From Étréchy to Dourdan through the fields and woods of Hurepoix

Starting point and access: Étréchy station.
- RER - Line C, on the section between Paris and Saint-Martin-d'Étampes.
Take the Place de la Gare exit, on the side of platform 2 (towards Paris from Saint-Martin-d'Étampes). If arriving from the opposite direction, platform 1, use the underpass.

Blue signposting

(S) With your back to the station, head straight ahead into Rue du Chemin de Fer, keeping the conservatory on your left (note the sculptures in the courtyard). Take the first left, into Grande Rue, then the first right, into Rue de l'Amandier.

No signposting

(1) Turn left, cross Place Charles de Gaulle (kiosk) past the town hall and then Étréchy Church. At the end of the square, first turn right then left onto Place de la Ramée (old water pump) and follow Rue Fontaine. At the end, turn left. After a few metres, turn right, passing a wash house on your left, then cross Rue Claude Debussy on the right-hand side.

(2) At the next junction, turn right onto Allée des Digitales, which soon becomes a narrow path between two fences. Ignore two perpendicular paths, first on the left then on the right, and cross a small lawn diagonally to the left. Ignore further perpendicular paths. At a fork in the road, go left, passing a playground on your right followed by a small block of flats. Walk past a clothes-drying rack on your right and continue for a few metres along a narrow path. At the foot of an electricity pole, take a path on the left. Continue along a gravel lane (Allée des Jonquilles).
N.B. If you wish to avoid this maze of paths through a residential area, simply continue along Rue du Moulin à Vent, which curves to the right and leads to the next point.

(3) Return to Rue du Moulin à Vent and follow it to the right (it then becomes Rue Salvador Allende). At the end, cross Rue du Roussay, go through a forest gate and follow a grassy path alongside a fence on your left. At the corner of the fence, continue straight ahead, slightly uphill, through woods, hedgerows and meadows. Ignore a wide path branching off to the left and you will come out onto a small road.

Yellow markings

(4) Follow the road to the left as it continues and keep climbing (take care, narrow verge). Enter Vaucelas, passing a large farmhouse on your right. At the crossroads, continue straight on towards the Ferme du Touchet (ignore a yellow arrow indicating a left turn; two^{PR®® routes} cross here). Note a wash house on the left and continue for a few metres along the road.

(5) At the corner of No. 8, leave the road and turn right onto a grassy path that runs between the fields. Pass under a medium-voltage power line then walk alongside a standard overhead power line. When this becomes underground, continue straight on. When a path joins from the left (elevation 153), turn right. Come out onto a road and follow it to the right.

(6) At the fork in the road, take the D207 to the left towards Villeconin. Head downhill (take care, narrow verge) and ignore the first path branching off to the left. About a hundred metres further on, when the road turns sharply to the right, leave it and continue along the path to the left. Continue downhill along the edge of the woods on your left.

Yellow + Red and White markings

(7) At the end of the track, follow a small road to the right along the^GR®®11. Then take the first left up a fairly steep slope, onto the Route de Villeneuve (dead end).

Yellow markings

(8) At the top (a beautiful gate on the left), continue straight ahead (let the^GR®® head off to the right). At the next junction (pond on the left), take the grassy path straight ahead (west) between the fields. Further on, ignore a path branching off to the left. Then turn left with the path.

(9) After about 200m (no arrow or marker here), turn right and head down towards the edge of a wood. Walk along the Bois du Buis on your right (marker post) then enter the wood. Head downhill, stay on the main path which winds its way, and ignore a few side paths. As you leave the woods, continue in the same direction and downhill.

(10) Continue along a tarmac lane, skirting a small pétanque court, and briefly follow the red and white markings. At the end of the lane, first turn left then right to follow Rue des Cadottes (do not follow the^GR®®). Turn left with the street and walk past a small sewage treatment plant on the right-hand side.

Yellow + red and white markings

(11) At the T-junction, turn right onto a road then immediately left onto a path. Follow the^GR®®111Cbetween the fields, passing a copse on your right then another on your left. After passing the Bois des Sablons on your right, cross a small road and continue along the path opposite. At the junction immediately ahead, continue straight on along the edge of the woods on your left.

Red and white markings

(12) At the edge of the woods, continue straight on with the^GR®® (ignore the yellow markings heading left). Climb a short steep slope and descend on the other side of the hillock. Walk south-west between fields bordered by woods. At the next junction, go straight on. The path curves to the right and leads onto a small road (beautiful oak tree).

(13) Follow the road to the left. Climb steadily until you reach the entrance to La Forêt-le-Roi (take care, as the verge is narrow as you approach the village). At the crossroads, turn right onto the D836 towards Dourdan. After a few metres, at a fork in the road, turn left. When you reach Place de l’Église, turn right and walk past the church on your right.

Red and white + yellow markings

(14) At the corner of the church, turn left onto Rue du Pont de l'Aridaine. After a few metres, turn right onto Ruelle du Four à Bau, a gravel path that winds its way through the gardens (the purple line on the 1:25,000 map is approximate here). At the end, go through a gate and follow the road to the right. At the next junction, turn left into Rue des Gascons. Ignore a small lane on the right, continue straight on along a path and pass under a high-voltage power line. Head down into a wood and you’ll come to a junction.

Red and yellow markings

(15) Continue straight on along a field path and follow the^GRP®® from Hurepoix towards Les Granges-le-Roi (let the^GR®® branch off to the left). Then turn left onto the Sente des Parfonds and enter a wood. Climb gently along this good path through the undergrowth. When you reach the edge of the field on your left, note the old marl quarries on your right (signpost). Continue climbing. As you leave the wood, veer right and stay on the edge of the wood on your right.

(16) At the T-junction, follow the Chemin de la Sablonnière to the right. After about 200m, at another T-junction, turn left. Head north-north-west, keeping the bell tower of the church at Les Granges-le-Roi in sight. When a path joins from the right (elevation 157), turn left (north-west). The path gives way to tarmac. Walk past a rugby stadium on your right and, at the next junction, take Rue Sauvage straight ahead. At the end, turn right. Then take the first left and walk past the base of Saint-Léonard Church.

(17) Continue straight on along Rue de l'Air towards Dourdan. At the T-junction, turn right and note an old lime and tile kiln on the left. At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue des Grands Fossés. At the end, at a Fork in the road (not shown on the map), turn right onto Chemin des Granges-le-Roi towards Dourdan. Enter the Bois de la Butte aux Moines and begin a steep descent.

(18) At the bottom, at a crossroads, zigzag your way through the woods to follow the Ancien Chemin d’Orléans to Dourdan. Turn left at the edge of a field and, at the corner of the field, continue straight ahead. Zigzag your way through the woods, winding your way along a path that alternates between short ascents and descents. At a junction (after the 123m mark), ignore an orange arrow for horse riders pointing left and continue straight on.

(19) At the T-junction, turn left. At the fork in the road about fifty metres further on, turn right and cross a stream (wet crossing). Continue along a good sandy path through the pine forest. At a junction at the edge of a field, turn right. Immediately ignore any side paths and head uphill. Pass two houses on your right and continue along a track. Cross a small road and continue along the path opposite, with a fence on your left. You’ll come out onto a road; follow it to the right.

(20) At the Stop sign, cross the D116 at the pedestrian crossing and continue straight ahead into Rue de l’Ouÿe. At the end, cross Rue Balzac and enter a pedestrian lane, passing a bar-tobacconist on your left. Go down a ramp and continue along Allée Troungoumbe. At the junction (wooden cross), continue straight ahead and cross Place Bad Wiessee. Go down a few steps, pass under a porch and cross the Orge on a footbridge.

No signposting

(21) Turn left immediately, passing a car park on the right, and take a hard-packed track, the Promenade R. Veneau, following the river on your left (note the old small wash houses on the opposite bank). Cross the Orge, come out onto a street, follow it to the right and cross the river again. Cross Rue du Moulin du Roy on the left-hand side and, at the next junction, take the second left, Rue de la Geôle. When this turns left, climb the steps opposite. At the top, turn right onto Rue des Fossés du Château, a cobbled lane running alongside the castle moat. At the end, turn left, pass by the foot of the church and arrive at the castle entrance (large hall on the right).

(22) Continue straight ahead, then turn left into Rue de Chartres and walk alongside the castle on your left. At the corner of the castle, continue straight ahead, pass the war memorial and ignore the side streets. At the junction, go straight on into Rue du Faubourg de Chartres. At the stop sign, take the second right towards the station and you’ll soon reach it (E).

To get back home:
- RER - Line C, towards Dourdan-la-Forêt (direct access) or Juvisy and Paris (use the underpass).
- TER - Line towards Tours (direct access) or Paris-Austerlitz (use the underpass).

Train timetables: see the Transilien website.

For motorists:
The two stations are located on different sections of Line C. Two options:
- With at least two vehicles: leave one vehicle in the car park at each of the two stations.
- With just one car: take the train one way, changing at Brétigny.

Hiking boots are required.

No water points identified along the route. Bars, restaurants and shops between the station (S) and the church (1) in Étréchy, as well as in Dourdan between (21) and (E). Market on Saturday mornings in Dourdan around the château (22) and the Halle.

A 1:25,000 map is required (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Walk completed by the author on 24 March 2018.

From Étréchy (S) to Venant (11):
- St Stephen’s Church (12th–13th centuries), in Étréchy (1).

From Venant to the D116 road (20):
- Saint-Nicolas and Saint-Blaise Church (12th–16th centuries), in La Forêt-le-Roi (14).
- Former marl quarries between (15) and (16).
- Saint-Léonard Church (12th–17th centuries), in Les Granges-le-Roi (17), whose massive, towering bell tower is visible from afar.
- Former lime and tile kiln, shortly after (17).

In Dourdan, from (20) to (E):
- R. Veneau Promenade along the River Orge (21).
- Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois Church (12th–13th centuries), in Dourdan, near the castle (22). Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10.00–18.00.
- Dourdan Castle (12th–13th centuries) (22). Open Wednesday to Sunday and on all public holidays, from 10.00 to 12.00 and from 14.00 to 18.00.