The Moutiers pond

Marked trail No. 3.
From the church with its magnificent murals, pass the Gué Ricart, discover the Moutiers pond via the Marseillaise, then the undergrowth before reaching Saint-Sauveur, Pays de Colette and her birthplace.

Details

36377
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.43 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 423 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 413 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 951 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 719 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) With your back to the church, go down to the right, past the wash house. At the crossroads, turn left.

(1) Take the left-hand path under the forest canopy. Cross the ford over the Loing and walk up to the first houses.

(2) Just before the tarmac road, turn left, then left again at the railway line. Continue to the next road, keeping the railway line on your right.

(3) Cross the RD85 with caution. Walk along the railway line on the right. Cross the Pont Cobaty bridge over the Loing river, which offers a first view of the lake. Shortly after the bridge, descend on the right and walk along the riverbank. You will come to the dyke. Turn onto the tarmac road on the right.

(4) At the end of the dyke, turn right and then immediately left onto the path. Continue along the path on the left. You will come out onto a cross road.

(5) Cross the road and take the path. In wet weather, this section can be slippery as several springs feed into this sunken path. When you reach the road, turn right.

(6) After passing the last houses in Les Boulmiers, turn left onto the path (greenhouses on the right). When you reach Les Michauts, you will rejoin the road.

(7) Leave the road on the right and take the road serving this hamlet for a few metres, then leave it for a path on the left.

(8) At the stop sign, turn right, cross the RD85 via the pedestrian crossing and walk up Rue de la Gerbaude on the left-hand pavement. Turn left into Rue Derrière les Murs.

(9) Turn right and head towards Place du Marché, passing under the archway. Continue straight on along Rue de la Roche.

(10) Go down Rue Colette. Pass the church on your left. Carefully cross the RD955 and then the railway line.

(11) Turn right onto Chemin du Petit Moulin, which initially runs alongside the railway line. Pass the pumping station, then cross the Loing river via a small bridge. Leave a path on your right.

(12) Turn left. After about 150 metres, a window in the hedge opens up to reveal a wide panorama of houses tumbling down the hill, as described by Colette. Join a tarmac road, climb up to the right for about a hundred metres and enter under an arch formed by the hedges on either side. At the first path, turn right and head towards Les Cagnats.

(13) Turn right, follow the road and take the next path on the left. At the first three-way junction, turn right, then right again at the second three-way junction. Walk downhill parallel to the hedge bordering a field. After the first houses, turn left then right. Follow the road, passing in front of the Jolivets spring and fountain. Then, descend to the right to reach the village of Moutiers, passing in front of the church porch (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 738 ft - Eglise Saint-Pierre de Moutiers-en-Puisaye
  2. 1 : mi 0.43 - alt. 738 ft - Leave the road and head for the ford. - Loing (le)
  3. 2 : mi 0.65 - alt. 784 ft - Railway line on the right-hand side.
  4. 3 : mi 1.2 - alt. 748 ft - Route D85
  5. 4 : mi 2.49 - alt. 725 ft - Etang de Moutiers en Puisaye
  6. 5 : mi 2.97 - alt. 833 ft - Cut across the tarmac road.
  7. 6 : mi 3.56 - alt. 778 ft - Horticultural greenhouses on the right-hand side of the path.
  8. 7 : mi 4.47 - alt. 833 ft - Crossroads of dead-end roads
  9. 8 : mi 5.25 - alt. 823 ft - Carrefour de la Gerbaude - Lavoir de la Gerbaude
  10. 9 : mi 5.49 - alt. 879 ft - Small square
  11. 10 : mi 5.63 - alt. 879 ft - Maison natale de Colette
  12. 11 : mi 5.79 - alt. 804 ft - Cross the road, then the railway line.
  13. 12 : mi 6.27 - alt. 846 ft - Crossroads
  14. 13 : mi 7.31 - alt. 902 ft - Pottery workshop and kiln
  15. S/E : mi 8.43 - alt. 738 ft - Fontaine du moine Glaber

Notes

The route is well shaded, but there are road crossings. However, there is a clear view at these crossings.
This walk is recommended bythe Puisaye-Forterre Tourist Office.
The route is marked by the association À chacun son chemin en Puisaye-Forterre in accordance with the graphic charter of the Communauté de Communes de Puisaye-Forterre in the direction of the description and is numbered 3.
However, as the route is signposted, you should at least take this description and the accompanying IGN map or the Visorando app with you.
If you encounter any problems, please fill in this questionnaire (only takes 1 to 2 minutes).
Take care when crossing roads.

Worth a visit

In Moutiers, take the time to visit the church, which is decorated with numerous murals that have been perfectly cleared, cleaned and restored.
In the car park at the start of the walk, you can pay your respects to the monk Glaber.

Nearby, the old abbey is currently being restored (2025).

In Saint-Sauveur, there are art galleries, Maison Colette and a museum at the foot of the Sarrasine Tower.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.8 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
User 12063033

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route for summer (the wet part is covered), especially if you allow extra time for stops to visit the heritage sites in Moutiers, La Bâtisse and Saint Sauveur.
Be careful not to miss the signposts (not very obvious) at marker 2 and between markers 5 and 6 (when you leave a wide path for a narrow trail). Otherwise, the rest is well signposted.

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LOLOTTE
LOLOTTE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Please note that during heavy rain, the paths through the woods can be very dangerous.
The hike is very beautiful.

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DEN45
DEN45

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant and easy hike in a beautiful area.

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benoit POINCARE
benoit POINCARE

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike with a group of 12 people. Easy to understand and well-marked description.

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POULIN Gérard
POULIN Gérard ★

Hello,
Indeed, following a storm in this area, we received an alert and cleaned up the entire area.

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Ludal89
Ludal89

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

It's a shame, because the route is not very busy and several sections are not very clear or even impassable (the first section along the railway line).

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loic.vatar@bbox.fr
loic.vatar@bbox.fr

Yes, actually, I didn't see the footbridge... and we took a long detour.

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POULIN Gérard
POULIN Gérard ★

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback on the hike. Indeed, many of the paths are currently waterlogged. Most of them are sunken paths whose primary purpose was to drain the fields above.
The first ford is easily passable via the footbridge on the left. Was it this crossing over the Loing that caused you problems?
Thank you for your reply.

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loic.vatar@bbox.fr
loic.vatar@bbox.fr

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 13, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike with a varied route, far from roads, following an abandoned railway line for a while, which adds to the picturesque nature of this route. The only problem is that in February many of the paths are waterlogged and almost impassable. We had to turn back three times and take a detour via the road. The first ford is impassable.

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patcross
patcross

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Pleasant scenery, particularly the ponds, with picnic facilities along the route and at the finish line.

Best regards

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Christèle ROJAS
Christèle ROJAS

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 02, 2013
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant hike... along pretty little country roads and a very muddy section of the trail in the woods. Signposting is fine. A pleasant descent to the Moustiers pond. If you walk at a good pace, it's only a 2-hour hike, not 3 as indicated on the map. Varied landscape of woods and meadows, passing through ancient hamlets. Very good. Christèle.

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