Boël Trail (Sentier du Boël)

A very pleasant hike. First section at the top of cliffs, with lovely views over the Vilaine river and the site "Moulin du Boël". Cross a shady woodland, then return along the towpath.
To avoid as much as possible passing along the military site's fence ("Le Celar"), this new description uses a slightly more technical part of the GR®.

Details

257772
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.05 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 93 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 92 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 89 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 14 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Start: Arriving from "Pont-Réan", park in the car park at the village entrance.

(S/E) From the car park, head towards the pretty old houses opposite the lock and mill.

(1) Pass by the lock. Observe the mill on the opposite bank. Continue along the towpath.

(2) Just before the SNCF* (Railway) bridge over the river, leave the towpath and turn left onto the path leading up to the bridge. A footbridge crosses the river, parallel to the TGV** railway line. At the end of the bridge, turn right onto the road leading down to the river.

(3) Leave the path opposite which leads to the mill site. Turn left, and at the entrance to the car park, follow the GR® path on the left (white and red markings). The path quickly climbs to the heights. Various viewpoints offer magnificent panoramas of the Vilaine river and the Boël site.

(4) Continue following the GR®39. The trail passes slightly away from the military site ("Le CELAR"). Short climbs, sometimes quite steep, but without danger and in a very shady area.

(5) The GR® skirts the fence of the military site, continue straight ahead. Leave the military zone. The GR® passes in front of isolated villas and continues through undergrowth until you arrive at the hamlet of "La Bouchetière".

(6) Continue along the GR® until you reach a place called "Les Vallées".

(7) Leave the GR® on your left and turn right onto the D39, toward "Guichen". We soon come to the bridge over the "Vilaine" river, which we cross. (Beware of heavy traffic at this point).

(8) Leave the road at the end of the bridge. Turn left onto the path leading down to the river. Follow the towpath on the left, pass under the bridge and continue to the car park on the left (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 16 m - Car park at the entrance
  2. 1 : km 0.2 - alt. 16 m - Lock - Vilaine (fleuve)
  3. 2 : km 0.63 - alt. 16 m - Ascent to the SNCF bridge
  4. 3 : km 0.84 - alt. 17 m - To the left
  5. 4 : km 1.37 - alt. 50 m - Follow the GR39
  6. 5 : km 2.23 - alt. 55 m - Fencing of the military site
  7. 6 : km 4.28 - alt. 79 m - Village la Bouchetière.
  8. 7 : km 5.13 - alt. 30 m - D39 to the right
  9. 8 : km 5.51 - alt. 19 m - Path on the left
  10. S/E : km 8.05 - alt. 16 m - Car park at the entrance

Notes

Start: Arriving from "Pont-Réan", park in the car park at the village entrance.

Access: Pass through Pont-Réan (bridge). At the exit, turn left onto the road to "Le Moulin du Boël".

Gears: The trail is not difficult, but good hiking boots or even walking sticks are recommended.

Refreshments: There's a bar/restaurant on the Boël site. There is no other bar/restaurant on the circuit.

Facilities : Laillé village is about 2km from the place named "La Bouchetière". To get there, turn left onto the tarmac road at La Bouchetière. Laillé village offers a full range of shops and services.

  • SNCF = French National Railway Company
    • TGV = High-speed train

 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

4.5 / 5
Based on 56 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
tugny44
tugny44
• Edited:

Thank you for your message. You are not the first to notice this rather uninteresting stretch along the military site. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, there is no other option. However, apart from this section, the trail has some interesting passages at different levels. That is why I am recommending it on Visorando.
Best regards.

Machine-translated

User 27806214
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The first part, climbing above the Boël site, is exceptional. The rest of the path, which runs alongside the barbed wire of the military camp, is uninteresting, but there is a pleasant trail through the undergrowth that returns to the Vilaine, and the return to Boël via the towpath is enjoyable.

Machine-translated

frenchydoc1
frenchydoc1

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk along the Vilaine river. A bit monotonous along the military camp, but the interest of the route more than makes up for it. Highly recommended.

Machine-translated

tugny44
tugny44

Hello
In the part of the route you describe, there are indeed a few steep sections.
It is important to wear good hiking boots. When it has rained, it is also advisable to use hiking poles, which are very effective on downhill slopes.
Otherwise, between WP4 and 5, you can avoid one of the steep slopes by leaving the GR and taking a track that brings you closer to the fence of the military site. See the map.

Machine-translated

User 26051075

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I took the route in the opposite direction. It was a very beautiful route. The section along the fence didn't bother me, but the return along the edge of the Vilaine was very tricky and impossible to do in such wet conditions without ending up on the ground. The signposting for this section should probably be reviewed. Overall, it was a very beautiful walk.

Machine-translated

Xia
Xia

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

a slightly technical start, then an easy return, but beautiful scenery

Machine-translated

Kleeo
Kleeo

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely views from the cliffs and a pleasant walk in the shade when it's hot.
Easy route to follow.
Dangerous section on the road before the bridge: heavy traffic and not much room for safety.

Machine-translated

tugny44
tugny44

Hello
I know, it's the black spot of this hike. Unfortunately, I've already looked. There are a few paths in the woods but they belong to the army. It's forbidden to use them. Too bad for us.

Machine-translated

claudine-ricordel
claudine-ricordel

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

a slightly strenuous circuit, avoid doing it in wet weather on the edge of the cliffs
it's a shame to follow a fence... couldn't we find a little path through the woods?

Machine-translated

uxa020
uxa020

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

No problems encountered on this route

Machine-translated

Marynigee
Marynigee
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Lovely walk between the forest and the banks of the Vilaine
Less interesting when you walk along the military field, but the rest in the sunshine is great!

Machine-translated

tugny44
tugny44

Thank you Elo79 for your comment about the traffic along the D39. I've added a note to the description to warn of the risk on this stretch.
Otherwise, the passage along the military fence is not very pleasant. I've recently changed the route, taking more of the GR. But I haven't found a way around it completely.
Thanks again for your message.

Machine-translated

Elo79
Elo79

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The walk is to be recommended on the whole, but there are a few not-so-good parts.
The start of the walk is superbly beautiful. You walk along the Vilaine and then climb to the top of the cliffs, from where you have a great view of the Vilaine.
From point 5, you walk along the fence of the military field for over a kilometre. This part is really long and uninteresting, but it's an essential part of the walk.
Next, we pass through undergrowth. This section is also pleasant.
Then, between points 7 and 8, we had to walk on the road to cross the bridge, even though there were a lot of cars on the road, which we found quite dangerous.
Finally, the walk ended on a positive note with a 2.5-kilometre walk along the Vilaine to get back to the car park.

Machine-translated

HELENE 35
HELENE 35

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very nice loop, the first part with the viewpoints is great, the second part where you walk along the edge of the woods is very pleasant, especially as it was hot.
We were a little unsure of the direction on the second part, but in fact there's no doubt about it: simply "follow the military camp".

Machine-translated

gsensevy
gsensevy

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The route is really very interesting, and the walk magnificent.
It seemed to me that at certain points, for example at point 5, the route would be better if it followed the path of the three bridges exactly, rather than skirting the military camp.

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.