Route de la Croix Camonin

Park in the car park opposite the Fresnes-au-Mont town hall.

The route is signposted with pink directional signs

(S/E) Walk past the church, then turn slightly right, following the fluorescent green signpost. After passing the cemetery, you will see ‘Ruches Hélianthe’ (Maurice Chaudière, 2018) on your left. Continue until you reach a white path, where you can admire the landscape through “Une fenêtre en forêt” (Hiroshi Teshima, 1998). Walk for 500 m; you can take a break at the picnic table located a little further on your right.

(1) Enter the forest and take the path turning left, marked with pink signposts. After 250 m, you will reach the artwork “Le Sapin” (Kazys Venclovas, 1998). Continue, then leave the main path to take the small track on the right which leads you, some fifty metres further on, to a hollow on your left where you will find “Prendre le pas des rêves” (Myriam Mechita, 2019).

Then retrace your steps back to the main path and continue for 200 m. Turn left onto the path leading downhill. When you reach a junction, take the path on the right and continue for 600 m.

(2) At the junction where the forest meets a field, turn right and continue for 500 m. When you reach a fork, go up to the right to see “Sidewalk chalk” (Mick Peter, 2011). Then retrace your steps back to the crossroads. Here, “Morceau choisis” (Didier Béquillard, 2004) will stand before you. Turn right, continue until you leave the forest, then carry on straight ahead.

(3) You will see “Le mât de cocagne et ses engins” (Jean-François Chevalier, 2006) on your left. Take the white path on the right across the field. At the edge of the forest is “Made by god” (Tanya Preminger, 1999). Enter the forest, walk for about fifty metres and take the marked path on the left.

(4) After 700 m, you will see the Croix Camonin memorial on your left. Continue along the path, passing under one of the suspended “Acrobates” (Tjerrie Verhellen, 1997). Continue for 300 m. At the junction, you will see the ‘Hibou’ (Laurent Le Deunff, 2009) on your left. Then turn right and then left about a hundred metres further on. Continue until you come to the ‘Padauk Tree’ (Aung Ko, 2015) on your left.

(5) Once you reach the white path, turn right and walk for about a hundred metres. In front of you is a large picnic table where you can take a break; behind it is ‘De mille feux’ (Jean Wary, 2006). Take the path on the left and follow it for 200 m. You will then come to “Two thumbs up monument” (Guillaume Pilet, 2009); turn right and continue for 150 m. On your right, you will see “3x4-12” (Miguel-Angel Molina, 2004). Continue straight ahead on the main path.

(6) After a few metres, take the path leading to the engraved wooden planks known as “28” (Simon Bernheim, 2008); next to it, you will also find “Diorama” (S. Pelletier/O. Ducret, 2014). Continue for 200 m and, about 30 metres to your right, you will see “Solstice et systole” (Alain Domagala, 2009). Then walk 500 m along the main path.

(7) At the edge of the field in front of you is ‘Saphira’ (Claudia Comte, 2010); continue on your way by turning right. Walk for about 600 m, then take the access path to ‘Monts et merveilles’ (Sunoj D, 2017). Return to the main path; a little further on, opposite you, you will see “Nostalgie” (Péixe Collardot, 2019). Turn left and continue straight on until you leave the forest. Then, walk along the field on your left for 200 m.

(8) Take the dirt track that climbs into the forest. Continue to follow the pink markings, and pass beneath “The basilica of the forest” (J. Lonne Christiansen, 2002). Climb for 300 m.

(9) At the junction, turn right then left to reach “Chant Silencieux” (Lionel Sabatté, 2013). Continue to the right along the marked path.

(10) Continue straight ahead to discover “Réenchantement” (Jean-Luc Verna, 2010) in front of you. Then, turn left and follow the path down until you see “Evasion” (Charlie Skubich, 2004) on your left at the edge of the forest.

(11) At the turning point, take the white path to the left. About 500 m further on, you’ll see “Responsabilité” (Terje Ojaver, 1998) on your left. Walk a few metres, then turn right and follow the fence. Cross over the stream; “Pas de bol” (Ehren Tool, 2015) is located in the small stone building. Retrace your steps back to the main path, where you turn right.

(12) You will pass a hunting lodge. Follow the path until you reach a tarmac road.

(13) Look up to your left to see “Terrain d'occurrences” (Jennifer Caubet, 2012). Then continue along the road; once you leave the forest, walk along the pastures to the village of Fresnes-au-Mont. Head downhill, then climb the hill towards the church until you reach the car park opposite the town hall (S/E).

In the heart of the Meuse department, in the heart of the countryside, lies a forest dotted with works of art made of wood, stone or iron. The Vent des Forêts association is behind this open-air exhibition space. Since 1977, it has invited around ten international artists each year to offer a creative perspective on nature. Immersed in the rural and natural setting of the heart of the Meuse, the artists create works in harmony with the forest. The creation of these works fosters encounters and shapes the history of this unique place.

Spanning 5,000 hectares of woodland, seven signposted routes ranging from 1 to 4 hours’ walk are freely accessible all year round.

Pick up a trail map and set off to discover around a hundred artworks. A map is also available free of charge outside the town hall in Fresnes-au-Mont.

From October to March, the hunting season is open, so please check the hunting calendar available at http://ventdesforets.com

We also recommend that you take with you the 1:25,000 scale IGN paper maps for this walk. Click here to order them: 3114SB.