The pidgeon hunting hut and the Mare aux Biches

de fr

A family walk in the heart of Vieux-Boucau’s communal forest. The route follows sections of the pidgeon hunting hut and Mare aux Biches nature trails before returning via the Léon-Soustons cycle path. Along the way, there are numerous benches, picnic tables and information boards describing the area. 

Details

n°72896732
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.13 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 33 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 33 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 49 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 13 ft
Downloads
Open in the mobile app
Download GPX GPX
Download PDF PDF

Photos

Pidgeon hunting hut
Forest
Pond
Pidgeon hunting hut

Description of the walk

On the D652 between Vieux-Boucau and Messanges, park in the supermarket car park located at the roundabout with the Route de la Plage Sud.

(S/E) Join the tarmac track running between the supermarket car park and the industrial estate. Follow this track as it turns left. About 50 metres further on, turn right into the forest and you’ll reach a junction with the Léon–Soustons cycle path.

(1) Cross the cycle path and ride alongside Camping Lou Pignada. You’ll reach a junction with a tarmac road at elevation 7.

(2) Turn right, continue for about 300 m and you’ll reach an X-shaped junction.

(3) Turn left towards the east. Pass by some houses at elevation 8 and turn right, heading south. Discover the magnificent Étang de S’douys. Just after the lake, turn right towards a junction with several paths.

(4) Carry on straight ahead, heading west, until you reach an X-shaped junction at elevation 6. 

(5) Carry on straight ahead. After about 120 m, you’ll reach a junction with a footbridge.

(6) Turn right, then after the footbridge, follow the various signs for the Pidgeon Hunting Hut Trail. Explore the Pidgeon Hunting Hut. Just after this, you’ll find a picnic table.

(7) Leave the ‘Pidgeon Hunting Hut Signposting’ and turn left. Continue straight on at a junction at elevation 7. Along this straight stretch, you’ll find numerous benches and picnic tables. Pass a second junction, then arrive at another T-junction at elevation 5.

(8) Turn left towards the east and walk for about 400 m before reaching an X-junction.

(9) Turn right onto the Chemin du Bayonnais. Pass by a borehole. You’ll see new signs for the Mare aux Biches Discovery Trail and arrive at a T-junction.

(10) Turn right, pass by another borehole, then turn left, then right and finally right again, following the signs for the Mare aux Biches.You’ll come to the pond. Carry on and you’ll reach an X-junction.

(11) Turn left and reach another borehole and a Y-junction. Keep left, then continue straight on at the next X-junction. Pass by the foot of the water tower (supplied by the various boreholes you’ve come across). Walk alongside Camping Les Chênes and reach the Léon-Soustons cycle path.

(12) Turn right onto this path and follow it back up to the junction you passed on the way there with the Lou Pignada campsite 

(1) Turn left and follow the route in the opposite direction to the outward journey to return to the supermarket car park (S/E). 

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 16 ft - Supermarket car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.24 - alt. 16 ft - Junction shared with the cycle path
  3. 2 : mi 0.79 - alt. 23 ft - Junction with tarmac road – Cote 7
  4. 3 : mi 0.98 - alt. 23 ft - Crossroads
  5. 4 : mi 1.39 - alt. 23 ft - Multi-path junction – Pond
  6. 5 : mi 1.59 - alt. 20 ft - Crossroads – Marker 6
  7. 6 : mi 1.66 - alt. 20 ft - Footbridge
  8. 7 : mi 1.98 - alt. 30 ft - T-junction – Turn left
  9. 8 : mi 2.23 - alt. 16 ft - Crossroads (X-shaped) – Marker 5
  10. 9 : mi 2.52 - alt. 20 ft - Crossroads – Chemin du Bayonnais
  11. 10 : mi 2.78 - alt. 20 ft - T-junction – Turn right
  12. 11 : mi 3.22 - alt. 16 ft - Crossroads (X-shaped) – Turn left
  13. 12 : mi 3.79 - alt. 13 ft - Cycle path
  14. S/E : mi 5.13 - alt. 16 ft - Supermarket car park

Notes

For reference: the author’s time for this route was 2 hours 15 minutes (excluding breaks)

Worth a visit

Vieux-Boucau town centre and Port d’Albret Marine Lake.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 2 reviews
Reliability of the description
5 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
User 4077999

The signposting is very hard to follow; we got lost despite keeping a constant watch. It doesn’t matter, as we always manage to find our way back in the end, but it’s a bit stressful. That said, it’s a lovely walk

Machine-translated

User 2895873

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Pleasant walk through the forest, bearing in mind that at the end there is a major tarmac road.

Machine-translated

Dela
Dela

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We went for a walk early in the morning between 8 and 10 am, which explains why there were so few people about. The route was very pleasant under the pine trees on a carpet of pine needles. We were treated to a thunderous chorus of frogs as we walked past the pond.
The only slight downside was the end of the walk, which involved a long, somewhat tedious stretch along a tarmac road.
Thank you for all these routes and the app, which helps ensure you don’t go astray.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

Walking From the marine lake of Port d'Albret to the Messanges semaphore

Visorando Member
Du lac marin de Port d'Albret au sémaphore de Messanges
↔7.83 mi ↗+52 ft ↘-52 ft ◔3h 40 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains (Landes)
An original, easy and relaxing circular starting from Vieux-Boucau, going around the Port d'Albret marine lake and then reaching Messanges via the beach, with your feet in the water or not, depending on the tide. The return route passes by the Messanges semaphore, the Étang de Moïsan lake, then enters the Landes forest before reaching the Vieux-Boucau bullring.

Walking From Vieux-Boucau to the Étang de Moïsan

Visorando Member
Du Vieux-Boucau vers l'Étang de Moïsan
↔7.08 mi ↗+33 ft ↘-33 ft ◔3h 15 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains (Landes)
A varied and magnificent landscape characterises this circular walk starting from Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains towards the Étang de Moïsan. The route passes at the foot of the dunes, through the forest, then near the Messanges Semaphore before skirting the Étang de Moïsan and the pastures of the Landes sea cows. Finally, the return journey via the Léon–Soustons cycle path takes you back to the centre of Vieux-Boucau.

Walking Circular route from Vieux-Boucau to Soustons

Visorando Member
Boucle de Vieux-Boucau à Soustons
↔10.25 mi ↗+144 ft ↘-135 ft ◔4h 50 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains (Landes)
Depending on your time and fitness level, do the double circular loop or just one of the two circular loops. This double circular loop will take you through the Landes forest and along the Courant de Soustons. The route starts in the centre of Vieux-Boucau, where there are quite a few people. Then head into the forest via the Courant de Soustons and the Voie Verte to Soustons and back. Once you reach Soustons, you can also walk around the lake for a hike that will last the whole day. There is little tarmac except in Vieux-Boucau and Soustons.

Walking Port d'Albret Marine Lake

Association / Club / Walk leader
Lac Marin de Port d'Albret
↔5.14 mi ↗+39 ft ↘-39 ft ◔2h 25 ▲Easy
⚑Departure from Soustons (Landes)
A large circular loop around the Port d'Albret marine lake. Port d'Albret, now called Vieux-Boucau (old mouth), could have been the first port on the Landes coast if the Adour had not been diverted in 1578 to give it its current estuary at Bayonne.

Walking Circuit of the Prade stream and the swing in Moliets

Tourist office
Circuit du ruisseau de la Prade et du swing à Moliets
↔8.17 mi ↗+269 ft ↘-289 ft ◔4h 00 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Moliets-et-Maa (Landes)
A challenging circuit offering high-quality and varied sections. Full of contrasts, it takes you from the banks of the Étang de Moliets to the peaks of a few hills, from the lush vegetation of the wetlands to the perfectly smooth green of the golf course.

Walking From Étang d’Hardy to Plage des Casernes via the dune forest

Visorando Member
De l'Étang d'Hardy à la Plage des Casernes par la forêt dunaire
↔10.62 mi ↗+348 ft ↘-348 ft ◔5h 10 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Soustons (Landes)
This walk, which goes from the Étang d’Hardy to the coast via a magnificent dune forest, should be undertaken using a GPS track or a mobile app. Otherwise, you will need at least a map and a compass. There are paths that appear on the map but do not exist on the ground, and conversely, paths that exist on the ground but do not appear on the map. The route follows only paths that are marked on the map. The walk presents no technical difficulties and the paths are easy to follow.

Walking Circular in the moorland near Étang d'Hardy and Étang Blanc.

Visorando Member
Boucle dans la lande près de l'Étang d'Hardy et de l'Étang Blanc
↔5.83 mi ↗+180 ft ↘-157 ft ◔2h 50 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Soustons (Landes)
A short walk inspired by a local resident, to discover the moorland near the Étang d'Hardy and Étang Blanc lakes. There are also sandy passages and a pine tree harvesting site, as this is also part of life in the Landes region. The end of the route is along the road, as the path mapped on the left no longer exists.

Walking Le Courant d'Huchet

Visorando Member
Le Courant d'Huchet
↔9.07 mi ↗+89 ft ↘-89 ft ◔4h 15 ▲Moderate
⚑Departure from Moliets-et-Maa (Landes)
A very fine circuit, which can be modified to suit the length and type of path required. You follow the Huchet stream, a small river that flows from the Étang de Léon to the ocean. Spectacular flora and beautiful colours at the mouth of this walk through the Landes Amazon. Author's note 24 June 2024. Walk described on Visorando in 2019, done several times since then, but despite the work done on the footbridge, it is still closed. The forest rangers I met in October 2023 gave me no information about the reopening of the Nasse footbridge. The loop described in 2019 is therefore still not feasible in 2024. A return trip is therefore necessary. I recommend that you then drive to the mouth of the Huchet stream and follow the stream upstream, as the scenery is sublime depending on the time of day.

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.