Loop around the wild marshes of Monfaucon

de fr

Located in the commune of Saint-Hilaire-La-Pallud, the start is at a place called Monfaucon in the small car park near the pier. The route begins with a small paved road to the place called La Roche. This start is not the most interesting, but you will quickly forget it as you discover the wild marshland, first along the Vieux Mignon and then the canals, which you follow on a small white gravel path.

Details

n°1971222
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.60 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 6 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 6 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 11 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 2 m
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Photos

Birch trees
Le Mignon
old Mignon and the Mignon Canal

Description of the walk

Start and finish at the small car park near the pier.

(S/E) Take the road towards the pier, continue straight ahead and take the4th street on the left.

(1) Turn left onto Rue du Chapitre, continue for about 100 metres and then turn right onto the road leading to La Roche, towards the Lidon campsite. Stay on the tarmac road until you reach La Roche, which you will cross.

(2) Turn right, stay on the road while veering to the right. Continue straight ahead to pass Vieux Mignon on your left a little further on.

(3) Follow the canal on the right. Stay on the road until you pass the Lidon campsite.

(4) Take thefirst path on the right after the campsite. Here you enter the wild part of this marsh. Stay on this path until you find a cross path.

(5) Turn right and stay on this path until you reach the village of Monfaucon. Walk alongside a bird park close to the route before arriving at the village. Continue along the road until you reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 5 m - Car park close to the pier
  2. 1 : km 0.2 - alt. 5 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 1.74 - alt. 5 m - Turn right towards the Lidon campsite
  4. 3 : km 2.98 - alt. 3 m - Mignon (rivière) - Canal du Mignon
  5. 4 : km 4.19 - alt. 4 m - Path on the right
  6. 5 : km 4.83 - alt. 2 m - Fork to the right
  7. S/E : km 8.59 - alt. 5 m - Car park close to the pier

Worth a visit

Boat landing stage in the village of Monfaucon.
Campsite at Le Lidon.
Bird park on the outskirts of Monfaucon.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 8 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
Ericochets
Ericochets

Thank you for your feedback, it's always appreciated! I'm also very familiar with this region as I live there. The Visorando website automatically calculates the duration of the route!

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larochenet
larochenet

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Trip taken on 1 January. It was very cold, and we didn't see anyone else, except for one coypu! As regular visitors to the marshes, it's always a pleasure to hike here, whether in summer or winter. We completed the loop in just under two hours.

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mitch85
mitch85

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very pleasant with half of the route on dirt track and half on tarmac; it's still a very nice route

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lafamillelacour
lafamillelacour

I'm from around here too, I live 20 minutes from St Hilaire, so it won't make me regret the trip, but I admit that if I'd been alone with my children, I would have been twice as scared. Luckily my husband was with us. There are crazy people everywhere. We even wondered if the guy in the little hut on the other side of the river was a squatter (he didn't want his photo taken, but between you and me, I had no intention of taking his photo). He seemed really shady. I almost felt sorry for him :/

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Ericochets
Ericochets

I created this tour and I'm from the area. We've done it dozens of times and have never been attacked! Sorry to hear about your experience, you were unlucky. Unfortunately, there are crazy people everywhere!
I hope you still have fond memories of our marsh. Best regards

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lafamillelacour
lafamillelacour

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It's a nice route. But be careful. At a place called Le Lidon, we were attacked by a crazy person for no reason. He tried to hit us, and I was this close to calling the police. I don't know if he's a permanent resident, but be wary in that area.

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camille Touzé
camille Touzé

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk through the wet marshes of the Poitevin marshlands. There are various landscapes to discover and the bird park is a delightful end to the outing.

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philouis
philouis

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 26, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike that offers views of the marshes.

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bibilesglycines
bibilesglycines

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant and easy walk
We saw a deer, Poitou donkeys, sheep and cows
We even picked some blackberries
The only downside was that half the route was on the road and half on the path. I would have preferred it to be entirely on the little paths

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Sneg
Sneg

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant and interesting route, but there is a lot of tarmac in the first part.

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Ericochets
Ericochets

Posting a disappointing review isn't a problem for me, but they should have at least continued the tour until the end because the best was yet to come!!!

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benlerouge
benlerouge

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

We only covered half of the walk – the western part of the loop – due to lack of time... (our fault!) and had to turn back.

It was relatively disappointing because it was mostly road, with no views... but it's true that off the road there are no paths or trails.

A disappointment!

Sorry to give a negative review, but I thought I'd share our disappointment in case it helps others.

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