Walk in Villeny via La Grille

A beautiful walk that begins on wide, well-maintained paths and then enters the heart of the Sologne region via wilder, less frequented paths.

Details

970324
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.26 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 40 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 41 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 135 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 109 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park next to Saint-Martin Church.

(S/E) Leave the car park towards Yvoy le Marron, D88, take the first street on the right, then, at the junction, leave Rue Courte on your right.

(1) Follow Rue du Stade to the left, ignoring all the paths on the right and left, passing the hamlet of Les Quatre Maisons on your left and, a little further on, the guest house La Vallée de la Creuse.
Continue to a Y-junction, leave Chemin de Maffoy on your right and continue straight ahead along the long path marked in white and red (GR®31).
Leave the Chemin des Hauts de Bouet on your left and cross a fir tree plantation, passing the Ru Balletan.

(2) At the next crossroads, a sign indicates La Marolle-en-Sologne. Follow this sign, leaving the Chemin des Braudières on your left, and continue until you reach a tarmac road.

(3) Turn left and take the white path, leaving the dilapidated buildings of La Bouteillerie on your left, then leave the GR®31 on your right. Continue along the edge of a field until you reach the halfway point.

(4) Turn left onto a grassy path, which starts opposite the corner of a wood. Ignore all side paths. Walk alongside the Étang de la Beauce lake, then a plain on your right and a pine forest on your left. At the end of the pine forest, continue straight ahead, leaving the Chemin des Braudières on your left, and pass between two large fields until you reach the edge of the forest. Ignore the paths on your right and left.

(5) Enter the forest, ignoring all side paths, then walk along the Étang de la Grille and join a small paved section (50 m) of the Centre de Recherches Agro-Bio. Continue along this wide downhill path, walk along a large pond and its boathouse, ignore two paths on your left, then Château Mont Collier on the same side. Continue until you reach a road.

(6) Cross the Yvoy-le-Marron road, D88, and follow the path downhill opposite, marked Les Vallées. Pass the Les Vallées property on your right, then, a little further on, another on the same side, called La Vallée. Continue straight ahead along this path, which becomes uphill, until you reach its highest point, from where you can see the white gate of the Malicorne property in the distance. Descend to the gate.

(7) Follow the path on the left marked Route n°2 Villeny, continue along a pond, go to a Y-junction and leave a lane lined with ditches on your left. Follow a little-used path diagonally, marked by a discreet yellow sign.

(8) Follow this grassy path, ignoring all paths on the right and left. You are now in a vast hunting ground. Continue to the Le Petit Villiers property and its dammed pond.

(9) Follow the path on the right, marked Route n°2 and n°3 Villeny, passing a small pond on your right.
The path becomes Rue des Mésanges. Continue until you reach a stop sign, pass a crossroads and continue straight ahead towards the church to reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 132 m - Car park near the church
  2. 1 : km 0.16 - alt. 133 m - On the left, Rue du Stade
  3. 2 : km 2.53 - alt. 118 m - Sign for La Marolle-en-Sologne
  4. 3 : km 3.67 - alt. 132 m - On the left, white path
  5. 4 : km 4.17 - alt. 134 m - On the left, grassy path
  6. 5 : km 5.49 - alt. 133 m - Straight ahead into the forest
  7. 6 : km 7.1 - alt. 135 m - Cross the D88
  8. 7 : km 8.71 - alt. 111 m - On the left, route No. 2 Villeny
  9. 8 : km 9.12 - alt. 109 m - Grassy path on the right
  10. 9 : km 10.39 - alt. 120 m - Path on the right Route No. 2 and Route No. 3 Villeny
  11. S/E : km 11.26 - alt. 132 m - Car park near the church

 Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 15 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
bionat
bionat

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A route taken on a beautiful spring afternoon (17°C) after the hunting season had ended.
Beautiful forest paths, ponds and magnificent Sologne farms: a wonderful snapshot of the Sologne region.
A little muddy between points 8 and 9 (a remnant of the winter rains).
Be careful at point 4, as the path on the left is not very visible.
Note that a "hikers' car park" has been created at point 1.

Machine-translated

mcdelhoume
mcdelhoume

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A really enjoyable hike, but definitely don't do it after a week of rain and logging. But that's the Sologne for you

Machine-translated

ccjlpg
ccjlpg

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We accompanied our hiking group on a Thursday as usual, so we didn't meet anyone else. We are used to exploring our region and really enjoyed this route. We did it just before the start of the hunting season, and what's more, this route never takes you down private roads, which makes things easier for us. What's more, the village of Villeny is full of charm.

Machine-translated

Fleur de lune
Fleur de lune

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route through forests, fields and ponds. Very reliable route. Try to plan a picnic break at the Grille pond.
Highly recommended

Machine-translated

mlpbrando18
mlpbrando18

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike along lovely wooded paths that run alongside several ponds. It was magnificent, and the village of Villeny is pretty, a little gem in the middle of the woods. We saw a deer along the way.

Machine-translated

Jacquelinerando2021
Jacquelinerando2021

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

just to clarify, once you have passed the Malicorne property, follow the path until you reach a fork (barely visible) that veers to the right – THERE ARE NO YELLOW SIGNS

Machine-translated

pierre1er
pierre1er

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It was a Sunday. I encountered a few families and four vehicles that looked more like robots on Mars than humans on Earth. But four isn't many. It's just surprising, and Sundays are different.
At point 7, as soon as you take the path on the left, there's another madman who has claimed the path as his own by marking "PRIVATE PATH" on a tree. This is quite common in Sologne. But why?
Another comment: Apparently, the town hall has made an effort to mark out several hiking trails, but none of them appear on Visiorando, which is a shame. The area is very nice.

Machine-translated

vetetiste41
vetetiste41

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk that is representative of the Sologne region...this hike
Is not particularly difficult in terms of length or route... a must-do!

Machine-translated

MARTDomi
MARTDomi

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk in Sologne

Machine-translated

zebulon1961
zebulon1961

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk in the countryside that takes you through areas that are not fenced off (the big problem in Sologne at the moment).

Machine-translated

Steph41220
Steph41220

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A stroll through forests and plains; bucolic and exotic...

Machine-translated

albatach
albatach
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A superb walk, highly recommended!

Machine-translated

AnneBihan
AnneBihan

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant hike through varied and wild landscapes. The description is spot on.

Machine-translated

frrando45
frrando45

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The description and map make it easy to follow the hike without any problems.
Clearing and woods alternate, making for a very pleasant hike.
I recommend it

Machine-translated

La truite
La truite

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 11, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful walk that allows you to see all the typical environments of the Sologne region.
However, in some places, it is easy to take the wrong path. Nevertheless, with an IGN map, it is easy to find the right direction

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.