Escapade at the Montlognon Gate in the Ermenonville Forest

From Jean-Jacques Rousseau Park, at the entrance to the village of Montlognon, passing by the Royal Abbey of Chaalis, in the Forest of Ermenonville.

Details

45902899
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.95 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 80 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 84 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 122 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 66 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Starting point: car park no. 4, Route de Paris, Ermenonville.

(S/E) When leaving the car park, turn left and keep left at the fork that appears shortly afterwards to follow Chemin de la Mare des Eaux.

(1) At the crossroads, turn right onto Vieux Chemin de Meaux.

(2) Cross Route d'Ermenonville, then Route de l'Abbaye and join Route de l'Éventail.

(3) Turn right onto Route de l'Eventail, then right again a little further on onto Route de la Croix Neuve.

(4) Turn right onto the Vieille Route and cross the Carrefour du Bois d'Hiver.

(5) Turn left, leaving the château and the Ancienne Abbaye Royale de Chaalis on your right, and at the four-way crossroads, turn right to reach the Fontaine Sainte-Geneviève.

(6) Continue to the crossroads and turn left. Continue straight ahead towards Montlognon.

(7) Turn sharply right, then veer right to go along the cemetery and continue straight on Chemin du Chêne Penché.

(8) At the star-shaped crossroads, go straight ahead, staying on the same path.

(9) At the Croix Marchand crossroads, take Route de Montagny to the right of the cross, pass Carrefour des Bons Amis and reach Carrefour de la Basse Corde.

(10) Turn onto thesecond path on the right and you will soon reach the Pierre Sorcière.

(11) Pass in front of it and a little further on, a path climbs up this vast rock overlooking the Mer de Sable (beautiful viewpoint and a great place for a picnic), then return to the path.

(12) At the junction with the wide track, turn left onto Route du Regard.
(13) At Poteau de Perthe, turn right at the second turn, cross Route Tournante and reach a T-junction at the edge of the forest.

(14) Turn right onto Vieux Chemin d'Ermenonville, ignore Chemin de la three-way junction on the right and follow Ru du Suret.

(15) Turn left onto Rue du Moulin and, at the T-junction, turn right and then immediately left to follow Rue Souville. Pass the Jardins de Médicis on your right and you will reach a crossroads.

(16) Turn right onto Rue René Girardin, pass Château d'Ermenonville and cross the Launette.

(17) Turn left after No. 23, cross Route de Paris carefully in two stages and continue straight ahead to reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 90 m - Car park on Rue de Paris
  2. 1 : km 0.54 - alt. 93 m - Old Road to Meaux
  3. 2 : km 1.69 - alt. 117 m - Ermenonville Road Crossroads
  4. 3 : km 2.75 - alt. 92 m - Fan Road
  5. 4 : km 3.49 - alt. 72 m - Old Road
  6. 5 : km 4.47 - alt. 72 m - Chaalis Castle and Abbey
  7. 6 : km 5.88 - alt. 66 m - Sainte-Geneviève Fountain, after the Launette (ri
  8. 7 : km 6.84 - alt. 72 m - Montlognon
  9. 8 : km 8.3 - alt. 71 m - Star-shaped crossroads
  10. 9 : km 9.14 - alt. 72 m - Writers' Trail
  11. 10 : km 9.65 - alt. 87 m - Turn right
  12. 11 : km 9.74 - alt. 97 m - The Witch Stone
  13. 12 : km 10.19 - alt. 116 m - Route du Regard
  14. 13 : km 10.67 - alt. 122 m - Poteau de Perthe
  15. 14 : km 11.64 - alt. 89 m - Old Road to Ermenonville
  16. 15 : km 12.52 - alt. 82 m - Mill Street
  17. 16 : km 13.44 - alt. 79 m - Crossroads, Ermenonville Castle - Erm Castle
  18. 17 : km 13.78 - alt. 81 m - René de Girardin Street, turn left at the fork
  19. S/E : km 13.95 - alt. 90 m - Car park on Rue de Paris

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
ozogiminy
ozogiminy

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The description was unclear at the start: "When leaving the car park, turn right??" Be careful between points 1 and 4, as the description is clearly insufficient. In fact, I relied more on the map than the description and had to turn back at one point to find the trail again.
Avoid during hunting season, as there are many hunters at point 4. There were also hunters in the Montlignon woods, so I decided to skip that section and go directly from point 6 to point 8.

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pc po
pc po

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful and comprehensive hike: a route through the woods, a bit of road and sites such as Ermenonville Castle and Chaâlis Abbey, and not too long (it took us 3 hours and 35 minutes, including taking photos, for the 4 hours and 15 minutes indicated on the itinerary).
A few points to note: there are many paths in the woods that branch off in different directions, so you really need to pay attention at certain junctions to take the right one (it's easier with the app). At the end of the hike, there are some brambles on certain sections of the old Ermenonville path.
I recommend
Pierre

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gege0697
gege0697

Hello, I will look into what you mentioned and remedy it.

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Brelo
Brelo

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike, very quiet (I love that!). A nice mix of forest, road and village.
Personally, I found it a bit tough at the start of the hike and between points 13 and 14.
My recommendations:
- At the start of the hike, remove the instruction to "go right" and instead say "go straight ahead and keep left at the fork that appears shortly after..."
- For the "roundabout", perhaps specify: "at the end of plot 258, turn right".
Also note that at point 9, you should go "to the left of the Marchand cross" and not to the right as mentioned in the description.
In any case, thank you to the author of this hike!

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gege0697
gege0697

Thank you, I will look into it and correct it.

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weidenfeldm
weidenfeldm

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful trail that allows us to discover the different aspects of the forest (deciduous trees, beautiful oaks, etc.) and explore the rich heritage of this part of the Oise region.
A small clarification: at the Croix Marchand crossroads (point 9), bearing in mind that we are coming from the Chemin du Chêne Penché, we must take the Route de Montagny to the left of the cross and not to the right.

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Abayd
Abayd

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Despite the gloomy weather, it was a lovely walk with little elevation gain, so it was suitable for everyone.

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donibane
donibane

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Good morning, a lovely morning walk in the fresh air. The route is accessible to all, except for perhaps one difficult section towards the end. I recommend it.

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Zumba_92
Zumba_92

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The names of the paths are not very useful as there are no signs or markings in the forest (except on the posts); you have to rely on your sense of direction, but you always end up back where you started...

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gege0697
gege0697

Hello, thank you for your comments.

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webmarc
webmarc

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Pleasant, varied walk

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