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Access: Ballancourtstation on RER line D
(S) From the station, turn left and cross the level crossing. You will reach Rue Eugène Pereire immediately afterwards.
GRP® markings
(1) Take Rue Eugène Pereire on the left, continue straight ahead at the next crossroads, then join a path on the right 50 m further on.
(2) Follow this path to the banks of the Essonne and continue along them to the left. Pass between the river and the houses, then take a street on the left at the last houses, moving away from the river. Return to Rue Eugène Pereire by walking between the houses, turning right and left in succession.
(3) Continue along Rue Pereire to the right until you reach the junction with Route d'Itteville at Petit Saussay.
PR® signposting
(4) Turn left, cross a level crossing, then immediately after, take the path that branches off to the right into the fields when the road turns left. Continue along this path until you reach a small road at the edge of a wood.
(5) Take this small road on the left, which runs along the wall surrounding the grounds of Château du Saussay. Follow the bend to the right until you see the castle.
(6) Turn left onto this path. At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead on a smaller path to climb Mont, a small sandstone hill overlooking Ballancourt. Follow the path to the left, then turn sharply right to head towards the summit.
(7) Descend the hill in the same direction until you reach a crossroads.
(8) Turn right to join Rue du Général de Gaulle just after. First turn right then left to find a small path that winds between properties, then into a less cramped natural space. Follow it to a perpendicular path, not far from the D191 ring road, visible on the right.
(9) Take the path on the right that passes under the road via a bridge-tunnel and immediately turn left onto the path that runs alongside the road. After 500 m, turn right and continue for about 200 m.
(10) At the three-way junction, turn left onto the path towards the Roches du Père La Musique (follow the clearly visible signs). At the edge of the woods, turn left again, then enter the woods on the right immediately afterwards. Climb a little way up into the woods to the engraved rocks, whose history is recounted on information panels.
(11) Continue climbing the hillside along the same path and continue along the edge of the plateau for about 600 metres until you reach a crossroads. Turn right to the edge of the woods and rejoin the GR®11.
Red and white markings (GR®11)
(12) Continue in the same direction, walking along the edge of the woods on your right. Follow the bend to the right and then to the left of the edge of the woods on the GR® trail, until you reach a T-junction.
(13) Turn right into the woods and continue straight ahead for 700 metres until you reach Butte Pelée.
(14) Turn sharply left onto a wider path, then shortly afterwards take a path on the right, which descends steeply after 300 m. At the bottom, you will come to a four-way crossroads.
(15) Head left into the valley for 500 metres.
(16) As the path begins to climb again, turn sharply right onto a small path that winds its way between the sandstone blocks, climbing steeply. Follow the markings between the sandstone blocks to the top of the climb at a viewpoint. Be careful, this section of the path is very difficult. There is even a place where you have to go through a small, narrow tunnel under a rock, with no immediate way around it. This may take you by surprise and make it impossible for some people to pass. In this case, there is no other solution than to turn back and return to point (16) to continue on the main path, which you will reach anyway after this short detour through the sandstone. It is of course possible to continue directly on the path after (16). In any case, follow the path to the entrance to Mondeville, passing by the fence of a campsite, then head straight ahead to the centre of the village. Continue to the Place de l'Église.
(17) Turn right at an acute angle, then left at the three-way junction and continue to the end of the street, which continues as a path. Follow this path, which descends gently this time and leads to a road.
(18) Take this road to the left. The road is fairly busy, but you can take the side road on the right, which serves a few houses. Then take the path on the right about 100 metres after the end of the side road to climb up the opposite slope (following a large curve to the right, then a left turn). You will come to a T-junction at the edge of the woods.
(19) Keep right along the edge of the woods and follow it for almost 3 km, towards La Ferté-Alais. With a bit of luck, if the weather is favourable, you may be able to see the small planes from the Salis museum collection flying in the sky from the Cerny/La Ferté-Alais aerodrome.
(20) Follow the GR® trail, which turns left then right, and walk along the right-hand side of a marshy natural area. Continue straight ahead at the next crossroads to enter the woods (although you can turn left if you prefer a more comfortable path than the narrow trail taken by the GR® just after).
(21) After 50 metres in the woods, turn left onto a small balcony path that winds between the trees, parallel to and slightly below the path mentioned in the previous point. Follow it, first on level ground, then downhill. At the bottom, you will reach the back of the first houses in La Ferté-Alais, then join the road a little further on to the left.
(22) Take the road on the left, then make a sharp right turn onto Rue Georges Hautot. Continue until you reach the bridge over the railway line.
(23) Turn right before the bridge to reach the station 200 m away (E). Take the footbridge to reach the platforms or the main building.
Return: La Ferté-Alaisstation on the same RER D line, same branch.
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