 60 kilometres, the sightseeing programme is full: the Royal Saltworks, the Osselle caves, Besançon with its citadel and the Museum of Time, Dole and its collegiate church, Arbois and its vineyards, the source of the Lison, the Courbet museum or the Comtois farmhouses of Nancray. In season, mushroom picking and a visit to the Baraques du 14 museum in the Forêt de Chaux are added to the list. Off-season, the restaurant’s themed evenings punctuate the year and cultural outings remain possible.