Faymoreau – Les Dorderies – Bois de la Boule

A nature walk through the Bois de la Boule to the Verrerie de Faymoreau in the Vendée.
Suitable for walking or mountain biking. Risk of flooding during wet weather.

Details

35870
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 3.44 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 118 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 135 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 371 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 266 ft

Description of the walk

Park in the car park in front of the Hôtel des Mines restaurant, at La Verrerie.

(S/E) Take the grassy path leading down towards the D19. Cross the road carefully and head towards Basse and Haute Dorderies. Walk past the Basse Dorderie farm.

(1) At the fork in the road, turn left onto the path that climbs and runs alongside a pond.

(2) After the pond, turn onto the first path on the right, signposted “Danger during the hunting season”. Follow the path through the woodland to the first hunting lodge.

(3) Turn right, continue through the Bois de la Boule and cross the Ruisseau des Dorderies via the footbridge made of railway sleepers.

(4) Continue to the right along the path that runs alongside the meadows and the Faymoreau State Forest until you reach the D3. Turn right onto the forest track and head for the second hunting lodge (a good spot for a picnic). View of the mining village of La Verrerie de Faymoreau.

(5) Turn left and head down to the right, continuing to follow the meadows and woodland until you reach the stream.

(6) Turn left onto the path running alongside the stream. Leave the woods. Once on the Chemin de la Haute Dorderie, turn right to rejoin the Chemin de la Basse Dorderie.

(1) Turn left, cross the D19 again with care and head back up the grassy path towards the Hôtel des Mines and its car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 292 ft - Car park in front of the Hôtel des Mines restaurant
  2. 1 : mi 0.3 - alt. 276 ft - Junction after the Basse Dorderie farm
  3. 2 : mi 0.66 - alt. 305 ft - Pond
  4. 3 : mi 0.79 - alt. 312 ft - Hunting hut
  5. 4 : mi 1.21 - alt. 331 ft - Footbridge over the Ruisseau des Dorderies
  6. 5 : mi 2.29 - alt. 364 ft - Hunting hut
  7. 6 : mi 3.04 - alt. 276 ft - Stream
  8. S/E : mi 3.44 - alt. 292 ft - Car park in front of the Hôtel des Mines restaurant

Notes

Avoid this walk during the hunting season and in wet weather.
Rivers may cut the walk short.
There is only one establishment, the Restaurant Hôtel des Mines.
Bring drinks and a packed lunch; hunters’ huts can be used for a lunch break.

Worth a visit

In the village of La Verrerie:
- The Mining Museum.
- The miners’ cottages.
- The Miners’ Chapel and its stained-glass windows.
- The lake. The embankment and its fishermen’s huts.

Reviews and comments

3.7 / 5
Based on 5 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.8 / 5
Route interest
3.6 / 5
jlfaure
jlfaure

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2026
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant little route that we know well, having completed the full long route several times. ( https://visorando.com/randonnee-chemin-d...)
I never use the maps or route descriptions because, with the app’s GPS, you never get lost.

Machine-translated

User 17131634

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 27, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The route shown on the map does not correspond to the path we should take.

Machine-translated

marie-paule denis
marie-paule denis

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely walk in sunny weather. On the way back, after a drink at the Hôtel des Mines, we went straight on to the second walk on offer in Faymoreau, which we were already familiar with...

Machine-translated

Sabrina V.
Sabrina V.

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 17, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely, well-marked trail.

Machine-translated

bibi
bibi ★

We didn’t complete the whole walk, so I don’t think we should take this rating into account in this case… the rain played a big part in the rating; I don’t think the route itself did.

Machine-translated

Cricri85
Cricri85

Hello Gérard,
Thank you for your message.
It’s true that this walk in winter and during wet weather, as we’re having at the moment, is risky. Walking in boots isn’t ideal. I’ll make that clear in the description. As for the forest track, it may not be maintained all year round and it isn’t shown on the IGN map.
That said, all feedback is welcome and helps us to improve.
We should reconsider the use of the word ‘disappointing’ in the suggestions (focus more on the walk itself than on the review).
Kind regards.

Machine-translated

POULIN Gérard
POULIN Gérard ★

Hello, Cricri
The ‘disappointing’ box is ticked for:

  • Accuracy of the description: Disappointing
  • Accuracy of the route on the map: Disappointing

I’ve seen a few of your routes; I’m not particularly familiar with this one. Please have a good read through your description and perhaps review your route. There’s a path running parallel to the stream that leads to La Bourgogne, which isn’t shown on the IGN map – could that be the reason for this poor rating?
However, this is just one opinion – don’t let it put you off.
I hope you enjoy your walks.

Machine-translated

Cricri85
Cricri85

Hello Polo85,
Sorry to hear about your walk.
During this very wet spell, you might want to plan more of your walks along the coast: Jard-sur-Mer, Olonne-sur-Mer, etc.
It’s a shame that this walk has been rated ‘Disappointing’...

This village is well worth a visit for its character and mining history.
Enjoy your walks.
Cricri85.

Machine-translated

Polo85390
Polo85390

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 02, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Hello
It’s true, we’ve just come through a very wet winter…
This lovely path along the edge of the forest is best tackled in spring or summer...
We were forced to turn back on the section that runs alongside the stream...
Enjoy the walk all the same
Polo85

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.