Bonnelles and Rochefort-en-Yvelines circular loop

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

NOT RECOMMENDED (compared to other walks in the area).
TOO MUCH ROAD.
A long walk mainly on tarmac roads, some of which are very busy and have no hard shoulder (you have to be careful to stay alive in this case!), others less busy.
What's more, the forest sections are short and in parts of the forest that are not particularly charming. The small Bonnelles pond is 100 m from the start/finish point. No need to walk more than 14 km to see it!
The village of Rochefort-en-Yvelines is charming and the view from the church cemetery is worth seeing, but again, there's no need to walk more than 14 km to see it!
As always, the negative impression is in comparison to nearby walks, such as the nearby Forêt de la Claye, which is magnificent, passing through the Rochefort massif (ferns, heather, broom, birch trees) with viewpoints.

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Date of your route : Feb 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A few details:
- S/E Car park exit: I didn't see a sign indicating the name of Avenue des Prés de la Croix (perhaps because of a wall that has just been rebuilt?), but it is the first street on the right when leaving the car park.
- Very pleasant path between points 2 and 3.
- The road between La Bâte and Rochefort en Yvelines is a bit long (the castle golf course is on the left and the forest is on the right, which is also private for the most part).
- Rochefort en Yvelines: pretty village but the château is not very visible and the church is undergoing renovation work until March 2024: you can still climb the stairs leading to it and walk almost all the way around it (cemetery) but you cannot enter. The view is worth it.
Point 5: from the church, go back down most of the stairs to a vague path that branches off to the left, etc.
Point 6: if you go down a little before taking the Chemin sous la Ville, you will find a pretty little wash house at the entrance to a small park with a brand new bandstand and a round table where you can have a picnic. -
- Between 7 and 8: beautiful forest.
- Between 9 and 10: small road to Moutiers, uninteresting and rather long, but impossible to cut across as it is all private property.
- 13: beautiful Bonnelles ponds nature reserve.
It took me 3 hours and 50 minutes (taking quite a few photos).
.

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Date of your route : Jan 21, 2023
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. Not very steep, which is ideal for beginners.

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Date of your route : Sep 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Too many sections on uninteresting tarmac roads.

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Date of your route : Aug 18, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Far too much driving!!! Avoid in hot weather.

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Date of your route : Apr 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful ride, with little traffic on the section outside the start and Bonnelles and Rochefort-en-Yvelines. Varied landscapes. However, the few sections on the D988 are not pleasant. And some parts are particularly muddy.

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Date of your route : Jun 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant hike except for the sections on the road, which are a bit too long. Varied, lovely views, nature reserve at the end.

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Indeed, searching Google Maps for the address 'Place du Vieux Puits' leads to a housing estate, but on Rue du Vieux Puits. However, Place du Vieux Puits provides access to this large car park known as 'des écoles ou du marché' (school or market car park).
To locate it correctly, you need to refer to 'Chemin Rose'.
Thank you for pointing this out. I will amend the description accordingly.
Kind regards,
Dominique

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Date of your route : Apr 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Brief but effective description. Please note that the starting point is incorrect: the address given leads to a housing estate rather than the sports centre car park, so the starting description needs to be amended. A varied and enjoyable route.

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Date of your route : Mar 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant and varied hike (woods, village, streams, etc.), several types of woods, small valleys...
Very short sections on the D988 but noisy.
The sections on country roads were not a problem as there was little traffic during the hike in March.

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Date of your route : Mar 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

I prefer to follow a map without referring to a listed description.

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