Lac du Héron and Forest-sur-Marque

Part of the GR®121B, east of Lac du Héron, hiking in the Val de Marque.
Car park and starting point at the square, Place de l'Église, in Forest sur Marque.

Details

3754
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.72 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 8 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 8 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 32 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 22 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) Start at Place de l'Eglise in Forest sur Marque.

Cross the main street and take the small "Chemin Frémeaux" opposite the church porch.
Turn right into Rue des Roloires. At the end of the street, turn right into the lane parallel to Rue Ma Campagne. At the end of the alley, turn left onto the West-North-West road that leads into the countryside.

(1) Cross the small wooden bridge and follow the signs for "Lac du Héron pour les piétons", taking the left-hand path. At the end of the road, turn left, then right after 30m. Reach Lac du Héron

GR121B - Red and White markings

Follow the shoreline to the left (the lake will be on your right).
At the tip of the lake, the path joins another path, turn left, pass alongside the wastewater treatment plant (which will be on your right) towards "Forest sur marque".

(2) At the road turn left onto the pavement, cross the Marque (river). Take the first street on your right; it joins a path on the same axis that runs alongside the river.
Follow the path and the Marque, leaving the access road to the house on your left and continuing towards the B road; cross it (still the GR®121B and still along the Marque). Continue in the same direction, leaving a track on your left and crossing the railroad line and the main road until you come to the gate of a property.

Outside GR®121B - Red and White markings

(3) Leave the GR®121B on your left and go straight ahead on the path between property fences. At the end of the wooded area, turn left onto the small road, then right. Cross the property line and between the fences again.

GR121B - Red and White markings

(4) Turn left onto Rue du Général Leclercq.

Outside GR®121B - Red and White markings

(5) Turn right into Rue de Willems.
Leave this street at the end of the village, before the railway line, and turn right onto the dirt track. Follow to a crossroads and turn left onto a dirt track.
Follow to the railroad line, turn right before the level crossing, follow the railroad line to the village and the next level crossing.

(6) Cross the track by turning left and take the first left on the other side of the track: Rue Victor Hugo, at the end of the street turn left onto a track which bends slightly to the right, following the railroad line.
Continue along this road, passing a GAS filling station. Turn right before the forest, then left.

(7) At the entrance to the leisure park, turn right. Go straight on until you reach the main road.
Turn left, then left again at the next crossroads.

(8) Take the first track on the right, follow it and turn left at Pont de la Naue. At the crossroads, turn right through the Bois des Dix-Sept Bonniers.
Bear right and follow the main path: Chemin le Bas Marais, which becomes Rue de Moscou Prolongée then Rue de Moscou as you enter Forest sur Marque.
At the end of the street, turn slightly right into Sen de la Chapelle, then left into Sen de la Plage, then right into Place de l'Eglise (S/E) .

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 24 m - Place de l'Eglise
  2. 1 : km 0.94 - alt. 23 m - Crossing the - Marque (rivière)-à finaliser
  3. 2 : km 3.21 - alt. 25 m - Left-hand road
  4. 3 : km 5.23 - alt. 25 m - Path opposite
  5. 4 : km 6.33 - alt. 28 m - Street on the left
  6. 5 : km 6.95 - alt. 25 m - Street on the right
  7. 6 : km 8.88 - alt. 29 m - Crossing level crossings
  8. 7 : km 10.22 - alt. 24 m - Turn to the right
  9. 8 : km 11.32 - alt. 24 m - Path on the right
  10. S/E : km 14.72 - alt. 24 m - Place de l'Eglise

Worth a visit

Leisure centre "Des 6 Bonniers" in Willems.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 32 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
User 26653622

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

There is a section of the circuit that runs along the lake (from 1 to 2 on the map) that is no longer accessible. This section is closed to protect the peace and privacy of the birds. You must follow the Bonniers loop and rejoin the route recommended by Visorando when you leave the lake (at point 2). The rest of the circuit is easy and there are no problems with signposting. We completed it in 3 hours instead of 4 hours and 15 minutes by walking fairly quickly.

Machine-translated

Manou59700
Manou59700

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Part of the walk is on tarmac, which is the least interesting part. Otherwise, the route is not monotonous.

Machine-translated

astropote
astropote

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

super merci

Machine-translated

Meurant
Meurant

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Route through undergrowth and across fields / one very muddy section due to previous months of rain / calm

Machine-translated

jacques urbain
jacques urbain

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

.

Machine-translated

dsw
dsw

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Machine-translated

Pierre Molin-Mabille
Pierre Molin-Mabille

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thanks for this route, I had a great time... The walk is easy, with some tarmac sections, but as soon as you get away from the Parc du Héron, there are far fewer people...

Machine-translated

Boussekey Sylvie
Boussekey Sylvie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 01, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Very pleasant, but very busy on Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

Machine-translated

Terrier edith
Terrier edith

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

thank you

Machine-translated

Azboulette
Azboulette

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Nice hike, but near the Lac du Héron, we couldn't find the way. So we went in the opposite direction (the lake was on our left, not our right) and used the GPS on our phone.

Machine-translated

Rémi.S
Rémi.S

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice walk.
I did it in the rain the day after the "From Willems to the Parc du Heron": these 2 walks have a few paths in common.
Impossible to get lost with the help of the app's GPS.
Finished in 3? hours, including a lunch break at the Willems leisure centre where geese come to share your meal.
A real change of scenery.

Machine-translated

Bruno DEVIENNE
Bruno DEVIENNE

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It's a great way to discover a peaceful walk close to the Lille metropolitan area. The scenery is varied and you forget all about the big city. It's accessible to everyone, with no particular difficulties (9m difference in altitude!).

Machine-translated

MagDalie
MagDalie
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A hike done again this year, but without using the written description...
It's a really nice walk along the water for the whole of the first part (Lac du Héron then La Marque), followed by parts that are a little less charming but pleasant and peaceful (running alongside a railway line: not visually interesting but calm...). To finish in a very nice way again on the visual side 🙂
There's some tarmac, but to be honest I didn't mind.
A change compared to the route at the very beginning (I repeat that I only used the route on the map, not at all the description), because the path along the lake at one point is no longer accessible, there is now a fence all along which prevents being as close to the lake. so you have to take the path a little further away and along the Marque. But it's also very pleasant.
I did this walk at lunchtime during the week, so it's not very busy, but I think it's packed at weekends.
In any case, it's very pleasant, really. Thank you very much for sharing!

Machine-translated

Michel MDW
Michel MDW
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

I'm surprised at the positive comments in the description. Up to the 10th km, arriving at the Base de Loisirs de Willems (6), it was OK despite some approximations and a lack of visual landmarks (point 5, don't look for the level crossing, there isn't one, just turn right along the railway line).
Then I was unable to complete the walk. It was impossible to find the Naue bridge and none of the many walkers I met had heard of it. I took another route back to Forest.
In fact "(7) Turn left onto the main road, then left again"... Well, that takes you back to the leisure centre...
In short, I don't recommend it.

Machine-translated

postaire
postaire
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

On the outskirts of the northern metropolis, this much-frequented walk is a chance to discover some exceptional birdlife in a peri-urban environment. Grab your binoculars! You won't be disappointed as you walk around Lac du Héron.

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.