Bois de Saint-Apolline at Château de Plaisir

A short walk through the woods will take you to Saint-Pierre-de-Plaisir Church and Plaisir Castle.

Details

7361951
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.22 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 177 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 177 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 554 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 367 ft
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Plaisir (78370)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 48.800145° / E 1.930638°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2214ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking at the Saint-Apolline SPA car park in Plaisir (78).

(S/E) Take the path after the barrier and continue straight on until you reach a five-way junction.

(1) Turn into the first lane on the left, a wide lane leading to the Charité crossroads. Leave the main path by continuing straight ahead. The path meets a lane; take it to the right and go straight on to thesecond crossroads.

(2) Turn right and follow theGR®® (red and white markings) which leads to the Château. They pass through the Carrefour de Lurifico and reach a junction just before the entrance to Plaisir.

(3) Continue on theGR®® to the right, uphill. It crosses the Chemin du Pré Pollet, passes near a pond, then descends. Further on, pass under high-voltage power lines before arriving at a clearing at the edge of the forest.

(4) Take the path on the left leading out of the forest, then enter the town via Rue Edmond Rostant. __Caution_: when crossing the town, use the pedestrian crossings.
At thefirst junction, turn right into Rue Ernest Lavisse, cross Rue du Bois and reach Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

(5) Turn left and follow Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Place Saint-Pierre de Plaisir to begin a circular tour of the castle grounds.

(6) Leave theGR®® route, enter the park and walk around the pond and the château, then exit via the same route you entered.

(6) From Place Saint-Pierre, take Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau again to return to the junction with Rue Ernest Lavisse.

(5) Leave the outbound route and continue straight on along Rue Jules Regnier. When you reach the roundabout, continue straight on, cross at the pedestrian crossing, then continue up Rue Jules Regnier to the junction with Rue Anatole France.

(7) Leave Rue Jules Regnier and head diagonally right into the forest via Chemin de Pontchartrain à Plaisir. Pass a car park and the high-voltage power lines, then continue straight ahead. At the Château Reyson junction, continue straight ahead along Route de Plaisir and onto the main path.

(8) You will come to a T-junction. Take the path leading off to the left; at the end of the path, turn 90° to the right until you reach the next junction, which you passed on the way out.

(1) Turn left and return to the car park at the Saint-Apolline SPA (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 538 ft - Car park at the Saint-Apolline SPA
  2. 1 : mi 0.1 - alt. 538 ft - Crossroads of the circular loop
  3. 2 : mi 0.86 - alt. 554 ft - Access to the GR
  4. 3 : mi 2.01 - alt. 469 ft - Entrance to Les Maisons des Bois
  5. 4 : mi 2.45 - alt. 453 ft - Exit from the St Apolline forest
  6. 5 : mi 2.76 - alt. 384 ft - Junction of Rue Lavisse and Rue Rousseau
  7. 6 : mi 2.96 - alt. 367 ft - Entrance to the Château park - Église Saint-Pierre (Plaisir)
  8. 7 : mi 3.94 - alt. 430 ft - Entrance to the St Apolline Forest
  9. 8 : mi 4.9 - alt. 522 ft - T-junction
  10. S/E : mi 5.22 - alt. 538 ft - Car park at the Saint-Apolline SPA

Notes

- Several car parks along the route (you can start from several locations)
- You can also travel by public transport and start the walk at Plaisir (Église or Joncheres bus stops). For more information on buses, visit https://www.cars-hourtoule.fr/
- Water point in the Château park

Worth a visit

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

4.2 / 5
Based on 17 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
ealet
ealet

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 05, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An easy and pleasant walk; the Château de Plaisir is currently undergoing renovation, but its grounds are still lovely to stroll through

Machine-translated

User 25738718

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike, the Château de Plaisir in August 2025 is not visible as it is completely covered in tarpaulins.

Machine-translated

vava78
vava78

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike, only one wet section, small detour necessary

Machine-translated

Sylvain Del
Sylvain Del

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant forest walk, accessible to all.

Machine-translated

isavlb91
isavlb91

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk in the forest, with a visit to the Château de Plaisir.

Machine-translated

RV94800
RV94800

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Suitable in all weather conditions, with few potentially muddy sections and well sheltered by trees in hot weather. Estimated duration is long for experienced walkers; allow around 2 hours.

Machine-translated

Tara Zanetti
Tara Zanetti

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A very good hike that takes two hours. The paths are well marked and quite busy. The descent is a little dangerous if it's muddy. The part where you go through the estate and the park isn't particularly useful as you leave the woods and find yourself in the town, which is noisy.
In any case, I recommend it because there are several possible routes.

Machine-translated

indianajohn78
indianajohn78

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Very easy hike, suitable for children

Machine-translated

Sandra78
Sandra78

Easy hike, best done after rainy weather. The most interesting part is the castle. Suitable for families.

Machine-translated

stef78190
stef78190

for your information, there is a larger car park 200 metres further on towards Neauphle-le-Château

Machine-translated

Peunou
Peunou

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The route is flat, easy to access and easy to ride.
However, parking spaces are limited
A pleasant hike

Machine-translated

Sandra78
Sandra78
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant, easy hike. I think it can be done in all seasons. In my opinion, the castle is the main point of interest on this hike..

Machine-translated

CMarcouDus
CMarcouDus

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, varied hike between forest and village. Easy to do with the family (wide, well-marked paths). Downside: although the hike follows the GR trail for much of the way, the markings are not always very visible. But with the route on Visorando, it's easy to find your way.

Machine-translated

Sandra78
Sandra78

Hike taken after several days of rain. No muddy paths along the route and no difficulties. Pleasant route, I particularly enjoyed the castle section, even though it was short.

Machine-translated

Jean.Taverne
Jean.Taverne

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very clear description for this circular. The forest is very "well maintained" so not very wild!

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.