Circular in the forest between Vieux-Moulin and Pierrefonds

This lovely forest walk takes you to the small village of Vieux Moulin and the beautiful spa town of Pierrefonds, known throughout France for its 19th-century medieval castle! Also worth seeing on the way back are the Priory of Mont Saint-Pierre, the Pavillon Eugénie and the Étang Saint-Pierre.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.99 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 145 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 153 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 129 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 46 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Vieux-Moulin (60350)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 49.390332° / E 2.931281°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2511OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

At Vieux-Moulin, park on the side of the road, near the bus stop opposite the lawn, or on the grassy verge of Rue des Étangs de Saint-Pierre.

(S/E) Start the hike by taking Rue des Étangs de Saint-Pierre, heading south-east.

(1) Take the first path on the right into the forest. Continue to Carrefour Saint-Pierre and then Carrefour du Vautrait. Continue straight ahead to reach the small road leading up to the priory. Follow the "Promenade des Moines" signs to the Prieuré du Mont Saint-Pierre.

(2) At the priory, follow the falun path to rejoin the "Promenade des Moines" and follow this direction to enter the forest. At the next signpost, continue to follow the "Promenade des Moines" and, at the next one, leave this path by turning right onto the steep slope. At the bottom of the slope, turn left to reach the Carrefour Notre-Dame-Adam.

(3) At the crossroads, turn right onto the path leading to the Carrefour des Prés de la Ville, then continue straight ahead towards the Carrefour des Prés de Batigny. There, continue straight ahead to join the cycle path and follow it to the left until you reach the crossroads with the departmental road.

(4) Cross the main road carefully, follow the uphill cycle path and then turn left, staying on the path. Pass a small, half-closed path that branches off to the right (marked by an ONF 96 post) and take the next path that climbs to the right and joins theGR® 12 (red and white markings).

(5) Take it to the left, up to the first houses in Pierrefonds, then continue on theGR® 12 to the bottom of the large staircase overlooking the Pierrefonds pond.

(6) At the bottom of the steps, turn left and follow Rue du Beaudon and Rue Jean Lenoir. Cross the D973 at the pedestrian crossing and continue along Rue du Mont Berny and Rue de l'Impératrice Eugénie until you reach the edge of the village.

(8) After the last house, turn right onto the dirt track that leads into the forest, then take the first track on the left, then the first left again to join a large forest road, which you take to the right until you reach the Carrefour de la Gorge du Han.

(9) At the crossroads, turn left to make a round trip to the Étangs de Saint-Pierre and the Pavillon Eugénie, passing in front of the large picnic area.

(10) Return to the Carrefour de la Gorge du Han.

(9) Turn left towards the Carrefour des Étangs junction, then continue left towards the Carrefour de l'Étang de l'Étot junction, then go straight on until you reach the D547 road.

(11) As soon as you reach the road, to avoid walking along the edge of it, take the first dirt track on the right, then the first on the left, then the first on the left. Back on the road, immediately take the path on the right marked by a wooden forest barrier, then turn into the first path on the left to reach the Chêne de l'Auberge.

(12) Head straight ahead to enter the village, walk towards the church, then continue straight ahead to reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 55 m - Lawn esplanade, Rue Étangs Saint-Pierre
  2. 1 : km 0.52 - alt. 50 m - 1st path on the right
  3. 2 : km 2.14 - alt. 114 m - Priory of Mont Saint-Pierre
  4. 3 : km 3.92 - alt. 65 m - Carrefour Notre-Dame-Adam
  5. 4 : km 6.1 - alt. 70 m - Cycle path junction-D973
  6. 5 : km 6.67 - alt. 103 m - GR°°®°° 12
  7. 6 : km 7.72 - alt. 85 m - Grand staircase Rue du Beaudon
  8. 7 : km 8.25 - alt. 79 m - D973
  9. 8 : km 10.09 - alt. 65 m - Pierrefonds exit
  10. 9 : km 11.84 - alt. 64 m - Carrefour de la Gorge du Han
  11. 10 : km 12.07 - alt. 57 m - Saint-Pierre ponds
  12. 11 : km 14.66 - alt. 50 m - Forest exit D547
  13. 12 : km 16.29 - alt. 47 m - Oak tree at the Auberge
  14. S/E : km 16.99 - alt. 55 m - Lawn esplanade, Rue Étangs Saint-Pierre

Notes

Walking shoes are necessary for this hike, which passes through wet areas depending on the weather, particularly between Mont Saint-Pierre and the cycle path. Some paths are sometimes used by forestry machinery, which digs ruts (as is the case anywhere in the forest!).
There are shelters at the Carrefour de la Gorge du Han picnic area.

Worth a visit

You can split the hike in two by stopping to visit Pierrefonds and have lunch in one of its many restaurants. It is possible to start from Pierrefonds and have lunch at Vieux-Moulin.

The village of Pierrefonds is a must-see. There are many bars, cafés, ice cream vendors, restaurants and pedal boat rentals to enhance your visit. The tourist office is located in Pierrefonds' central square. The interior of the castle is open to visitors, but, built in the 19th century, it has never been inhabited and is only of architectural interest.
The forest village of Vieux Moulin is also worth a look. There are three restaurants to choose from. The small church is also worth seeing.
The Priory of Mont Saint-Pierre and the Pavillon Eugénie are not open to visitors but make for a pleasant addition to the walk.
At Étang Saint-Pierre, you will find a tree climbing activity for those who haven't had enough with the 16 km hike.

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

4.4 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
User 12704712

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely forest trail after a night of heavy rain. Some sections were not well maintained and the vegetation was very wet, so our feet ended up soaked. Gore-Tex shoes are recommended. We had no difficulty getting through the muddy section. Between points 2 (former priory) and 3 (Notre-Dame Adam crossroads), there is a detour on the discovery trail that is no longer passable (dense vegetation). Continue straight ahead on the path. Vieux Moulin is a pretty village with magnificent houses, the Saint Pierre ponds are worth a detour and Pierrefonds is magnificent. I recommend starting the circuit in Pierrefonds so you can reward yourself with a good restaurant at the end! There is plenty of choice in Pierrefonds.

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Chris1964
Chris1964

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello
A very pleasant route combining culture and nature.
The muddy section can be avoided by keeping further to the right to reach a road in no time.
Magnificent forest.

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bernard951
bernard951
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A beautiful walk with a few hills, and the ever-present beauty of Pierrefond Castle. On that day, the marshy part of the path was passable by going a little way into the woods.

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bricolette25
bricolette25

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We shortened the distance (12.5 km) of this hike by starting from point 10 at the St Pierre pond car park. Cross the pond and continue straight on to point 3 Carref.ND Adam. Continue as normal through points 4, 5, 6, etc., and return to point 10. There is a significant issue between Carrf Prés de la Ville and Carrf Batigny as the path is flooded. The marshy area forces us to retrace our steps to Carrf Prés Ville and take the GR12 + cycle path to bypass the area.
Pierrefonds is a must-see!
I often consulted the Visorando GPS, so I can't really comment on the reliability of the description.

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Cindoche
Cindoche

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route combining heritage and forest, very quiet and ideal for recharging your batteries.
However, we did it in good weather at the end of June, so there was a lot of tall grass (resulting in three ticks).
We started from Pierrefonds so that on the way back we could visit the castle and have something to eat.

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madydou
madydou ★

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback.
Having completed this course yourself, you are in a position to describe and define the tricky part.
I suggest you report it here:
https://sentinelles.sportsdenature.fr
Thank you for your contribution.

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Philippeagnès
Philippeagnès

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

On the monks' walkway, on the grand staircase leading up to the Priory of Mont Saint Pierre, trees had fallen, blocking the path. It was impossible to pass either to the left or right of this obstacle. We had to climb over this pile of branches with great difficulty. There were two of us, and we were scouting the route in preparation for a walk that will take place on 19/09/24 with a group of about twenty walkers.
At the tourist office, we were told to notify you so that you could contact the appropriate services.
Apart from that, it was a very interesting route.

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ovil
ovil
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We set off from Saint Pierre pond, where there is a large shaded car park.
A pleasant route, mostly shaded, with a slight difficulty in reaching the GR 12 after the cycle path, where foresters have created several uphill tracks with their machinery. Trust your sense of direction.
A welcome refreshment break in Pierrefond.

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MARTDomi
MARTDomi

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 16, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike, very varied and with points of interest.

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Bonnay
Bonnay

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The Visorando software is indispensable to me. I use it often, again on this route between 2 and 3 as well as 4, 5 and 6. Otherwise, it's a very beautiful hike, with plenty of shade for three-quarters of the way. Definitely worth doing. Thank you again (it's a shame that the castle is undergoing renovations, otherwise there would be a beautiful view at the top of the stairs).

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