Heathland, ponds and megaliths in Monteneuf

Come and discover a remarkable megalithic site in the Landes de Monteneuf: a collection of standing stones, covered walkways and isolated menhirs. Although less spectacular than Carnac, it is nonetheless very interesting due to the presence of a site currently undergoing renovation, where regional archaeologists have recreated both the dwellings of the period and the methods used to raise the stones.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.25 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 55 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 55 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 155 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 96 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Monteneuf (56380)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.872475° / W 2.209213°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 1019SB, 1020SB, 1119SB, 1120SB
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park at Place Saint-Nicodème: behind the church, opposite the restaurant "Les Mégalithes" where the Maison du Randonneur (Hiker's Centre) is located.

(S/E) Head south on Rue de la Ville Étienne, then immediately turn east onto Rue des Jaunais. Continue right on Rue du Houssa for about 100 metres.

(1) Turn left onto a path heading due east. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead and ignore the path on the left for now. Continue for 100 metres and turn right onto a small path (watch out for the ditch you have to step over) and walk 20 metres to see the Pièce Couverte.

(2) Go back 100 metres and take the path on the right, heading north-west. In the middle of the forest, you should see a covered walkway, which is off the route. Continue north-east towards the Pierre Blanche.

(3) Retrace your steps and continue to the right. Ignore a path on the left and follow the path on the right that runs alongside the pumping station. Continue to the hamlet of Le Pouilo. Turn left onto the road until you reach the chapel on the right. Head north again, turning left at the crossroads. Note the long farm buildings on your right. Continue right towards the Allée Couverte de Bordouès.

(4) Return to the road, turn left onto a path after 70 metres and follow it north-west.

(5) Please note : To enter the site, which is representative of the Neolithic period, follow the signs. Go to the crossroads and turn left, enter via the engraved plaque and visit the entire site. Exit onto the arrival path.

(5) Continue north-west and, after the crossroads, after a few dozen metres, you will reach the Pierres Droites archaeological site. Next to it is an example of a Neolithic dwelling that can be visited

(6) Leave the site by joining the D776 road. Follow it to the left for 50 metres and, after crossing it, take the path on the right (site car park). Continue along the path on the left until you reach a wide path with red stone paving (due to iron oxide).

(7) Go around the field on your right, taking the path on the right, then after 250 metres turn onto the path on the left. You will reach the Allée Couverte de la Loge Morinais.

(8) Head right and follow the large lane to the left. Turn left into the first large lane and follow it to the end. Ignore the road on the right and turn left into the forest lane. After a left-hand bend, take the path on the right towards the pond.

(9) You can turn around at the pond either on the right or on the left. Leave the pond via the path to the west. Ignore a wide lane on the right that leads to the road and continue south-west. When the path widens, turn right towards the Étang de la Voltais, known as the Chaperon Rouge.

(10) Go around it on the left and turn right towards the road. Follow Rue du Chaperon Rouge on the left. Walk past the school on your left and reach Rue Saint-Michel. Walk around the church to return to the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 100 m - Town hall car park
  2. 1 : km 0.58 - alt. 104 m - Path on the left
  3. 2 : km 1.6 - alt. 113 m - La Pièce Couverte
  4. 3 : km 2.79 - alt. 119 m - The White Stone
  5. 4 : km 5.09 - alt. 120 m - Bordouès covered walkway
  6. 5 : km 6.1 - alt. 137 m - Archaeological reconstruction site
  7. 6 : km 6.42 - alt. 138 m - Alignment of Standing Stones - L'Alignement des Pierres Droites de Monteneuf
  8. 7 : km 7.15 - alt. 154 m - Wide red stony path
  9. 8 : km 7.87 - alt. 141 m - Covered walkway of the Loge Morinais
  10. 9 : km 9 - alt. 128 m - Quéhéhon Pond
  11. 10 : km 10.38 - alt. 117 m - Étang du Chaperon Rouge
  12. S/E : km 11.25 - alt. 100 m - Town hall car park

Notes

Toilets at the start, at the bottom of the square.

Note: this route is specific to the author, but there are several other routes marked in different ways in the area. It is therefore strongly recommended that you follow the route described above, which combines several different routes, and do not rely on the various signposts.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 20 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
pjp2camer
pjp2camer

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very interesting one-hour archaeological tour with children. In the surrounding area, there are several easy hiking trails in the woods. Remember to download the tour map. The tour is not too busy, even during school holidays.

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Christian .Meneac
Christian .Meneac

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello, a route that meets our expectations very well, very interesting and quite a few hikers on this site. We really enjoyed this hike

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2233426
2233426

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This circuit is a wonderful discovery, easily accessible, with numerous megaliths, covered walkways, etc., and very interesting from an educational point of view.
Worth repeating with children, grandchildren and/or friends.

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phidet
phidet

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route with varied landscapes: forest, moorland and the opportunity to discover the superb megalithic site.

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Christian  g
Christian g

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The sites along the hike are worth spending a few minutes exploring.

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GG35
GG35

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

There are no specific markings for this hike, and some paths no longer exist or are impassable.
Easy hikes do not require the use of walking sticks, no elevation gain.

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riko 56
riko 56

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Beautiful hike.

three-quarters of the trails are wooded and often wide, crossing moors with varied vegetation. Rare: there are very few roads on this circuit, which makes it enjoyable. Quite a few Neolithic sites are hidden in the vegetation, adding a touch of mystery.
Highly recommended.

note: after the pumping station, when you reach the crossroads, do not follow the yellow markings to the left, but turn right towards the south until you reach the hamlet of Le Pouillo, walking alongside pastures on your right. When you reach Le Pouillo, leave the house on your right and turn left onto the road.

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Enpassantpar
Enpassantpar

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

What a wonderful discovery this trail through the moors, ponds and megaliths of Monteneuf is.
The landscapes are varied and remarkable.
We had a picnic halfway along the trail, near the chapel and the pond.
It was a wonderful moment of relaxation and the sun accompanied us all along the way.
The workshops on the megaliths are very interesting. Thank you to the volunteers who run them.

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davidchauv
davidchauv

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Beautiful, varied route with no difficulty. Crowded at the main megalithic site.

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coco68@
coco68@

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this wonderful hike.
The landscapes are varied and magnificent, dotted with lots of surprises (covered walkways, burial sites, moors, forests, rows of standing stones, land art, chapels, ponds...), we even saw the White Stone glistening in the sunshine...!!!
We had a wonderful time, thank you again!

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laurentcf
laurentcf
• Edited:

In response to the message dated 13 May 2020 (Bilbo56), the white stone is correctly documented on the OpenStreetMap (OSM) map: on the route, a little further south of the pumping station near a crossroads.

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laurentcf
laurentcf

This circuit is a variation of the Megaliths Loop No. 16 in the FFR's Brocéliande guide, also on the tourismebretagne website, which we followed and which corresponds to the signposts on wooden panels.
The standing stones site has a signposted trail (not sure we did it in the right order) and is well worth 30 minutes of your time.

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Dan5656
Dan5656

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

It is essential to follow the text description, as there are multiple arrows and errors are common

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Sidoni
Sidoni

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk, the archaeological site is a real bonus on the route and well worth a visit. Thank you

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pepite22
pepite22

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful hike, with megaliths and archaeological excavations, lovely paths, moors and forest, but as is often the case in forests, not always easy to follow on paper.
The route was quite busy, probably due to lockdown and the bank holiday
In 2-La Pierre Blanche is actually on the main path to our right, less than 10 metres away (burial site?) and before turning right
In 3, it should say: "continue along the main path" and not "retrace your steps", which is confusing
In 3-after "follow the path that runs alongside the pumping station", you must take the path on the RIGHT after the pumping station (we took the left) to reach the hamlet of "Le Pouillo" (village not indicated on site)
-In 6, we crossed the D 776 "take the path on the right" but never found the path...
In steps 7 and 8, we followed the advice of a fellow walker we met and used our GPS for the end of the circuit in steps 9 and 10.
Thanks once again to the author and to Visorando.

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