From Chaville to La Celle-Saint-Cloud

A short walk from station to station through the Fausses-Reposes State Forest and the Bois des Fonds Maréchaux, passing by the Étangs de Ville-d'Avray.

This walk is part of a multi-day hike: Through the forests of western Paris

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.20 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: No
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 142 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 119 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 178 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 112 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Chaville (92370)
  • ⚑
    Start: N 48.812046° / E 2.187825°
  • ⚑
    End: N 48.84263° / E 2.138343°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2214ET, 2314OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Starting point and access: Chaville Rive Droite station.
- Transilien - Line L, on the section between Paris-Saint-Lazare and Versailles.
- Transilien, Line U, on the section between La Défense and Versailles-Chantiers.
Take the Rue Carnot exit, at the front of the train when travelling from Paris or La Défense to Versailles.

Red and white + yellow markings

(S) On leaving the station, turn right onto Rue Carnot, preferably using the left-hand pavement. At the stop sign, cross Rue du Coteau, pass through a forest gate and follow a forest path that climbs gently. At a crossroads, veer slightly left, leaving a bench on your right, and immediately afterwards, turn right between plots nos. 132 and 133. Ignore a path on the left and continue climbing.

No signposting

(1) At a crossroads, take the second path on the left, passing an information sign on the left. Go straight on along a slight uphill stretch and ignore a path on the left. Then begin a descent and ignore a turn-off on the right. At a crossroads, cross a bridle path, continue straight ahead and descend steeply. At the next two junctions, go straight ahead downhill. This will take you to the Ville-d’Avray ponds.

(2) Head straight along the embankment between the two ponds. At the end, turn left and follow the northern shore of the upstream pond on your left. Turn left with the path and cross the stream that feeds the pond. Ignore the path on the left along the southern shore of the pond and you will soon reach a T-junction. Head right (red and yellow signpost). At the next junction, turn right, go past a chicane and pass between some houses. You will come out onto a wide road; follow it to the left until you reach the traffic lights.

(3) Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing, then first turn right then left to walk alongside a small car park. Pass through a forest gate and climb gently up a tarmac path, ignoring a few side paths.

Yellow markings

At a junction (plot no. 68), turn left onto another tarmac lane and head back down.

Horseshoe markings

(4) At the bottom, at a crossroads, take the second right, pass through a forest gate and follow a compacted track that runs past a tree marked No. 70. Continue straight ahead, skirting a sparse forest on your right. At a junction, continue straight ahead and enter a darker forest.

No markings

At the junction marking the boundary between plots 78 and 77, continue straight ahead (ignore the horse riding signs leading off to the left). Stay on the main track and ignore a few side paths.

Red and yellow markings

(5) At the junction on the boundary of plot no. 79, turn right and head slightly uphill. At the top of the hill, cross a hard-surfaced track and you will immediately come to a large crossroads. Go round the crossroads on the right to cross the D182 in two stages at the pedestrian crossings. On the other side (old toll house), turn right and cross Avenue de Villeneuve l’Étang in two stages, then Boulevard de la Porte Verte. Pass an information sign on the left and, at the fork that appears shortly afterwards, keep left and head downhill.

No signposting (rare, weathered ‘horseshoe’ markers)

(6) At the junction on the boundary between plots nos. 30, 31 and 32, veer right and climb gently. At the junction that appears immediately, go straight on. The track soon gives way to a path. Cross a wider track and continue along the path opposite. Further on, the path widens to become a track again.

At the T-junction (parcels nos. 29 and 28), turn left and head downhill. Ignore a path coming from the left and, at the next junction (parcels nos. 29 and 27), turn right. At the next junction, go straight on and cross a stream. At the next junction, continue straight on and you will come out onto a road (D173). Cross this road with care (limited visibility on the right) and continue along the path opposite (plot no. 23).

Red and yellow markings

(7) At the next junction, turn right. At the fork shortly afterwards, veer right onto a path (ignore the wider track heading left). At the next junction, veer right and pass an outdoor fitness station. At the next junction, go straight on. Cross a stream and, at the junction immediately after, turn right and climb a fairly steep slope. At the next junction (plots nos. 19 and 21), continue straight ahead. At the end, take the second path on the right, at a 90° angle, the widest one (ignore a path at an acute angle). You will come out onto the D173; follow it to the left and pass under the A13 motorway bridge.

No signposting

Just before a 50 km/h speed limit sign, turn left, pass through a forest gate and follow a forest track due west. Further on, as you approach the A13, ignore a track on the right and, immediately after (plot no. 12), take the next track on the right. At the T-junction (plot no. 11; the path shown opposite on the map is overgrown), turn left. At the next junction, as you approach a road, go straight on. After about 150 m, at a fork, turn right (curved blue arrow on a tree). You will come out onto the D307.

(8) Cross the road in two stages at the pedestrian crossing. N.B. In October 2022, roadworks were in progress: adapt your route to the conditions on the ground. On the other side, first turn left then right to take Allée Jules Verne. Take the first right onto Allée Corot. At the next junction (with Place Léon Perrod opposite), turn left. Cross Avenue Molière and follow Avenue du Chesnay. At the next junction, turn right onto Allée La Fontaine. Then cross Avenue des Gressets and pass a small triangular square on the right.

(9) Follow Allée de la Forêt to the left. Cross Avenue Pasteur on the left-hand side and continue straight on towards the station. When the road bends to the left, carry on straight ahead and take the bridge over the railway line. Immediately ignore a path on the left and then a path on the right (not shown on OSM), and head uphill. At the junction, turn left. At the next junction, turn left again (ignore a red and white signpost indicating to go straight on). Follow the path downhill to reach a car park. First turn left then right to go down a flight of steps. You will then arrive opposite La Celle-Saint-Cloud station (E).

Waypoints

  1. S : km 0 - alt. 112 m - Gare de Chaville Rive Droite
  2. 1 : km 0.51 - alt. 153 m - Crossroads
  3. 2 : km 1.06 - alt. 121 m - Étangs de Ville-d'Avray
  4. 3 : km 1.81 - alt. 128 m - Crossing the D985
  5. 4 : km 2.5 - alt. 135 m - Crossroads
  6. 5 : km 3.47 - alt. 151 m - Crossroads
  7. 6 : km 4 - alt. 154 m - Crossroads
  8. 7 : km 5.05 - alt. 143 m - Crossroads
  9. 8 : km 6.69 - alt. 175 m - Crossing the D307
  10. 9 : km 7.33 - alt. 169 m - Allée de la Forêt
  11. E : km 8.2 - alt. 130 m - Gare de La Celle-Saint-Cloud

Notes

Train timetables: check the Transilien website.

Hiking boots recommended, particularly in winter when muddy patches may be present in the forest.

A detailed map is required (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 7 October 2022.

Worth a visit

- A pleasant walk through the Fausses Reposes Forest, between (S) and (5).
- Ville-d'Avray ponds (2).
- Off-the-beaten-track walk between (6) and (8).

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Netra
Netra ★
• Edited:

Hello Jean-Marie, thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for pointing out the left/right error between points (7) and (8)! It had slipped through the net... I’ve just corrected it.

Machine-translated

Jean-Marie Delmas
Jean-Marie Delmas
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This is a very easy route, almost entirely through woodland. A short break in a pleasant spot by the ponds at Ville-d'Avray.

There is a small error on page 2. In the paragraph ‘Red and yellow markings (7)’, in the penultimate line: At the end, take the second path on the RIGHT (not on the left), at a right angle, the widest one (ignore a path at an acute angle).

Machine-translated

afoe
afoe

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

A lovely walk, quite hilly but not difficult, through a beautiful forest that makes you feel as though you’re far away from the Parisian suburbs. Bring a packed lunch, as there are no places to eat at La Celle-Saint-Cloud station.

Machine-translated

Maya1433
Maya1433
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A really good route, mostly through the forest! Towards the end, it runs a bit closer to the main road, but that’s only a small part compared to the rest...

I think there’s a small error just after stage 7: “At the end, take the second
path on the left, at a right angle,
the widest one (ignore a path at an acute angle).'' I would have said that at the end it was the second path on the right; that’s what seemed to match the IGN map and the rest of the route... But perhaps I didn’t follow everything quite correctly...

Thanks anyway for this lovely walk!

Machine-translated

minette88
minette88

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

A very pleasant route for a half-day walk, with plenty of shade – which is rather welcome on a hot day

Machine-translated

cgoudeau
cgoudeau

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Well described, except for point 7: ‘pass an obstacle’ – you should add ‘go up a flight of stairs and continue’, then a little further on: ‘at the end, take the second path on the left at a right angle’ – in fact, it’s the second path on the right

Machine-translated

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