The memorial to 23 March 1974 in the Ermenonville forest

Route on a sandy path with a few hills. Passes near the memorial to the March 1974 plane crash.

Details

26323842
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.38 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 66 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 74 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 109 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 77 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the Baraque de Chaalis car park, at the crossroads on the Longue Route.

(S/E) Head south-west towards the memorial.

(1) At the Bosquet de Dammartin signpost, take thefirst path on the left. At the next crossroads, take thesecond path on the right, which is sandy. Continue straight ahead (south-east) for about 700 m.

(2) When you reach the paved road, turn left. At the Futaie signpost, before a barrier, turn right at an acute angle and follow a narrow path to the Sainte-Lucie crossroads.

(3) Then veer slightly left (south-southwest). At Carrefour des Cognassiers, turn left.

(4) At the next crossroads (Carrefour Saint-Barthélémy), turn right at a sharp angle. After about 400 metres, turn right. Immediately pass a path on your left and after about 40 metres, go down to the left onto a straight, very sandy path. At the bottom, at a T-junction, turn right at a 90° angle.

(5) At Carrefour du Grisard, take thesecond path on the left. After about 100 metres, take thefirst path on the left. At the next junction, turn right.

(6) At Carrefour du Bosquet Rond, take thefirst path on the left at an acute angle. At Carrefour du Tremble, go straight ahead (south-west). At the next junction, continue straight ahead (west).

(7) At the next intersection, turn right (north-west). Cross a paved road (Chemin du Frêne) and continue north-west on the road that climbs opposite. Leave a road on your left and turn left for 100 metres until you find a road on your right (altitude 100 metres).

(8) At the top of the hill, turn completely right. Ignore a path on the right and immediately come out onto Route Sainte-Marguerite (GR®1). Follow this wide path to the right (south-east) until you reach a large crossroads (Poteau Sainte-Marguerite).

(9) Take thesecond path on the left (with heather). At the next crossroads, turn right and then immediately left. Continue straight ahead for about 500 m.

(10) At the crossroads, turn left. After about 200 m, make a quick detour to the right to see the memorial to the plane crash of 23 March 1974. Continue along the main path.

(1) Continue straight ahead to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 109 m - Car park - Baraque de Chaalis
  2. 1 : km 0.61 - alt. 105 m - Bosquet de Dammartin signpost
  3. 2 : km 1.61 - alt. 85 m - Crossroads
  4. 3 : km 2.33 - alt. 97 m - Carrefour Sainte-Lucie
  5. 4 : km 3.34 - alt. 104 m - Carrefour Saint-Barthélémy
  6. 5 : km 4.44 - alt. 77 m - Carrefour du Grisard
  7. 6 : km 5.39 - alt. 90 m - Carrefour du Bosquet Rond
  8. 7 : km 6.24 - alt. 95 m - Intersection
  9. 8 : km 7.01 - alt. 101 m - Fork
  10. 9 : km 7.61 - alt. 107 m - Poteau Sainte-Marguerite
  11. 10 : km 8.34 - alt. 103 m - Crossroads
  12. S/E : km 9.38 - alt. 109 m - Car park - Baraque de Chaalis

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 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.1 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
Clovis5793
Clovis5793

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike on sandy ground, not very difficult, with a moment of reflection at the end at the accident memorial.

Machine-translated

webmarc
webmarc

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant and varied hike.
Thanks to the author of the hike.

However, the date of the accident is incorrect; it was 3 March, not 23 March.

Machine-translated

Spijeoles
Spijeoles

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route, very varied, you won't get bored. Unfortunately, it was a day of hunting, and knowing (and hearing in the distance) that a bunch of degenerate nobles were hunting a poor animal to death spoiled the fun a little... It's best to check the schedule of Europe's last hunters beforehand.
The route description is excellent, but using GPS or the IGN app on your phone can be useful in certain places where you might hesitate. It's important to know that the Ermenonville forest is criss-crossed by an incredible number of tracks and paths. Well done and thank you to the route planner!

Machine-translated

dominique landwerlin
dominique landwerlin

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The description would have been easier to follow if the names of the paths had been indicated, as they appear at numerous crossroads.

Machine-translated

ozogiminy
ozogiminy

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Although I didn't struggle to complete this hike, it sometimes lacks precision. It would be good to indicate which paths to ignore, particularly between points 4 and 5.
At point 8, it says: at the top of the hill, turn right. This is incorrect. At the top of this first hill, the path continues on a slight incline, then branches off to the left and after a short second hill, you turn right.
On this path, it says to ignore a path on the right. I would have said that when this path turns right, leave it by turning left.

Machine-translated

D_LPX
D_LPX

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A pleasant hike mainly through forest, but to follow the route you must have the app running. As an added bonus, there are picnic tables at the starting point, or finishing point depending on the time of the hike.

Machine-translated

VTaveau
VTaveau

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, easy hike in the forest with a few small inclines. Done in wet weather but with perfectly acceptable ground conditions thanks to the sandy soil.

Machine-translated

catpat77
catpat77

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, which takes place exclusively in the forest. We did it in the opposite direction to the description, with no difficulty, but expect to have some steep hills to climb, because in the opposite direction to the hike, the hills are steeper than in the normal direction. Wear good shoes, because you will encounter different types of terrain, including cobblestones, sand and forest soil. It's best to do it on a sunny day. The route is also used by mountain bikers, so be careful if you're doing it with children. We also encountered many mushroom pickers, which is normal as we saw lots of mushrooms. Finally, we did the memorial last, but you can do it first if you wish.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

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.