The countryside between Mons and Pin-Balma

An easy hike on paths on the outskirts of Toulouse with very little tarmac road.

Details

30570906
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.94 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 91 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 92 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 228 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 151 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at Mons Town Hall.

(S/E) Turn left onto Avenue des Pyrénées, towards Balma, and take the first cul-de-sac on the right, Chemin de la Briqueterie. Continue straight ahead along the footpath.

(1) Cross Rue des Chartreux and then Rue de la Tuilerie. Pass Allée des Pinsons on your left, continuing straight ahead.

(2) About 50 metres before the next crossroads, turn left onto the grassy path. Follow this path and enter the forest. After about 1 km, you will reach the tarmac road called Chemin de Cantalauze. Before reaching this road, turn left onto a path that continues into the forest, allowing you to avoid the tarmac. At the fork, follow the path on the right and you will come out onto the road.

(3) Go down the road to the left and, after 20 metres, take the small path on the right that leads back into the forest and to the rear of the Château de Mondouzil. Do not enter the private property and follow the path on the left that continues into the forest. After about 200 metres, continue along the edge of the woods, turning 90° to the left, and you will arrive at the Fontvalette stream.

(4) Cross the stream and immediately turn right at the edge of the field and follow it for a long time until you reach the tarmac road to Laganne.

(5) Follow the road to the left for 50 metres and take the first right, Route de la Mouyssaguèse. At the first crossroads, level with the houses, continue along the road to the left and cross the bridge over the Seillonne.

(6) Turn left onto a path (sometimes hidden by vegetation) that leads into the forest and follow it more or less close to the stream until you reach the tarmac road.

(7) Take the road to the left to find the entrance to the path on the right that leads to this road.

(5) Take this path and, at the first junction 100 metres along, leave the path and continue on the right, climbing up to a stony path behind the Château de Clairac.

(8) Go down this path on the left towards the houses and, at the gate, continue along the path on the right to go down towards the stream. Just before you get there, take the path on the right and join Rue du Pin at the edge of the housing estate.

(9) Follow the road to the left and go straight down to take the pedestrian crossing on the left. Follow the fences of the houses to the right and join Rue de Cantalauze.

(10) Turn left onto the street and, at the bottom of the hill, take the grassy path on the right. Follow it straight ahead along the stream. Turn left at the first houses and continue along the path alongside Rue de la Tuilerie to reach the pedestrian walkway where you started. Turn right onto it.

(1) Cross Rue des Chartreux again, take Chemin de la Briqueterie and then turn left onto Avenue des Pyrénées to reach the car park at Mons Town Hall (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 220 m - Mons Town Hall
  2. 1 : km 0.42 - alt. 215 m - Footpath
  3. 2 : km 0.68 - alt. 219 m - Forest path
  4. 3 : km 1.88 - alt. 219 m - Road junction
  5. 4 : km 2.88 - alt. 172 m - Fontvalette stream
  6. 5 : km 4.03 - alt. 155 m - Laganne Road
  7. 6 : km 5.14 - alt. 152 m - Path on the left, along the - Seillonne (rivière) - Affluent de la Sausse
  8. 7 : km 6.15 - alt. 153 m - Laganne Road
  9. 8 : km 7.26 - alt. 194 m - Clairac Castle
  10. 9 : km 8.09 - alt. 196 m - Rue du Pin
  11. 10 : km 8.42 - alt. 184 m - Fontvalette stream
  12. S/E : km 9.94 - alt. 220 m - Mons Town Hall

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 20 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
User 24395624

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We had difficulty following the route; the explanations lack clarity in some places, particularly in the second part from point No. 6 onwards.
Recommended for those who want to discover this very pleasant area.

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caoussis
caoussis

Overall rating : 2.5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

As much as I was enchanted by the route to the tarmac road of Mouyssaguèse, I was sorely disappointed after the bridge over the Seillonne!!! Immediately after the bridge, I entered a wood with no landmarks, ravaged by horses or wild boars, or perhaps it was Hannibal's elephants... After skirting an endless cornfield, I found myself on the road to Aufréry: instead of the Château de Clairac, I found a water tower and returned to Mons via the (very) busy road, where you risk your life at every turn. Before Mons, I did (at least!) pass Clairac Castle, so I got lost for several kilometres from Pin-Balma. Perhaps Dominique Charrier or some other lucky hiker can tell me exactly where I should have gone. I would ask the author of the description to refrain from offering any explanation because, after doing a perfect job on the first part, which meant we weren't tempted to follow the signposts, he then served up a real mess: on a route with no signposts, it is IMPOSSIBLE for a reasonably normal person to find the right path when you are told to look for "the entrance to the arrival path on this road". In short, yet another (internal) rant about Visorando, which I am now writing off for good. Your site is only for people who navigate using devices that replace their brains and therefore have no need for a map! Everyone else would be better off looking elsewhere if they don't want to get lost and end up driving extra miles on tarmac.

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dominique charrier
dominique charrier

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Once you've passed a few housing estates, the walk winds through woods and between woods and freshly ploughed fields. It's a lovely, pleasant walk along paths. Very few roads. A few gunshots from hunters, which wasn't very reassuring on this early spring Sunday. A little mud at the start due to the rain over the last few days, but then the sun quickly came out and we were able to take off our jackets. We recommend this walk.

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Mélilot31
Mélilot31

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This circuit is not difficult to complete, but during the wet season there are many muddy sections, so be sure to bring good footwear and walking sticks. The route consists almost entirely of dirt tracks (sometimes narrow) and offers a truly beautiful change of scenery. It is ideal for connecting with nature for a few hours.
It took us 2 hours and 55 minutes to complete the route.

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Patman31
Patman31

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

A very pleasant walk in the forest, which was fairly quiet on this first day of December. Enjoyed on a beautiful sunny day. Some parts of the woods were very muddy, so make sure you wear suitable footwear at this time of year. Very little tarmac, which I really liked 🥰

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Ludi
Ludi
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a very pleasant walk in the Mons countryside! It was a surprise to discover so much forest with well-maintained paths in the Mons area
Mondouzil Castle is worth seeing, but it's a shame you can't get close to it.
The church in Mons is very pretty. This hike can be done in any season as there is plenty of shade

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Alaux31
Alaux31

Hike not completed.
I'm just a keen hiker who would like to get out of my usual environment a little
I'm thinking of doing it, but when? It was on the advice of a friend that I tried to find a route on visiorando

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hcrando
hcrando

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant route because it is not far from the city and not very long. Beautiful scenery and lovely castles. Not much mud. Only comment: the path back towards the end is completely overgrown with nettles taller than a person and brambles too. It's difficult to make your way through, even though the path has clearly been cleared in other sections. Because of this, I would recommend wearing long sleeves and long trousers for protection. Other than that, there are no major difficulties. The loop to Pin-Balma and back is of little interest, so I prefer to cut it short by going directly from point 5 to point 7. Thank you for this route.

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Jacques 31500
Jacques 31500

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

It was a very pleasant surprise to see so much green space so close to Toulouse.
No muddy paths after several days without rain.
Clearly very few walkers use certain sections because the path, overgrown with grass, is very narrow.
The indicated duration (3 hours 5 minutes) seems to me to correspond to a brisk pace.

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extramadure
extramadure

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike in the countryside with little tarmac and beautiful trees
At point 6, do not take the path indicated on the map (as it is muddy and impassable), but take the path just before the bridge on the right bank of the Seillonne river, which will take you to point 7.

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Philippe31000
Philippe31000

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely spring walk, but difficult between points 6 and 7 because the path was really muddy and flooded in places that day, even though it hadn't rained for several days. We had to turn back and return via 6 to 5.

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Anne-Valerie
Anne-Valerie

A lovely walk in the Toulouse countryside

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Domipk31
Domipk31
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike taken after a period of heavy rain, extremely slippery, we had to shorten it at point 5 on the way back to Mons, 8 km.
It was a shame because the hike is nice, the paths are pretty and the route is unpaved, which is rare so close to Toulouse!
There are small paths to explore around Mons, which would extend the hike!
Dominique, Le Pourquoi Pas Toulouse club

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Anne-Valerie
Anne-Valerie

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk through the woods and countryside on the outskirts of Toulouse

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ACC
ACC

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello, an unpretentious hike, but that's what we were looking for. Not great outdoors, but real countryside very close to Toulouse.

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