Route of the three ponds in the Montmorency Forest

The departure point is Saint-Leu-la-Forêt station (on line H, Gare du Nord-Persan Beaumont via Valmondois). If travelling by car, park in the station car park.

(S/E) Take Avenue de la Gare towards the church. At the first crossroads, go straight ahead. Then turn right into Passage du Professeur Gazier. At the end, turn left onto Rue de la Forge. Cross the square of the same name and leave the fountain with a reaper on your left. Cross Rue du Général Leclerc and follow Rue du Château opposite. At nos. 70-72, you will see the former storage warehouses of the water production plant with their remarkable façade.

(1) A little further up, turn right onto Chemin d'Apollon (at no. 19, a building in the style of the warehouses housed the spring catchment). Go straight ahead and, at the start of a descent, turn left and go up Rue de la Reine Hortense.

(2) At the end, turn right and enter the forest. After about 100 metres, take the first path on the left (not shown on the IGN map). Climb up through the woods and continue climbing at each junction. Cross Route de la Croix Saint-Jacques and continue along the path opposite.

(3) After about 150 metres, when the path begins to descend, take a path on the hillside to the right. At a junction with a steeply descending path on the right, turn left and descend.

(4) At the crossroads (opposite the entrance gate to the ONF estate), follow the tarmac road on the right (Route des Parquets) and walk alongside a car park. At the end of the car park, turn left onto the Route forestière du Plumet and immediately right onto a path leading tothe ÉtangMarie. Cross a stream via a footbridge and turn left.

(5) Return to Route du Plumet and follow it to the right. When it turns right, continue straight ahead on a fairly steep uphill path.

(6) When the slope levels out, take a path on the right. Pass by the foot of the Tour du Plumet (remains of a hunting lodge) and rejoin the forest road of the same name.

(7) Follow the road to the left, downhill. Cross Route du Milieu and continue downhill on Route du Plumet.

(8) Turn right onto Route tournante du Bois du Roi and walk along a meadow on your left. Descend slightly, pass in front of the entrance to Château de la Chasse and you will soon reach a crossroads.

(9) Turn left and pass between the château on your left and a large pond on your right. After about 50 metres, take a flight of steps on the left and go around the château on the right. You will come out onto Route forestière des Fonds; follow it to the left. At a crossroads, go straight ahead and pass in front of Fontaine Sainte-Radegonde.

(10) When the forest road turns right, continue straight ahead on a path. Follow the Sainte-Radegonde stream (wet sections). After a short climb, the Route Forestière des Fonds dries out and becomes more open. Follow it and go straight ahead at each junction.

(11) At the Carrefour de la Cailleuse, go straight ahead. Ignore a path on the right and continue straight ahead (west). Cross the D192p and continue on the path opposite. Keep going straight ahead, west-northwest, noting the peat bogs, until you reach a star-shaped crossroads (Carrefour des Six Routes).

(12) Take the second left, the Route des Princes. Continue straight ahead (south-west) and climb. Then turn right and then left, still climbing. You will arrive at a forest road suitable for vehicles at the Carrefour de la Porte Paradis.

(13) Continue straight ahead on Route des Princes. Continue on Boulevard de l'Ouest until you reach another crossroads.

(14) Take the first left, which passes through a wetland area. At the next crossroads, turn right and continue tothe ÉtangGodard.

(15) Go around the pond and continue straight ahead. At the first crossroads, go straight ahead.

(16) At the second crossroads (wooden post in the middle of a stone base), turn left and go down Boulevard du Midi. After about 400 m, almost at the bottom of the descent and before a bridge (Pont du Diable), go down a path on the left.

(17) Shortly afterwards, turn right and pass under Pont du Diable. Continue straight ahead and downhill.

(18) You will come out onto Chemin des Claies (tarmac) and follow it to the left. Stay on this road, ignoring the streets on the right, and note some beautiful views of Paris and La Défense.

(19) Cross the D192p and continue on Chemin des Claies. At the junction with Chemin Léon Cordier, turn right and cross a public park. On the other side, turn right into Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau. 

(20) Just after No. 7, turn left onto Sente de l'Eauriette, which descends towards the town centre. At a T-junction, turn right and then left onto the path.

(21) Cross Rue de la Marée and continue along Rue de l'Eauriette opposite. When you reach Rue Pasteur, first turn left then right onto Rue ÉmileBonnet. Cross Rue des Écolesand continue straight ahead. At the end, turn left onto Rue du Général Leclerc.

(22) After about 40 metres, pass under the porch of No. 39 on the right and follow Passage Gallieni. Cross Rue du Maréchal Gallieni and continue straight ahead into the alley of the same name. At the crossroads, take the left fork and immediately turn right. You will come out onto Rue du Général de Gaulle; follow it to the left. Just before a bakery, turn right onto Passage de la Gare. Note a Buddhist temple on the right and find the Saint-Leu-la-Forêt station on the left (S/E).