Avant Garde Forest from Pompey

Easy circular hike starting from the plateau of the avant-garde in Pompey
Start from the car park near the acrobatic course.
Follow the yellow triangle markings along the entire route.

Details

1755
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.49 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 113 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 113 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 356 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 288 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the Plateau de l'Avant-Garde car park in Pompey, located near the acrobatic course.

(S/E) Follow the yellow triangle markings along the entire route.
Follow the acrobatic course to the end.

(1) Continue into the forest, almost straight ahead until you reach the intersection of plots 1 and 2.

(2) Turn right, then shortly afterwards left onto a downhill path. Pass a hunting cabin and arrive at a crossroads with five paths.

(3) Take the path opposite and slightly to the right, follow plot 12, then turn left at the hairpin bend until you reach the meadow (view of the Toulaire housing estate).
Continue along the path that runs alongside the forest until you reach the edge.

(4). Then re-enter the forest via a small winding path (muddy section). Join the long straight road that cuts across the "Grande Tranchée". Cross this trench.

(5) Then turn onto thefirst path on the right to join the GR®°°5.

(6) Take theGR® marked in red and white and follow it until the intersection of plots 15 and 14.

(7) Leave theGR® here and turn right onto the path that descends steeply to a carriageway. Cross it and then take the winding path uphill on the left, which joins the plateau of the avant-garde in plot 29.

(8) Turn 90° to the right and continue until you reach the Pompey stadium. After the stadium, take the path on the right to return to the Avant-Garde de Pompey car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 303 m - Avant-Garde de Pompey car park
  2. 1 : km 0.68 - alt. 316 m - Acrobatic route
  3. 2 : km 2.16 - alt. 329 m - Crossing between plots 1 and 2
  4. 3 : km 2.74 - alt. 297 m - Crossroads of 5 paths
  5. 4 : km 4.27 - alt. 292 m - Forêt crossroads
  6. 5 : km 5.51 - alt. 296 m - After Grande Tranchée
  7. 6 : km 6.88 - alt. 352 m - GR5
  8. 7 : km 8.33 - alt. 327 m - Crossroads of plots 14 and 15
  9. 8 : km 10.31 - alt. 298 m - Plot 29
  10. S/E : km 11.49 - alt. 303 m - Avant-Garde de Pompey car park

 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

4.3 / 5
Based on 29 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
marcheurFLI
marcheurFLI

Please note: route taken over and modified at the end of 2024 by the FLI association, which manages 5 circuits on the Avant-Garde plateau. Follow the directions in Visorando sheet no. 74509487 entitled "Forêt de l'Avant-Garde à Pompey par la Boucle Triangle Jaune".

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fanfan
fanfan

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello
Sorry, but we didn't follow this route in its entirety due to lack of time. We didn't anticipate the shorter days and the fact that it got dark very quickly on a grey day.

However, we appreciated the possibility of shortening this itinerary, provided you can read a map and keep an eye out for the various changes in direction and different signs, particularly the red and white GR signs.

We will return to this circuit in better weather.

Thank you

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Christophe La
Christophe La

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

No problems to follow until point 4
Then it got complicated because the path was flooded just after point 4 and it was impossible to walk through the forest near the field. So we moved away, unable to return to the corner (we tried). Then we used a compass to find the path that runs diagonally from point 4 to point 6.
We found the markings (yellow triangles) at point 6
We followed the markings and continued eastwards on the GR5 (with the yellow markings), ending up further east of the starting point, while remaining on the GR5 (and the yellow triangles). This is incompatible with the map. We then navigated by sight on a very steep slope to get back.
This is the first time I have encountered this type of difficulty in about ten hikes.
We only met one person on the entire route.
So I wouldn't really recommend this route beyond point 4 (before that it's perfect, and you can have a nice picnic with a beautiful view when the route runs along the edge of the forest)

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BPam
BPam

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The point of bifurcation towards S at point 7 is not obvious.

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Daniele54
Daniele54
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Not too much sun, which is pleasant in this hot weather
Very easy to follow with Visorando

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FLOCH
FLOCH ★

Thank you for your feedback.
The advantage of Visorando is that it provides accurate descriptions to compensate for poor signage.

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Harmony Wonner
Harmony Wonner

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Winter hike with dry, cold weather.
Be careful of the wind, which is very strong on the Avant Garde plateau.
The muddy sections are really muddy at this time of year, so bring suitable footwear and walking sticks.

The signposting is poorly maintained, so rely on the Visorando map, which is fairly accurate and realistic.
We did the hike in the opposite direction to that described. The signposting is almost invisible, so follow the direction of traffic for ease.

The start of the hike crosses "Pompey Aventure", a play area and tree-top adventure park for the brave/reckless.

To be repeated in the summer

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ac92
ac92

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk, almost entirely in the shade, well marked and very pleasant.
At this time of year, there are lots of wild strawberries along the path, so allow a little extra time...

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nolive73
nolive73

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 03, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike, exclusively through woods and forests.
The acrobatic course in the trees at the start of the hike must be great for children in good weather

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Christecol
Christecol

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : May 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely short hike through various woods. The communal forest of Pompey seems well preserved, whereas the state-owned forest of L'Avant-Garde has been heavily logged. I felt like I was walking through a graveyard of tree trunks. I would be surprised if the forest regenerates so quickly with climate change! Deforestation isn't just happening in the Amazon....
In any case, if you don't want to get lost, follow the route on the map without worrying about the signposts, which I found to be somewhat random at times.

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Colette et Christiane
Colette et Christiane

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We wanted to do this route following the "yellow triangle" markings on Saturday 17 April 2021. Please note: we are completely unfamiliar with the area. Everything went smoothly until about three-quarters of the way along the route. At one point, there were no more "yellow triangle" markings, possibly due to trees being cut down in various places. We tried to get back on track with Visorando, but had difficulty finding our way with missing plot numbers, insufficient details and, no doubt, some misinterpretations on our part. Twice, we went in the wrong direction... We managed to get back to our starting point thanks to Mappy.
It's worth noting that a family we met along the way had the same misadventure as us. They told us they had already tried to follow this route before and hadn't been able to. We travelled together for a while, all equally perplexed at certain intersections, not knowing which way to go. We eventually went our separate ways. We don't know if this family managed to find the rest of the route.

Observations: it's a shame that the "yellow triangle" markings disappear along the route.

Question: why are the blue triangle and green triangle marked trails not shown on Visorando?

However, we really enjoyed this walk, which was mainly in the forest, and hope to do it again soon.

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jg jean g
jg jean g

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

unfortunately, clear-cutting has taken place at the five crossroads. All the markers (triangles) have been removed along with the logs, leaving huge ruts.

otherwise, beautiful walks in a forest of knowledge, but I was unfamiliar with some areas

of interest: the GR 85 (Tour de Nancy) is being cut, which is already known and allows for shorter or longer variations depending on how fit the group is.

thank you for your work

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gilans
gilans

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant hike in warm weather as it takes place mainly in the forest. The open section offers beautiful views of the Toul coastline.

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randodomi54
randodomi54

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 16, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Lack of signposting in two places, but luckily we had another map, otherwise it was a great route. Thank you

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hjd
hjd

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Pleasant hike
hjd

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