Beauce or Hurepoix

40 km from Paris, an unexpected valley. It marks the transition from the Beauceron plateau to the Paris Basin: this is the Hurepoix.

Details

n°14220

Creation:
03 Nov 2012

Last update:
07 Feb 2018

Last review:
31 Jul 2023

Activity: Walking
Distance: 14.07 km
Average duration: 4h 15
Difficulty: Moderate
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 74 m
Descent: - 79 m
Highest point: 158 m
Lowest point: 98 m

Country: France
District: Les Granges-le-Roi (91410)
Start/End: N 48.503947° / E 2.021222°
IGN map(s): Ref. 2216ET
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Description of the walk

Departure from the (beautiful) church in Granges-le-Roi.

(S/E) Leave the village via the^GRP® du Hurepoix, heading south-east (red and yellow markings). This takes you across open fields and then through two valleys to La Foret-le-Roi. 3.5km.

(1) In the centre of the village, follow the red and white markings of^{the GR®111c trail}heading north-northeast along a small road (known as Route de Plateau) which takes us back to the second valley.

(2) Leave this road and turn right onto a path (still marked). Just follow this valley: there are no houses for 3.5 km, the valley is steep-sided and bordered by woods on its heights; beautiful farmland below, climbing towards the plateau where possible.

(3) As you approach Venant (200m before; elevation 100), leave the^GR® and turn sharply left (west). The path, which is now unmarked, climbs towards a quiet, clear road that leads to Marchais. Leave this road after following it for 900m.

(4) Turn left (elevation 154) and follow a beautiful path towards La Beauce for 2.8km. The curious will wonder about the nature of the building on the horizon, due west. It takes us back to the D836 road (Dourdan towards Etampes).

(5) Follow it (to the right) for 400 metres, then turn left. Next, turn right, then left to return to the car park (the mystery of the building will have been solved). (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 154 m - Granges-le-Roi Church
1 : km 3.86 - alt. 146 m - La Forêt-le-Roi
2 : km 5.1 - alt. 110 m - Start of the trail
3 : km 8.48 - alt. 100 m - Leave the GR
4 : km 10.31 - alt. 154 m - Leave the road
5 : km 13.12 - alt. 157 m - Croix des Champs
S/E : km 14.07 - alt. 154 m - Granges-le-Roi Church

Notes

No difficulty.
In wet weather, bring walking sticks.

Worth a visit

The church of Granges le Roi is worth a visit.

The valley is known as the "dry valley" because nothing has flowed through it for a long time.
It characterises the collapse of the Beauce plateau towards the Paris basin. Not dizzying, but a very beautiful, soothing and unexpected view.

The place names are amusing: Chemin de Puit, Vallée de Montbardon, les Culs de Chaudière, Ravin de Venant, Montants de Plateau...
will make mountaineers smile.

If you have time, Dourdan is well worth a visit. Paris-Austerlitz SNCF station

Reviews and comments

3.8 / 5

Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.1 / 5

Route interest
3 / 5

FLOCH

31 Jul 2023 at 09:47 7200

Thank you for this review
This somewhat outdated hike clearly needs updating.
Let's hope the author gets to work on it.
Best regards

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Oggy91

31 Jul 2023 at 08:50 7200 • Edited: 31 Jul 2023 at 08:52 7200

Overall rating : 1.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Very disappointing hike. Very few details about the route to help you find your way. Luckily we had the app in GPS mode to help us find our way! Before the hamlet of Venant, be careful, the path we are supposed to take does not exist/no longer exists! We had to take the road... Dangerous.
Almost all of the paths are exposed and not very interesting in terms of scenery (unless you like plains). They are very grassy, so walking quickly becomes tiring for the legs.
14 km... Which we regretted.

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jeannot91

30 Jun 2023 at 10:35 7200 • Edited: 30 Jun 2023 at 14:39 7200

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

Hello,
This hike is not recommended in hot weather, as there is nowhere to take shelter. You simply walk along the edge of the woods on very monotonous, uninteresting paths that are poorly maintained and full of ruts. The signposting is very poor.

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epiluc91

04 Sep 2021 at 19:05 7200

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Only the section between points 2 and 3 is really pleasant. The rest takes place in a flat, straight landscape (Beauce), which is not very interesting after the harvest.
The start at Les Granges-le-Roi is not obvious (no signposts at the car park exit).
From Forêt-le-Roi, the GR 111c markings disappear completely and are replaced by PR-type markings (yellow lines).
The trail that heads west from point 3 quickly disappears and you have to cross fields to get back to the small road to Marchais. (You might as well take it just after point 3).
After the harvest, you need to be careful not to miss the path at elevation 154, which is not, as indicated, "a beautiful marked path" but an indistinct trail dotted with ruts left by agricultural machinery....

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randoblot

08 Oct 2018 at 09:43 7200

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

Lots of flat terrain. Do not do in strong sunlight, do not do in wind and rain.

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MToni

26 Mar 2018 at 18:28 7200

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 25, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

Most of the walk takes place on very open plains. At this time of year, with no vegetation cover, it is disappointing.

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ovil

25 Oct 2017 at 00:04 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 24, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

I combined this hike with the one called "Circular Route de La Foret le Roi" to create a 20 km route that passes through three villages.
An easy hike on grassy paths that are a little damp at this time of year and small roads with no traffic.
The GRP and GR 111 trail markings are sufficient.

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francoisandre

15 Oct 2017 at 19:37 7200

Thank you

In both directions, it can be a very beautiful route.
And with sunshine too!

François André

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frrando45

15 Oct 2017 at 19:29 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 15, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Due to parking issues (garage sale in Granges le Roi), we started the route from La Forêt le Roi and walked in the opposite direction to the description. With the map, we had no trouble finding our way. A beautiful walk in the sunshine.
the sunshine.

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JM.lambert

16 May 2016 at 21:45 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 15, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Bring gaiters as there is tall grass along much of the route. The small road poses no difficulty.

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raphael92

30 May 2014 at 15:46 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 28, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant walk that presents no difficulty.
It is best to plan this hike in dry weather (muddy path with tall grass).
The only negative points are the sections on the road.
Thank you.

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francoisandre

15 Oct 2013 at 21:15 7200

That's true, I would have pointed it out, but I didn't notice it because the weather was very clear.

Thank you for your response.

François

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goliath55

06 Sep 2013 at 16:06 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2013
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

This hike was very nice except for the parts where it goes along the road, which is narrow and a bit dangerous...

Thank you

Yves

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