The meandering trail in Saint-Philbert-sur-Orne

Departure from Les Roches d'Oëtre, from the building dedicated to this site: car parks on site.

Follow the signs for "Le sentier des Méandres" along the entire route.

(S/E) From the car park, walk along the building on your right and pass between its two wings. Take the path on the right. Very soon, on the left, you will come to a viewpoint (be careful, there is no guardrail).

(1) At a fork, follow the signs and take the path on the right, which descends quickly. Follow it downhill to La Rouvre at the bottom of the valley. Walk along La Rouvre for a few dozen metres, following its course, and take the path that goes back up into the woods.

(2) At a fairly large fork, continue along the path that opens up on the left and runs alongside a pasture. Follow this path, which turns 90° to the left, following the meadow and then entering a beautiful canopy of shrubs. Stay on this path, which runs alongside a more passable road that begins shortly afterwards, joining it just before the D301.

(3) Cross the road carefully and enter the pretty hamlet of La Vallée with its typical regional houses. Cross the village and join the road to the right.

(4) Pass above La Rouvre. Just before the bridge, there is a pretty property surrounded by trees. Note the three magnificent sequoias on the riverbank. Take the path on the right just after the river to an old tannery (oak bark mill) and the miller's house (explanation, just before the mill, at the side of the path).

(5) At the mill, continue along the path that goes around the rock, then joins a road at the hamlet of Les Planches.

(6) Pass over La Rouvre again and enter the hamlet of Les Planches. At a fork, take the path that climbs to the right. After a steep climb, you will reach a plateau. On the right, as you climb, there are several access points to viewpoints over the Méandre de Rouvrou. Continue to a crossroads.

(7) Turn left onto the path that goes in the opposite direction. Follow it, ignoring the side paths, until you reach the D301.

(8) Follow it straight ahead to the Roches d'Oëtre and your starting point on the right (S/E).

Roches d'Oëtre trail in mid-October. Avoid these paths during this event.

Roches d'Oëtre.