Country:
District:
Starting point and access: Les Essarts-le-Roi station.
- Transilien - Line N, on the section between Paris-Montparnasse and Rambouillet.
Take the Rue de la Cité exit on the side of track 1, in the direction of Paris to Rambouillet (if arriving in the opposite direction, take the underground passage).
No signposts
(S) When you leave the station, continue straight ahead, slightly to the left, along Avenue de la Gare towards the town centre. Walk past the post office on your right, cross Place du 8 Mai 1945 and walk along the market. At the corner of the fire station, turn right onto Rue du 11 Novembre.
At the fork, turn left, still on Rue du 11 Novembre, and leave the war memorial on your right. Walk past the town hall and continue along Rue de la Bourbonnerie. At the crossroads, turn left, still on Rue de la Bourbonnerie. At the next crossroads, cross the D202 and continue opposite on Rue des Gandines. Walk along the cemetery on your right and ignore two small streets on your left.
(1) At the fork, turn left onto Chemin de Vaujoyeuse (dead end). Walk along the wall of a property on your right. The tarmac gives way to a path which, after a shaded stretch, branches off between two fields. Enter the woods again. Pass under a power line (farmhouse on the left) and continue along a fence on the left. At a fork, turn left and walk along a meadow on your left.
(2) At the corner of the meadow (boundary marker), turn left onto a narrow path that runs alongside the meadow. Further on, the path leaves the meadow and winds its way through dense vegetation. Cross the wet passages using the wooden planks laid here and there and reach the source of the Yvette (statue).
(3) Retrace your steps back to the boundary marker.
(2) Continue straight ahead (south-southeast) on a path between the meadows. Cross a stream and climb up to the edge of the woods. At the T-junction, turn left. At the houses, the path gives way to tarmac.
Blue and white markings (rare)
(4) At the crossroads, turn left onto Chemin de l'Yvette. At the end of the tarmac road, continue along a path. Descend into the Bois des Layes.
(5) At the bottom, turn right. Cross the Yvette and continue along Rue des Layes. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead along Route de Maison Blanche. After a few dozen metres, turn right onto Rue du Prieuré (no entry).
(6) At the next intersection (blue road sign arrow; chapel of the former priory a few metres opposite), turn left and take a path closed to motor vehicles. Climb up alongside a fence on the left. The path is steep and interspersed with wooden steps.
(7) At the top, at a T-junction, turn right. Head east and follow a wide, flat path bordered on the left by the fence of the Château de la Boissière Beauchamp park. At a crossroads (signpost, fire hydrant), continue straight ahead. After the "Château de Marchais" signpost, the path gives way to a stony track which leads to a small road.
(8) Follow the road to the right for about 200 metres. Just after a 20 km/h speed limit sign, leave the road and take a path on the left that descends between the fields. At the bottom, follow a small road to the right.
Blue and white + red and white markings
At the entrance to the hamlet of La Recette, turn left. Cross the Ru de Pommeret. At the stop sign immediately ahead, first turn right then left to cross the D58 (
busy road) and take the Chemin de l'ancien Presbytère. Climb steeply. At the end of the street, climb a staircase and go through a gate to enter the cemetery next to the Saint-Nom church. Cross the cemetery, keeping the church on your right, and exit on the other side.
(9) Then turn left, walk along a shaded car park, go through a metal gate and climb into the forest. Ignore thefirst turn on the right (blue and white cross) and turn left onto the path. At the next intersection, turn right at an acute angle. Head south, ignore a turn-off on the left and descend along the path, which becomes paved (near old sandstone quarries).
Blue and white + red and white markings + black arrows (dedicated posts)
(10) At an intersection, turn right (be careful to spot this turn). The path winds between the hills and descends in steep switchbacks interspersed with stone or wooden steps. At a fork (information sign), take the left path and descend more gently. At the bottom, take a sharp left onto a wide path. Pass a large information sign.
Black signposts (dedicated posts)
(11) Shortly after the sign, turn right onto a wooden pontoon over the marsh. Go around the reed bed on the right and cross the Yvette on a footbridge. At the Pinguenet pond (sign), you can access an observation platform above the water on the left.
Immediately afterwards, turn right at the intersection of the path. Further on, the pontoon gives way to a footpath. At a fork, turn left and step back onto a pontoon. At a T-junction, take the path on the right for the "grande boucle" (long loop). Cross the wetlands and a few streams via wooden footbridges. Shortly after the information sign about the mill, turn left at a property and follow the path lined with two wire fences. This comes out onto a street; follow it to the left (metal gate). Take the old mill dike, with the reed bed on your left.
Blue and white + red and white markings
(12) At an intersection (signpost), turn right and follow theGR®11towards the Saint-Nom wash house. After about 100 metres, you will reach the wash house. Cross the Yvette river on a wooden bridge and, at the fork that immediately appears, take the path on the right. Wind your way under the chestnut trees along a slope dotted with boulders on your left. Follow a fence on your right and pass the Moulin des Roches. Pass the Source aux Fées wash house and continue under a beech forest.
Red and white markings
(13) At the crossroads (signposted "Forêt domaniale de Rambouillet"), follow theGR®11to the left. After about 50 metres, turn right and follow a wire fence on your right. When you reach a house that appears to be abandoned (marker post), take a sharp left onto a path (not shown on the map) that climbs steeply into the forest (be careful to spot this start). At a fork, bear right and climb more gently. Ignore a path on the left and go through a gate. You will come out onto a wider path and follow it to the left. After a small black gate, the path gives way to tarmac.
(14) After No. 4, turn right at a sharp angle onto a path that enters the forest. Continue straight ahead to the south-east and ignore vague paths on either side. After a long walk, ignore a turn-off on the right, turn left and come out onto the D91. Follow the road to the left for about 100 metres, then cross it at a small car park ( busy road). On the other side, take a path into the forest. At an intersection, go straight ahead (ignore the blue arrow pointing to the right).
(15) At the intersection located at a private property on the left, turn right onto a paved road towards Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse. Go between two fences, alternating between forest and meadow. Cross the hamlet of Jagny (beautiful houses) and continue east. After a moderate descent, the gravel path gives way to tarmac and the slope becomes steeper.
(16) After a right-hand bend, turn left onto Sente de la Tuilerie (be careful to spot this turn). At the end, follow Rue du 8 mai 1945 to the right. Then take thesecond left, Rue Jean Mermoz. Walk alongside a hospital on your right and note the Château de la Madeleine opposite. At the end of the street, turn left.
Red and white + yellow signposts
(17) At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue de Versailles.
Yellow markings
Ignore a dead end on the left (leave theGR®). Then ignore a street on the right and turn left.
No markings
At the corner of a long building, turn right into an alley towards the church. Go around the church on the right. Pass between a car park (on the right) and the front of the church (on the left). Then leave the Prieuré Saint-Saturnin on your left. Go under a porch and follow the main street to the right for about 30 metres.
Red and white signposts
Take thefirst left, Rue des Mandars (pedestrian street). Cross the Yvette (large wash house on the right).
(18) Follow the Promenade des Petits Ponts on the left (two branches ofthe GR®11separate here; ignore the one that goes to the right). Walk along the Yvette River on your left and note the many small bridges leading to houses. At thefirst intersection, continue straight ahead.
(19) At thesecond crossroads, turn right and walk along a car park on your right. At the next crossroads, turn left into a dead-end street and walk along the Yvette River on your left. Ignore a path on the right; the tarmac soon gives way to a path closed to traffic. Walk between meadows and a few small orchards.
(20) You will come to a path reserved for pedestrians and cyclists. Follow it to the left, parallel to a road. At the stop sign (Ferme de Coubertin on the right, across the road), continue straight ahead. At the traffic lights, cross the D938 (Rue de la République) and continue straight ahead. You will immediately see the Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse train station on your right (E).
To return home:
- RER - Line B, towards Massy-Palaiseau and Paris.
Visorando member
Moderate 
Easy 
