Departure from Longpont Abbey. Park in the large car park between the school and the abbey.
The crossroads in the forest are generally signposted, as are the main roads.
Without signposts
(S/E) From the car park, walk away from the abbey and turn left onto the street that leads to the D2 (Rue Saint-Louis on the map). At the stop sign, turn left onto the D2 towards Corcy.
Red and white markings
At the fork in the road, take the right-hand path uphill, which runs parallel to the D17. Follow theGR®®1through the woods, ignoring the paths on the right. At a fork, turn right into a copse.
(1) At a three-way junction, turn left. At the next crossroads (equestrian centre below on the right), go straight ahead. You will come to a small paved road (field opposite) and follow it to the left for about 200m.
No markings
(2) At the Carrefour Gaudrillard junction, turn right into a forest lane (yellow and brown arrow). Immediately, you will come to a fork (not shown on the map): go straight ahead (north-west) into the grassy lane and ignore the path that branches off to the right. At the Carrefour de la Grosse Pierre crossroads, take the third right (north-northwest), the Laie des Grands Charmes.
(3) At the end, follow a small tarmac road on the right (Route de Chavigny) and you will arrive at the Van Vollenhoven Monument on the edge of the D2.
(4) Retrace your steps.
(3) Continue straight ahead on the small road, pass the Carrefour du Hibou and arrive at the Carrefour de Chavigny.
Red and white markings
(5) Cross the perpendicular tarmac road and take a good gravel path diagonally to the right (north-west) which starts after a forest barrier and crosses a beautiful beech forest.
No markings
(6) At the next junction, turn sharply left and descend slightly on a good stony path. Cross the Route de Chavigny you left earlier and take the path that branches off to the right (south-west). Climb gently. On the flat section, the track gives way to a path that winds its way through the ferns. Descend again onto a wide track (with a few rocks protruding), cross a stream and arrive at Carrefour des Sangliers.
(7) Turn sharply left onto the Laie des Étangs de Longpont (do not cross the tarmac forest road). Continue straight ahead towards the east (a few wet patches) and cross the Laie de la Belle Épine and a tarmac road.
Red and white markings
(8) About 350m after the tarmac road, at a slightly marked crossroads, turn right onto a grassy track and rejoin theGR®®11. Walk along a cleared beech forest on the left-hand side. Cross a paved road and continue straight ahead (the purple line on the IGN map has not been updated in this area). After a short steep climb through a pine forest, you will reach the Château-Fée crossroads.
(9) Take the second path on the left among the ferns (thefirst path on the left, which you should not take, is signposted as Laie de la Grosse Pierre). At the bottom of a very short but steep descent, turn left and, after a few dozen metres, veer right (follow the markings carefully). Walk east on a good sandy path and cross the Laie de Vauvaudran.
(10) At Carrefour de la Tartarine, turn left and cross a pine forest with fern undergrowth. At the next crossroads, follow a gravel road to the right and, after about 400 metres, you will reach Carrefour Gaudrillard.
(2) Continue straight ahead and, after about 200 metres, at the corner of a field on the left, take theGR®® trail on the right (the "Private Property" sign refers to the interior of the undergrowth).
(1) At the three-way junction, turn right and follow the path you took on the way there in the opposite direction.
No markings
At the end of the path, follow the direction of the abbey, first to the left on the D2 then to the right on the D17, and return to the car park where you started (S/E).