The Trévaly Marshes

The Trévaly Marshes occupy the westernmost part of the Guérande salt basin. This route takes you through them and up the hillside to the foot of the mill, where you can discover this exceptional landscape.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.38 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 19 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 19 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 23 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 2 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: La Turballe (44420)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.321587° / W 2.490871°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1023OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Description of the walk

Car park at the entrance to Penbron Point, on the border between the woods and the salt marshes.

(S/E) Leaving the car park, turn left towards the marshes and follow the road to Pont de Lancly. The etier (canal supplying the marshes) that passes underneath provides water to all the marshes on the left side of the road.

(1) Once you have crossed the bridge, immediately turn right onto the path that goes around Lancly Island. It is not strictly speaking an island, but the area is almost entirely surrounded by salt marshes, giving it an island-like appearance. Follow the path that runs along the boundary between the land and the marsh to rejoin the road you just left. 150 metres before you reach it, turn left; the path that continues along the marsh is a dead end.

(2) At the road, continue to the right until you reach "Chez P'tite Casquette". All that remains of the original beach hut is the sign bearing the image of the first owner, who made his fortune by grilling sardines over vine shoots.
At the crossroads, turn right and follow the RD92 for about 300 metres. Be careful, the road is narrow and very busy on sunny days. Before the first bend, take the path on the left towards the Moulin de Trévaly.

(3) When you reach the hamlet, turn left and walk past the mill. You will be treated to a sweeping view of the marsh and the Traict de Pen Bron. In summer, when the mulons (piles of salt) grow larger on the marsh, the landscape is dotted with as many white dots as there are mulons, which have made the Pays Blanc so wealthy.

After the mill, continue along the path that curves sharply to the left (ignore the paths on the right) and leads to the hamlet of Trévaly.

(4) At the farm, turn left and walk down the road towards the marsh and the RD92. On your right, hidden by the trees, you can sometimes see the charming Trévaly manor house.

(5) When you reach the district road, turn right. Follow it carefully for one kilometre.

(6) Turn left just before the first salt shed you come to as you leave the marsh. A path winds its way between salt ponds and the edge of the woods until it reaches the beach car park. Walk up this car park to return to the road.

(7) Cross the road connecting La Turballe to Pointe de Pen Bron and enter the woods, leaving the campsite entrance on your right. Turn left onto the path through the pine forest, some distance from the campsite fence, then when you reach the south-west corner of the campsite, turn right at the corner to go up the path that follows the fence and continue straight on to Penbron beach.

(8) When you reach the beach, go down and follow the foreshore for about 350 metres, passing at the foot of the white pyramid (landmark) overlooking the dune. Climb back up the dune at the first access point you find to return to the pine forest. Beyond the white pyramid, the beach is naturist. To avoid this area, simply follow the path along the top of the dune. Although it is more difficult to walk in loose sand, the views of the beach are reduced.

(9) Follow the fence that separates part of the Pen Bron woods, go around it on the left when it branches off to the right, and return to the car park at the start via a wide path through the pine forest (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 4 m - Lancly car park
  2. 1 : km 0.27 - alt. 3 m - Pont de Lancly
  3. 2 : km 2.51 - alt. 4 m - Junction of the road and GR34
  4. 3 : km 3.56 - alt. 19 m - Moulin de Trévaly
  5. 4 : km 4.52 - alt. 9 m - Farm - Crossroads
  6. 5 : km 5.25 - alt. 4 m - Pont Chapitre
  7. 6 : km 6.28 - alt. 3 m - Salt shed
  8. 7 : km 7.21 - alt. 5 m - Route de la Turballe in Pen Bron
  9. 8 : km 8.06 - alt. 7 m - Pen Bron beach
  10. 9 : km 9.01 - alt. 5 m - Corner of the fence
  11. S/E : km 9.38 - alt. 4 m - Lancly car park

Notes

To fully enjoy this route, avoid the summer season and spring weekends. The large crowds in summer are not compatible with the hard work of the salt workers, and the character of those who practise this trade sometimes reflects the nature of the work itself. Once again, please respect the marshes and those who work there.

The special status of the marsh embankments means that they are owned by the riparian owners. As a result, it is not possible to use them without their permission, which is exceptionally rare. You will therefore have to content yourself with approaching the marshes from the adjacent paths or the roads that cross them. This brings us back to the paragraph above.

This route can be combined with the Pointe and Bois de Penbron route. From (8), follow the directions for this second route and return to the car park after completing the circuit around the point (6 km).
It can also be shortened between (2) and (5) if you only want to visit the marshes. To do this, at (2), turn left to go around the small house on the edge of the Pen Bron road and take the path that continues along the edge of the ponds, just behind it.

The car park at the start of the walk and the woods surrounding it are not recommended meeting places after dark. Avoid this area once the sun has gone down.

Worth a visit

If you don't walk around the point, drive or cycle to the end (car park 1.5 km away). The view over Le Croisic and the entrance to Le Traict is quite exceptional.

In the middle of the point, away from the road, lies a small cemetery. A setting of cypress and fusain trees around a stone wall envelops this haven of peace and protects it from the fury of the ocean. The graves of children and nuns who died in the former sanatorium line the hollow of the dune. Before becoming a place of convalescence and functional rehabilitation, Pen Bron Hospital was a helio-marine centre for tuberculosis patients, and some never left. Silence and respect are required.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 14 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
3.5 / 5
Jacques couvert
Jacques couvert

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : May 11, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : Yes

It’s a walk that can be done by bike, but only when there aren’t too many cars about.
Unfortunately, we were on foot and there were lots of cars

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philrandovilaine
philrandovilaine

I’m really glad you’ve taken at least as much interest in exploring this route as I did in suggesting it to you.
As for the private nature of the path, this is an abuse on the part of the local salt workers, who do not want anyone venturing into the very fragile environment of the salt marshes. Whilst this concern is understandable—as a year’s work could be jeopardised by damage to the basins—you can nevertheless see from the land registry that the salt marsh embankments are not registered, and can therefore be considered part of the public domain. Whilst I have taken the liberty of retaining this route for the section to which you refer, the long stretch along the road is due to the fact that I was prevented from crossing the salt marshes as is normally possible, which was my original intention. However, there is a difference between skirting and crossing, which led me to opt for the proposed route.
Kind regards
PhilRV

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Eric2B
Eric2B

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 29, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I really enjoyed this walk, which takes you around the Guérande salt marshes and offers a lovely variety of views. As other walkers have already mentioned, I noticed a small sign at point 1 stating that the path is private. However, I think this is intended more for motor vehicles, and I went ahead whilst taking care to respect the area and keeping as quiet as possible until point 2. Furthermore, as has also been mentioned, you need to be careful between points 5 and 6, as the path is relatively narrow, though visibility is good (the route is very flat). In my opinion, you should avoid venturing there with children or in overly large groups. Otherwise, I extended this walk slightly by heading almost all the way to the tip of Pen Bron via the beach, then returning via the (protected) cycle path to the starting point. Thanks to the creators of this walk.

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nioche
nioche

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 27, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

There are lots of sections on the road, which can be a bit of a nuisance in the summer because of the traffic. The route along the beach is tiring because it goes through the dunes, so we took the coastal path that runs along the nudist beach, which might bother some people

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User 28203690

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 02, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice route. Like others, I think the section on the road is a bit dangerous and not very suitable for walking, but at the beginning of the year, there weren't too many cars.

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clisson helene
clisson helene

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful route, like all the others we did during our stay in Mesquer, Pénestin, Piriac-sur-Mer and Batz-sur-Mer.

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philrandovilaine
philrandovilaine

There is no indication as to whether this marshside path is private. However, during the summer months, when the area is busy, some residents may be reluctant to allow hikers to pass through. On the other hand, it is out of the question to use the paths that wind between the ponds.
Best regards
Phil RV

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godillot49
godillot49

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

At the start of the hike between 1 and 2, is the path public or private with tolerance? Many passages through the marshes are not open to the public, so it would be good to specify this in the description.
We preferred to take the road like the GR
Otherwise, no issues with the rest of the route.

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stjo
stjo

QED: do not take this trip during the peak tourist season.

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stefben
stefben

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The passage between points 5 and 6 is located along the edge of the road, which is very narrow and has heavy traffic at this time of year. You must concentrate on the cars rather than the landscape, as it is particularly dangerous in this context.

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stjo
stjo

The answer is undoubtedly provided by @ZENOP44: do this hike out of season.
In any case, summer is rarely the best season for this type of route.

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bételgeuse
bételgeuse

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike but a lot of tarmac, especially on the D 92, which is very dangerous for pedestrians.

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stjo
stjo

Ah, @philrandovilaine, thank you, that's great information. I just checked and saw that admission costs €2 per adult (and €1 per child). So it's not free, but it's almost like it is. And they promise a superb view of the salt marshes. I'll definitely go up there the next time I'm in the area.

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philrandovilaine
philrandovilaine

There is an even simpler option: just climb the St Guénolé tower in Batz-sur-mer. It's inexpensive, not very high (180 steps, nonetheless), and in good conditions you can see from Noirmoutiers to Belle-Île.
Phil RV

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stjo
stjo
• Edited:

@janot57 I assume that's meant to be humorous! Unless you bring your own ladder, it's difficult to see the marshes from above when you're in the middle of them! I tried it near Arcachon, and it's the same thing!
Joking aside, if you want to see the sublime landscape of the Guérande marshes from above, there must be a way to take a hot air balloon or even a helicopter ride.

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