The Roe Deer Route in the Huelgoat Forest

A walk through the Huelgoat State Forest, following in the footsteps of roe deer, which you may frequently spot if you remain quiet and keep a look-out. A roe deer’s footprint can be recognised by its inverted heart shape.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.67 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 699 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 686 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 850 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 331 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the Arquellen car park.

(S/E) Head north and follow a forest track overlooking a river on your left. After several bends, turn right before the Mare aux Sangliers. You’ll come out onto a road at the entrance to Restidiou Braz.

(1) Follow the road to the left and walk through the village. Turn right at the junction at the hamlet of Restidiou Bihan and, at the next junction, turn left. Walk alongside a field on your right and join a track on your right just after that.

(2) Leave the road and turn right onto this wide forest lane. Follow this main, signposted lane for about 1 km.

(3) Leave the lane and head left down a sunken track. At the T-junction, turn right and at the next junction (elevation 241), turn right again. Join a small road at the entrance to the hamlet of Brignou and follow it to the right.

(4) At the Fork in the road shortly afterwards, veer to the right and continue along a track. At the junction (elevation 238), turn right. Carry on straight ahead (north-east), ignoring a track on the left and then another on the right. Head downhill, cross a stream and head back uphill to reach the D769.

(5) First turn left then right to follow a small road. Immediately afterwards, before a detached house, turn right onto a track and pass under a high-voltage power line. Ignore a track on the right (marker 221) and join a road.

(6) Follow the road to the right and pass the hamlet of Le Squiriou. After a long straight stretch (an ancient Roman road), enter the Domaniale forest again, pass a forest ranger’s house on the left ( (Off the route, 150 m to the left: Fontaine Sainte-Barbe sur Berrien) and continue straight on into the Bois du Hélas.

(7) At the next junction, carry on straight ahead to join the GR® de Pays des Monts d’Arrée.

(8) At the Fork in the road, keep left (let the GR® de Pays head off to the right). Stay heading south-east on the main path and ignore all side tracks. You’ll come out onto the D114 at a place called Ty-ar-Gall and follow it to the right for about fifty metres.

(9) Take the first road on the right towards a pig farm. After about 200 m, leave the access road to the farm and turn onto a track on the right. At the various junctions, carry straight on along the signposted track.

(10) Cross the D769 and follow the GR® de Pays straight ahead. Cross a stream and head uphill.

(11) You’ll come out onto a road; follow it to the right. Shortly afterwards, carry on straight ahead (let the GR® de Pays head off to the left), then immediately ignore a path on the right and continue straight ahead at the various junctions. You’ll come out onto a small road; follow it to the left, passing the Arquellen forest house on your right. You’ll soon reach the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 459 ft - Arquellen car park. Near the - Rivère d'Argent (rivère) - Affluent de l'Aulne
  2. 1 : mi 0.55 - alt. 673 ft - Restidiou Braz
  3. 2 : mi 1.16 - alt. 728 ft - T-junction
  4. 3 : mi 1.81 - alt. 682 ft - T-junction – Sunken lane
  5. 4 : mi 2.5 - alt. 784 ft - Fork in the road - Tumulus de Brignou
  6. 5 : mi 3.39 - alt. 705 ft - Road D769
  7. 6 : mi 3.81 - alt. 692 ft - Junction
  8. 7 : mi 5.32 - alt. 577 ft - GR® 37 – GR® de Pays des Monts d’Arrée
  9. 8 : mi 5.46 - alt. 594 ft - Fork in the road – Meinguen Wood
  10. 9 : mi 6 - alt. 515 ft - Ty ar Gall
  11. 10 : mi 6.62 - alt. 364 ft - Crossing the D769
  12. 11 : mi 6.99 - alt. 466 ft - Small road
  13. S/E : mi 7.67 - alt. 459 ft - Arquellen car park

Notes

County roads: take care when crossing and walking along them!

Huelgoat has been awarded the ‘Communes du Patrimoine Rural de Bretagne’ label.

Worth a visit

Hamlets bearing witness to the past
Several houses – dating from the mid-17th century to the second half of the 19th century – bear witness to the age of some of the hamlets you’ll pass through. Restidiou-Braz (Berrien) is a good
example. The hamlet of Squiriou, situated along the old Morlaix–Carhaix Roman road, once had a
(17th century) and a former vicarage dating from 1641, which has been restored as a dwelling.

La Mare aux Sangliers and the menhir

The Sainte-Barbe Fountain

The Saint-Ambroise Chapel

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

3.9 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
3.4 / 5
papouneche
papouneche

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

this route follows yellow signs described in the car park
. Juggling between the map and the signs, I managed to get lost because the yellow signs are often old!

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User 553121

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Nice walk, but a lot of road.

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Sylem
Sylem

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route through the Huelgoat forest, surrounded by greenery and close to the water. No particular difficulties. It’s surprising we didn’t see any korrigans....

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William-
William-
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

The first few kilometres of the walk looked promising. Unfortunately, it soon turned out to be rather boring. Far too much road for my liking. The signposting isn’t always visible, which makes it tricky to find your way. A shame.

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Aldodekerpuns
Aldodekerpuns
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk: the description was a bit poorly formatted, but it was a pleasant walk, especially in the lovely sunshine; however, there were no deer to be seen. We had a nice little picnic near the viewpoint (6), with a beautiful panoramic view along the route.
Note: for walkers wishing to visit this beautiful region, there’s a campsite near Huegoat called ‘La Rivière d’Argent’ where you can recharge your batteries.

Sergio22

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