Places of interest in the southern part of the Bouconne National Forest

Park in the car park at the Maison Forestière Saint-Louis, Impasse Saint-Louis in Pujaudran.

(S/E) With your back to the car park, head towards the central path and turn left. This section follows the GR®653, marked in red and white, and the Way of St James, marked with scallop shells.
After a right-hand bend, you will soon reach a Y-junction. There is a sign on the right for the historic path and, opposite, for the Way of St James and the Grand Tour de Pujaudran (GTP), marked in black on a blue background.

Head straight on and climb up to another Y-shaped junction. Take the left-hand branch and follow the GR® and GTP signs and the scallop shells, staying on this wide track and ignoring the paths branching off to the right and left. At the edge of the forest, there is a clearing with an unobstructed view of Pujaudran, where the^GR® continues straight ahead along a track that is passable by vehicles but unpaved.

(1) Leave the GR®, the GTP and the Way of St James and take the path on the right into the undergrowth. The path winds through the woods, descending to follow the course of the Rieu Tord. Continue until you find a crossing on the left.

(2) Cross the stream and climb up to the edge of the forest. The path makes an inverted ‘U’ to go round a protrusion of the forest. Cross the stream that connects to the ponds, and follow the two small Chaume ponds along their right banks.

At the end of^{the second} pond, continue to follow the bank, heading up to the left, leave the woods for a few metres, then turn right onto the path that leads back into the undergrowth. The path descends and splits into two branches; the one on the right leads to a crossing over the Rieu Tord stream via a makeshift bridge.
Take the branch that continues straight ahead, runs alongside a small stream and then follows the edge of the forest until it meets the path leading to the Belloc pond.

(3) Turn left onto the path and head towards the pond. Follow the right bank of the pond, then keep to the right on the Belloc Pond path. When you reach the north-western corner of the pond, take the path on the right which descends towards the forest. The path bends to the left and resumes following the Rieu Tord stream to a log bridge. Cross the Rieu Tord and continue left into the gorge, which is a path following the stream’s carved bed. Continue following the Rieu Tord to the lane leading from the small car park at the Mérenvielle entrance.

(4) Turn left onto the gravel path, cross the car park and then the D45 with care, and take the path opposite which climbs perpendicular to the D45 until you reach the^first side path.

(5) Turn right onto side lane no. 33 towards the main track, then take the^first lane on the right running parallel to the main track and head up to the left until you reach the next side lane.

(6) Turn right into side lane no. 32 towards the central track, then take the^first lane on the right running parallel to the central track and head up to the left until you reach the next side lane. Turn left into side lane no. 31 away from the main track, then take the^first right-hand lane running parallel to the main track and head up to the next side lane. Turn right into side lane no. 30 towards the main track until you reach the^first right-hand lane running parallel to the main track.

(7) Head left up to the next side path, then turn right into the stony path coming from the Maison Forestière de Lasserre. After a few metres, you can see the Cross of Saint Dominic set back slightly to the left. Continue to the central path. Turn right onto the wide stony path, pass the memorial to François Verdier, a hero of the Resistance, and continue to the next side path leading off to the left.

(8) Leave the central path and turn left onto the side path leading to the eastern edge of the forest.
Just before the edge of the forest, take the path on the right which runs along the edge of the forest. Cross the D42 with care and follow the path opposite which continues to run along the edge of the forest.

(9) Leave the path and turn left to see the pond on the Rieu Tord, then return to the path.
Continue along the path southwards until you pass the hamlet of Lutché.

(10) At the junction with the side paths marked 102 and 103 coming from the main track, turn left onto the path to visit the Lutché pond and return by the same route. Continue along the path which climbs and then descends towards the hamlet of Mayras.

At the junction with a road leading to the hamlet of Mayras, turn into the lane on the right which climbs back up towards the main track. At the main track, turn left and then turn left again to reach the car park at the Maison Forestière Saint-Louis (S/E).

(S/E) At the car park, there is a map of the forest showing the lane numbers. It is advisable to take a photo of it.
You can have a picnic in the Saint-Louis car park; there are tables and benches available.
No water points along the route
Walking poles may be useful on the ascents and descents, especially on muddy ground.
The Bouconne State Forest is criss-crossed by a network of side paths that intersect the central path, which runs through the entire forest. The main side and peripheral paths are numbered in ascending order from north to south. At the junction of the paths with the central path, a post displays the path number on a red background.

During the hunting season, the forest is closed to the public one Thursday a month. The schedule is available in the car park.