The Bois de la Tour du Lay

A circular route alternating between tarmac roads, dirt tracks and forest paths, which takes you around the Bois de la Tour du Lay from Champagne-sur-Oise and offers views of the Oise valley. Along the way, you will pass a Neolithic polishing stone. The Bois de la Tour du Lay is classified as a departmental forest and bears the name of an old parish. This area is classified as a natural zone of ecological, faunistic and floristic interest (ZNIEFF).

Details

1029298
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.26 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 148 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 142 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 161 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 29 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from Champagne-sur-Oise, Place de Verdun (blue zone opposite the school, but free spaces further away or on Rue Pierre de Montreuil).

(S/E) Turn right onto Avenue du Général Leclerc and then right again onto Rue des Martyrs. Then take the first left (Rue de Chambly).

(1) At the fork (wash house), turn left onto Rue Engenest. At the end, follow Rue de Montigny to the left. Walk along the park and, at the next crossroads, turn right onto farm track no. 11, which climbs north-northwest.

(2) Continue on the left, following Chemin de la Cavée. Pass in front of the remains of cavities. Continue along Chemin de la Cavée towards the north-west, ignoring the paths on either side. The path climbs towards open plains (viewpoint over the Oise valley to the south-east). Pass under the high-voltage power lines.

(3) At the edge of the woods, at a triple fork, take the middle path. Do not be put off by the various prohibition signs (no picking, private woodland) but stay on the path. At the T-junction, turn left. At the first fork, turn right. At the second fork, turn left (Chemin du Grand Rond in Chambly, heading west). Ignore a path that branches off to the right and immediately leads to a fork.

(4) Leave Chemin du Grand Rond à Chambly and follow the path that branches off to the right. Walk north-west, ignoring the paths that branch off to the sides.

(5) Cross a road. Opposite, there are two paths: take the one on the left (not shown on the map). The narrow path winds downhill and runs alongside a fence (always follow the yellow signs).

(6) When you reach the intersection, take the path on the left (towards the north-west). At the next intersection, turn left.

(7) At the crossroads, turn left. Head south-south-east on a long straight road.

(8) Turn right at the fourth intersection. At the next crossroads, turn left towards the polisher.
Access to the polisher is possible on the right (signs).
Then continue straight ahead, south-southeast, ignoring the paths on either side. At the end, turn left.

(9) At the next junction, turn right and exit the woods. Pass under the high-voltage power lines and continue south (Chemin de la Dîme).

(10) At the crossroads, turn left at an acute angle (Chemin du Four à Chaux). The road bends and descends towards the south-west (Rue du Chêne Conti).

(11) At the intersection, take Rue de Vaux opposite. After the small bridge over the stream, continue left on Rue de Vaux, which becomes Route de Vaux à Jouy.

(12) When you reach Champagne-sur-Oise, continue east on Rue de Jouy. At the end, the street turns right and heads south. At the fork, turn left onto Rue Patrix, which heads uphill and east. Pass the cemetery. Continue until you reach Rue Jules Picard.

(13) Then take the first right. Pass the town hall, then turn left after the church. Follow Rue Jules Picard to the right again and continue straight ahead until you reach the intersection with Avenue du Général Leclerc. Turn right to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 29 m - Place de Verdun - Gare de Champagne-sur-Oise
  2. 1 : km 0.18 - alt. 34 m - Fourche - Lavoir
  3. 2 : km 0.73 - alt. 67 m - Chemin de la Cavée
  4. 3 : km 2.2 - alt. 125 m - Edge of the Woods
  5. 4 : km 3.46 - alt. 130 m - Fork
  6. 5 : km 4.1 - alt. 134 m - Road
  7. 6 : km 4.55 - alt. 142 m - Champagne tail
  8. 7 : km 5.13 - alt. 155 m - Crossroads - Cote 154
  9. 8 : km 6.15 - alt. 137 m - Intersection
  10. 9 : km 7.39 - alt. 112 m - Crossroads - Exit from the woods
  11. 10 : km 8.17 - alt. 100 m - Lime kiln
  12. 11 : km 8.85 - alt. 56 m - Rue de Vaux
  13. 12 : km 10.34 - alt. 63 m - Rue de Jouy
  14. 13 : km 11.31 - alt. 52 m - Rue Jules Picard
  15. S/E : km 12.26 - alt. 29 m - Place de Verdun - Gare de Champagne-sur-Oise

Notes

- Hike accessible by public transport. Take the Transilien H line and get off at Champagne-sur-Oise station. From the station, cross the D4 and follow Avenue du Général Leclerc to Place de Verdun (about 200m on foot).

- Yellow signposts.

- During the hunting season, this hike is not possible on Mondays (access to the Bois de la Tour du Lay is prohibited).

Worth a visit

- Neolithic polisher (listed as a historic monument).
- Oise Valley.
- More information about the Bois de la Tour du Lay on the department's website

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 19 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
CACOIN
CACOIN
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Circular around the town of Champagne. We travel through the countryside and the forest.
Some sections are very muddy due to tree felling (which is normal after the rain in recent days). The final stretch (mostly downhill for 3 km) is on roads and pavements (not great).
Elevation gain around 190m.

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User 4723307

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

In the woods of the Lay tower, after crossing the road to the beautiful church at Isle Adam, the indicated path is no longer accessible (fence). We went around it and found the path again after about 400 metres.

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JeanMie
JeanMie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

By following the GPS route, there is no reason to get lost.
The hike is varied, pleasant and easy.

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ealet
ealet

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A hike without much difficulty; well described and easy to follow,
up to point 11, it's great, beautiful views, crossing a beautiful forest, the polisher which is of cultural interest
from this point onwards, it is not as good (road and crossing the town of Champagne, which is not very interesting)
thanks to the author for sharing

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Hervé Roullet
Hervé Roullet

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

As usual, a well-described hike with no problems, except for the paths that have been completely destroyed by forestry work and the heavy rain of the last few days!

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FarMeb
FarMeb
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike, not very technical, but if you keep your eyes peeled, you can spot some beautiful wildlife: mice, grass snakes and even a squirrel.

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Christophe Pottier
Christophe Pottier

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 06, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful route, the description is perfect, no risk of getting lost. Can be done on foot or by trail running.

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leducala94
leducala94
• Edited:

To my knowledge, every self-respecting hiker should have at least a compass (which works even under trees!) and a map. Personally, I have a hiking GPS and the Visorando app on my smartphone, but even with these tools, I sometimes miss a turn if I'm not paying attention. The hiking GPS works without a GSM network. The Visorando app allows you to save the IGN map. A smartphone can also have a compass app. The text has been reviewed by a site moderator.. The description seems as accurate as possible to me.

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geoffala
geoffala

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

from number 3 onwards, we got lost. Very poorly signposted and poorly described (you need to know the position of south, west, etc., which is difficult under the trees). We ended up by chance near the polisher. After that, it was well signposted.

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MTRP1974
MTRP1974

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

Very beautiful hike, forest, pond, village, fields.
Almost all of the forest is privately owned, but accessible to hikers, except on hunting days.
It was a hunting day, so be careful.
Between 5 and 6, it was closed, but I went anyway, as it was a short stretch.
Then I took a detour from 8 to 10, which were closed.
I made an extra detour to reach the Oise river and return to the Champagne-sur-Oise station.
The whole trip was 19 km, but under a blue sky and beautiful sunshine, it was a pleasure.

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legodvicien
legodvicien

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 30, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An easy hike, mostly through woods. A short steep climb to warm up your legs! As mentioned above, the path between points 5 and 6 is quite narrow, with dense vegetation and sometimes brambles across the path (be careful if wearing shorts!). Point of interest: the well-preserved polishing stone with a small explanatory panel.
The walk through Parmain and then Champagne is pleasant.

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JLT95
JLT95
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

.

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brigitte et jean claude
brigitte et jean claude

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 01, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

very beautiful, pleasant and easy walk

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Beatrice D1.
Beatrice D1.

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 04, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very pleasant hike, beautiful woodland, the only downside was that we went on a Sunday during hunting season and the fields of Champagne-sur-Oise were full of hunters and there were lots of disturbing gunshots.

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VinceBarber
VinceBarber
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

between 5 and 6, be careful, trousers are a must, it's a jungle out there...

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