Le Reculet, Mountain summit in the Jura, Ain, France

Le Reculet is a rounded grassy summit in the Jura, reaching 1717 metres on the territory of Thoiry in the Ain. Its slope is covered in short grass of varying green and yellow-green tones, broken by scattered grey rock outcrops and low dark shrubs. A slender mast with a rounded element near its top stands on the highest point.

In 1394 the Count of Savoy granted several alpine pastures near Le Reculet to the communities of Thoiry and Fenières; Fenières received Narderans in 1410, Thoiry received Thoiry-Devant and Thoiry-Derrière. Shepherds built a fruitière there to make cheese and a group of hay barns that formed a small high-altitude village used until the 16th century. In 1892 the blacksmiths and inhabitants of Thoiry carried the summit cross up on their backs, replacing an older cross raised against the Protestants.

The summit cross was carried up on foot by the blacksmiths and inhabitants of Thoiry in 1892. It replaced an older cross raised against the Protestants to strengthen Catholicism in the Pays de Gex, a region long troubled by the wars of religion. The name Reculet comes from the Franco-Provençal "Recula", an isolated spot at the head of a valley.

Le Reculet lies in the Réserve naturelle nationale de la Haute Chaîne du Jura, so access is subject to the reserve's regulations. The summit is reached on foot from the Valserine side or from the Pays de Gex; the final slopes are open grass with rock outcrops and no shelter. Carry water and check the weather before setting out.

The summit cross was carried up on foot by the blacksmiths and inhabitants of Thoiry in 1892, replacing an older cross raised against the Protestants during the Wars of Religion in the Pays de Gex. The 2024 GPS survey by Lausanne geophysicists put the highest rock at 1717.14 m, confirming Le Reculet is not the Jura's highest point.