The best traffic-free bike rides around Morestel

The Voie verte des Balcons du Dauphiné is a 18-kilometer-long secure cycle and pedestrian path, built on the route of the former Est Lyonnais railway line. It connects the medieval town of Crémieu to the municipality of Arandon-Passins, where it connects directly to the ViaRhôna.

The area includes several bodies of water, including the étang de Pisse-Vieille and the étang des Dames.

here I replenished my drink supply again

Relaxation on very sunny days

In 1920, after the First World War, the Barron-Vialle company based in Lyon settled on a 100-hectare property on the edge of the Serre ponds [archive]. Founded by Antoine Vialle, it manufactured trucks, coaches, and luxury cars. The "conical gear axle" which replaced the chain drive on trucks was invented in the Vialle foundry in Arandon. Activity ceased in 1937[2],[3]. Between January 1939 and March 1940, the town's inhabitants lived through a little-known episode. After the fall of Barcelona to the Francoists on January 26, 1939, many Spanish refugees arrived in Grenoble, where they were very poorly housed. At the request of the authorities, in February 1939, Mr. Vialle, the mayor, agreed to rent out the premises of his inactive factory; from July 12 onwards, 1300 Spanish Republicans, mainly families[4] of refugees, were welcomed there and stayed until October. Two days after the declaration of war on September 3, 1939, the government of the Third Republic ordered the internment of men "nationals of enemy powers", considered suspicious. These were almost exclusively anti-Nazis, men, mostly Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria, who were interned from October 1939 under particularly harsh conditions. The camp is said to have closed its doors around February 1940, apparently by sending the last occupants, 90 Jews, to the Loriol camp on March 11. The activity of this center then ceased, a few months before the establishment of the Vichy regime on July 7, 1940[8]. Mr. Vialle was subsequently dismissed from his duties as mayor by the Vichy regime. The factory regained its purpose in 1946 with SOFAL (aluminum foundry) until its cessation of activity in 1967, with the factory being transferred to the company Pierre Calignon (cast iron foundry). The latter filed for bankruptcy in 1987 and was taken over by G-H Bouyer foundries, which permanently closed the site in 1993. The site was then used for storing tires and then chlorinated materials until its remediation[9]. srce wikipédia to learn more, https://ajpn.org/internement-Camp-d-Arandon-7.html

The property is private, but Paul Claudel's tomb is accessible

Neither the castle nor the park are open to the public

Rest area on the Via Rhôna car park, with toilets and water fountain, Shared space with motorhomes on the edge of a pond near the town of Morestel and shops.