Short loop in the north of the Saint-Germain-en-Laye Forest

A former royal hunting ground, the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye has wide, long avenues. There are also paths winding through the undergrowth, which this hike invites you to discover. The route is mainly through the forest, with a variety of tree species and a short stretch along the edge of a pond.

This walk is part of a multi-day hike: Through the forests of western Paris

Details

291223
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.57 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 24 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 21 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 46 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 26 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from Étoile des Pétrons, on the road between Achères and Maisons-Laffitte. Car park on the right-hand side of the road when coming from Achères.

Yellow markings

(S/E) Cross the road, preferably at the pedestrian crossing to the right of the car park exit: the path to take starts opposite (bike signs "London-Paris"). Follow the path heading north-east (orange marker on the left).

(1) At the first crossroads, turn sharply left and take a discreet path, leaving a tree marked with the number 67 (forest plot) on your left. N.B. On the IGN map, this path is supposed to start just before the crossroads, but it is actually at the crossroads that you take it. Wind your way between the young beech trees, with a bridle path on your right. Under the pine trees, turn left. After about 100 metres, turn right (do not follow the vague path that continues straight ahead). At the T-junction, follow the wide Route de la Vente Frileuse to the right.

No markings

At the junction a few metres further on, leave the marked trail on the left and continue straight ahead to the Étoile du Bout du Monde (signpost).

(2) At the crossroads, continue straight ahead (north-north-west) along Route de la Vente Frileuse, which becomes a narrower, grassy path, while the wide, stabilised path you were on before veers left (north-west).

(3) At the first crossroads (horseshoe symbol opposite), take the second path on the left (west-northwest), Route Madame. Cross a wide grassy lane and continue straight ahead. At the next crossroads, with a path, continue straight ahead. The path becomes narrower but remains well marked. Walk along a young pine forest on your right.

(4) Cross Route de la Garenne, a sandy bridle path, and continue west-northwest. After crossing a faint path, Route Madame becomes less narrow. When a path comes from the right, continue left and reach a crossroads (on the right, an opening in a wall with a cattle grid).

(5) At the crossroads, turn left. Cross the wide Route du Corra and continue straight ahead (no. 15 on the left). Climb slightly and note the tall Douglas fir trees on the right. At the next crossroads (concrete drainage channel), turn right (north-west).
N.B. On the IGN map, the path to follow appears to be the second on the right. However, the path heading north, which is supposed to be the first, does not exist. On site, you should therefore take the first path on the right.
Gently descend along a sandy path and walk along the right-hand side of the Douglas fir plot.

Red and yellow markings

(6) At the crossroads, follow the wide path on the left (third on the left) and after about 100 metres you will reach the end of the Étang du Corra (information board, map, benches). Retrace your steps back to the Étoile Sainte-Honorine.

(6) Head south along the second path on the right, leaving plot no. 14 on your left.

No markings

At the first crossroads, turn left (south-east) and leave theGRP® straight ahead. After curving to the left, the path reaches a crossroads.

Orange markings

(7) Take the second path on the left, the Route Tortue. Walk east on this pleasant, slightly grassy path and note the pretty clusters of birch trees and tall, isolated oak trees here and there. Pass three crossroads in succession (the third with a faint path): each time, continue straight ahead (the marker may be located beyond the crossroads). You will then reach a T-junction and follow a wider path to the left.

No markings

At the crossroads immediately ahead, take the first wide, sandy path on the right.

(8) At the next crossroads, two paths (much narrower than all the other paths) branch off roughly in line with our path: take the left-hand path, which heads south-east, just to the right of a wide path with an oak tree marked with the number 33. At the next crossroads (large oak tree with two trunks), continue straight ahead and, after a few metres, at another crossroads, continue straight ahead again. The path widens. At the next crossroads (horseshoe), continue straight ahead. At a fork (not shown on the IGN map), follow the path on the right (horseshoe), i.e. the narrower one. When you reach the road, follow it for a few metres on the right-hand side and you will arrive at the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 39 m - Étoile des Pétrons
  2. 1 : km 0.52 - alt. 37 m - Étoile de Penthièvre
  3. 2 : km 1.26 - alt. 34 m - Star at the End of the World
  4. 3 : km 1.72 - alt. 33 m - Étoile Madame
  5. 4 : km 2.41 - alt. 31 m - Route Madame x Route de la Garenne
  6. 5 : km 3.01 - alt. 28 m - Crossroads on the edge of the Agricultural Park
  7. 6 : km 3.99 - alt. 28 m - Étoile Sainte-Honorine
  8. 7 : km 4.96 - alt. 43 m - Crossroads - Route Tortue
  9. 8 : km 6.53 - alt. 42 m - Étoile du Dessus de la Muette
  10. S/E : km 7.57 - alt. 39 m - Étoile des Pétrons

Notes

Good trainers are sufficient. The paths are generally in good condition and should not pose any major difficulties in wet weather (not tested). There are no water sources along the route.

Although the hike favours less frequented paths, the space must be shared with many other users, especially at weekends: other walkers, runners, cyclists, horse riders, etc. A minimum of attention and courtesy is required.

This short hike can be complemented by the Étoile des Pétrons Botanical Trail (1.4 km). Start at the back of the car park (information board).

A 1:25,000 map is essential (at least the one accompanying this description). A compass doesn't weigh much and may prove useful...

Hike completed by the author on 3 July 2016.

Worth a visit

- Diverse forests, including a plot of tall Douglas firs (7).
- Corra Pond (protected natural area).

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 21 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
LaLDD
LaLDD

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

Lovely walk in the forest. The full tour of the lake is not worth it: noise near the road, lots of rubbish near the car park... avoid this detour!

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Nickette51
Nickette51

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very peaceful walk as it is entirely in the forest. It can be extended by going around the Cora pond.

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Bernard Da
Bernard Da

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very parish specific to Brittany with this family outing

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mimidparis
mimidparis

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A lovely outing in the forest.
Allow extra time to walk around Cora Pond. It's a very beautiful place.

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pigeotjacqueline
pigeotjacqueline

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant short hike in the forest. It would be interesting to offer an optional tour of the Corra pond.
It's a shame that the names of the various star-shaped crossroads are not marked on the ground, nor are the names of the roads and paths.

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moodygirl
moodygirl

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you very much for this lovely route along small paths that we would not have tried without this description.
The GPX track is very reliable. A few markers are missing, but this does not hinder understanding of the route, which is very well described. We added the tour of the Corra pond to the route, and it was a very pleasant little hike.

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cbonnemoy
cbonnemoy

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful, very popular hike starting at 10 a.m.

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Chorus
Chorus

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Despite the rain, it's not too muddy.
We also walked around Corra Pond, which is interesting.

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gdohy
gdohy

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Nothing in particular to say

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dematt
dematt

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 04, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk at the start of autumn with very few people encountered and abundant, varied vegetation. Sandy terrain with no water retention.
A few minor updates are needed to the description, particularly at the beginning, as some of the inscriptions have disappeared.

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isabelle2G
isabelle2G

In fact, the description misled us. Just to find the starting point of the hike, we retraced our steps three times, which is why we ended up using only the map.

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Netra
Netra ★

Hello Isabelle, and thank you for your comments.

If you "had a good time", what justifies the description being deemed "disappointing"? How can it be improved? Thank you in advance.

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isabelle2G
isabelle2G

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very enjoyable hike, we had a wonderful time as a family in this beautiful forest.

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fano1962
fano1962
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

a very pleasant walk and splendid nature.

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S.BTX
S.BTX

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

...

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