Pointe de Merquel

A lovely walk through the salt marshes and Mesquer Bay.

Details

5407
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.16 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 10 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 10 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 12 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 2 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Mesquer (44420)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.416135° / W 2.468234°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1022OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park on the right of Route de Merquel (there is another small car park at the intersection of the two roads: Route de Merquel and Route de la Bole de Merquel).

(S/E) When you leave the car park (route de Merquel), turn right and follow the road for 100 metres.
Turn right again to reach the coastal path (there is also an exit from the car park that leads directly to the coastal path).

(1) On the path, turn left towards Pointe de Merquel, after passing the Merquel chapel.

(2) Follow the coastal path to some steps carved into the rock, descend towards the end of the beach to rejoin the path, as the steps lead to the beach.
Continue along the coastal path until you reach another beach. On this beach, pass the boat launch ramp and head towards the beach to find some steps leading up to the road (there are small boats hanging along the white fence by these steps).
Reach the Kerdandec path and follow it to Rue de Kerdandec.

(3) Cross the street, turn right, and follow the street (on the shoulder) until you reach the intersection. Turn left onto Rue des Goffedins and continue to Chemin des Boles.

(4) Turn right, then at the roundabout, turn left onto Rue de Lozepienne or VC2. Turn left at the first crossroads and take Route de Bel Air or VC204. Join a path at the marshes.

(5) Take it on the left and continue along the path until you reach the Route de la Bole de Merquel (be careful to stay on the side of the marshes until the end).

(6) Take the Route de la Bole de Merquel on the right.
Stay on the gravel car park until the end.

(7) Cross the Route de la Bole de Merquel to reach the hard shoulder and follow it for 500 m (be careful, the hard shoulder is shared with a cycle lane). If you have children, it is best to return to the car park opposite the path.
Go to the first crossroads.

(1) Follow the same route back to the car park (S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 2 m - Parking on Route de Merquel
  2. 1 : km 0.22 - alt. 6 m - Crossroads of the loop
  3. 2 : km 0.65 - alt. 9 m - Pointe de Merquel
  4. 3 : km 2.22 - alt. 11 m - Rue de Kerdandec
  5. 4 : km 2.72 - alt. 5 m - Chemin des Boles
  6. 5 : km 3.1 - alt. 3 m - The marshes
  7. 6 : km 4.35 - alt. 3 m - Route de la Bole de Merquel
  8. 7 : km 5.01 - alt. 5 m - Roadside
  9. S/E : km 6.16 - alt. 2 m - Parking on Route de Merquel

Notes

At the intersection of Route de la Bole de Merquel and Route de Merquel, there is a public toilet and a bar.
Wear suitable footwear as the marsh trail can be wet.
Parking is available on the road to Pointe de Merquel (this is a designated parking area).
Much of the route is in the sun.

Worth a visit

The beautiful beaches around the headland are a pleasant place to rest.
For the curious: during the walk, we also discovered a short hiking trail (PR®: yellow markings) which should offer another route.
An orientation table near the point offers a view of the bay.

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

4.4 / 5
Based on 30 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
visiophilo25
visiophilo25

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

No difficulty following the route. A lovely little route between the marshes and the sea

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ducati44
ducati44

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk between the sea and the marshes. The starting point was not easy to find and difficult to locate
Rating: 7.

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AUDI62
AUDI62

Hello,
We had some difficulty locating points 3, 4 and 5, but with the Visorando app, everything worked out fine.
Kind regards.

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madydou
madydou ★

Hello,
What difficulties did you encounter?
How could we improve the description?

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AUDI62
AUDI62

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant and easy hike that combines the sea and salt marshes and offers beautiful views.
We were lucky enough to do it in glorious weather.
However, the route can be difficult to follow at times

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GuyBu
GuyBu

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Short, easy hike in a beautiful location.

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pejiji
pejiji

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Please note that the passage at point 5 is closed (fence cannot be opened or closed).
You can continue the hike by going about 100 metres further along the Route de Bel Air, then turning left onto the Chemin des Salines at the corner of the Soir d'Été campsite.
Follow the Chemin des Salines, which offers beautiful views of the marshes and is fairly shaded, to reach point 6 of the original route.

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Jacky Peji
Jacky Peji

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a short, easy walk offering magnificent views of the Traict de Pen Bé and the salt marshes

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NADDIE
NADDIE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike between the sea and the marshes. Very pleasant in spring.

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rambo18
rambo18

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely walk with beautiful scenery, but a few difficulties finding our way on the map during the route.

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Jean luc QUELO
Jean luc QUELO

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 17, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Positions No. 3 and No. 4 do not correspond to the description on the ground.
Otherwise, a lovely 6 km walk.

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Marie Blaise
Marie Blaise

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 13, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

a pleasant route with views of the sea and the marshes. Best done at low tide so you can complete the entire route along the sea via the footpath.

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Michel 44
Michel 44

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 24, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Two-hour walk around the mine site.
Very pleasant as there was no one else on the trail. The first part around the lake is through woodland. The atmosphere is very bucolic and peaceful. The second part offers beautiful views in a surprising setting.
This walk, 50 km from Nantes, is well worth the detour.

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PACPAC
PACPAC

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 26, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Seaside landscape, varied between moorland and reasonably urbanised areas, easy going as there are very few hills. Ideal for families looking to relax.

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Moumine05
Moumine05

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 15, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A small clarification regarding point 5: the path to take is before the bridge; there is another one after it, with a signpost for Pointe de Merquel. We took this one, which is an alternative route and avoids the section of road at point 7.
A very beautiful walk.

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