Petit Morin Valley - Montolivet and the Moulin de l'Oie

A bucolic hike where paths through fields and woods alternate with small roads with very little traffic.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.05 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 97 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 88 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 198 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 107 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Montolivet (77320)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 48.829472° / E 3.440245°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2614E, 2614O
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking is available in the car park of Montolivet church.

(S/E) With your back to the church, turn left (north-east) onto the D215 road. Just before the cemetery and the war memorial, leave the road and turn left onto a path that descends gently. Ignore a path on the right.

(1) At the corner of Bois de Bobans, turn right at a right angle to walk along a fenced meadow on your left. At the T-junction that follows (isolated cluster of trees opposite), turn left. Ignore a path on the left and, a few metres further on (sandstone marker opposite), turn right onto the path leading down to a hamlet. At the first houses, the path gives way to a tarmac road.

(2) At the crossroads, turn left into Rue des Vieux Prés. Twice, ignore Rue Colette on your right (which forms an arc). At the next crossroads (sign for Montdauphin on the left), continue straight ahead. On leaving the village (No. 1 Rue des Vieux Prés), leave the road on the right and take the path on the left (north-west). Wind your way between fenced meadows.

(3) Enter the Bois du Luart and descend slightly. At the bottom, cross the D31 road (take care) and continue opposite towards Vendières (sign). Cross the Petit Morin, enter Villiers-sur-Eau and note an old well in the middle of a small triangular lawn.

(4) After passing the well, turn left at the corner of No. 58. The alley soon gives way to a grassy path with a hedge on the left. Stay on this north-west facing path until you reach Corberon le Haut, where you will find the tarmac road. At the T-junction, turn left to reach Corberon le Bas.

(5) At the crossroads, turn left and follow the small road that makes a wide circular loop to the right.

(6) At the three-way junction (at a place called L'Oie, you couldn't make it up), turn left. Cross the first branch of the Petit Morin (on the left, old mill), note a huge pollarded tree on the right, then cross the second branch of the Petit Morin. When you reach the D31 road, turn left and follow the road for a few metres.

(7) Cross the road (take care) and follow the V4 road opposite, which climbs towards Montdauphin. At the top of the hill, at a T-junction with the D113 road, turn right. After a few metres, make a quick detour to the left into Rue du Lavoir to see the wash house (unfortunately dry in January 2016). Continue along Rue Saint-Loup to the church in Montdauphin.

(8) At the crossroads, turn left into Rue du Tilleul towards Montolivet (signposted). After the last house, ignore the road on the left and continue straight ahead. After a few metres, just before the war memorial, leave the road and turn right onto a grassy path between the fields. When you reach a small road, turn right towards a prominent water tower. Enter Bois Retz via Rue de la Belle Saule, drive past the farm buildings on your left, then turn right.

(9) At the fork (post box), turn left. A few metres further on, when you reach an ochre-coloured house on the right, turn left at a right angle onto a path that starts with a garden fence on your left. Walk south between the fields, then through a wood and finally along the edge of the wood on your right. At the end of the path, turn left and enter Les Aulnettes.

(10) Cross the hamlet and continue along the small road. Further on, at a fork, follow the C10 road to the left towards Montolivet (sign). After a farmhouse on the right, the bell tower of Montolivet church emerges above the fields. At the junction with a road coming from the left, continue straight on towards the nearby village. At the next fork (school), turn left and you will immediately reach the church car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 178 m - Parking at the - Église Saint-Ferréol (Montolivet)
  2. 1 : km 1.15 - alt. 169 m - Bobans Wood
  3. 2 : km 2.57 - alt. 154 m - Coucermont
  4. 3 : km 3.54 - alt. 152 m - Bois du Luart
  5. 4 : km 4.4 - alt. 120 m - Villiers-sur-Eau - Petit Morin (le)
  6. 5 : km 6 - alt. 112 m - Corberon le Bas
  7. 6 : km 6.89 - alt. 109 m - L'Oie - Petit Morin (le)
  8. 7 : km 7.23 - alt. 109 m - Route D31
  9. 8 : km 8.32 - alt. 168 m - Egise de Montdauphin
  10. 9 : km 9.67 - alt. 196 m - Le Bois Retz
  11. 10 : km 11.1 - alt. 189 m - Les Aulnettes
  12. S/E : km 13.05 - alt. 178 m - Parking at the - Église Saint-Ferréol (Montolivet)

Notes

Avoid this hike during wet weather as the paths can become muddy. Hiking boots are required. Most of the hike is in open terrain: in sunny weather, take appropriate protective measures.
There is a water tap on the wall of the school opposite the church in Montolivet (S/E). There are no shops.

The route is not marked at all. A 1:25,000 map is therefore essential (at least the one accompanying this description).

Additional information:
This hike can be combined with the "Medieval Churches of Brie - Vendières and l'Epine-aux-Bois" hike, which passes nearby and is published on Visorando. To do this, at the crossroads (5), turn right instead of left and after 200 metres you will reach the point (8) of the other hike, at a three-way junction. Then complete the entire other hike from this point. Once you return to the three-way junction, turn right to rejoin the first route at its point (5) and complete the hike. The entire hike is approximately 23 kilometres long.

Hike completed by the author on 9 January 2016.

Worth a visit

- Saint-Ferréol Church in Montolivet (S/E).
- Old mill on the Petit Morin (6).
- Saint-Loup Church (16th century) in Montdauphin (8). Wash house shortly before the village.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
Emma. M.
Emma. M.

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike mostly through fields, done on a hot Sunday morning: plenty of water and a hat are essential, thanks for the advice 🙏🏽
When we visited, the water tap in front of the church (A/D), as indicated in the description, was out of order. But the bench in the shade was very welcome.

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denysferrier
denysferrier

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The hike only partially covers the Petit Morin valley, but together with the Hauts de Verdelot, it is undoubtedly the most beautiful for its natural setting and, above all, the charm of the landscapes, particularly between Villiers-sur-eau and Corberon le Haut (wonderful panoramas, especially in sunny weather with a few fair-weather clouds). There is practically no undergrowth and, for my taste, a little too much tarmac (a good forty minutes between Corberon le Haut and the Montdauphin exit, but very little traffic, it's true, and a beautiful view of the valley as you climb towards Montdauphin; and tarmac again at the end, between Les Aulnettes and Montolivet...). A quick warning for those who, like my wife and I, don't use the GPX track but the PDF description. Between 2 and 3, the comfortable grassy path you take at the exit of Courcemont sets a nice trap for you after about five minutes, as it starts a very gentle and tempting curve to the right on a slight incline. Above all, do not take it (you would make a detour of a good kilometre, assuming you find the right route again...): keep to the left, taking a path cluttered with very tall grass that descends gently between two barbed wire fences.

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denys.ferrier
denys.ferrier

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Panoramic views characteristic of the hills and plateaus of the Petit Morin valley: ideal for those who enjoy wide-angle photography of the Ile de France skies with fair-weather clouds (but be careful: if the sun is strong and you're worried about melanoma, don't forget to bring a wide-brimmed hat, as almost the entire hike is in the open, except for the pleasant ten-minute walk through the Luart woods).
Unfortunately, there is far too much tarmac! Admittedly, these are small roads with little traffic, but from Corberon onwards, there is quite a lot of asphalt (and some motorists don't like to slow down...). It's a shame...
It's advertised as taking four hours: my wife and I took only three hours and ten minutes, without rushing and with two stops to drink.

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artebus
artebus

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The description matched the hike perfectly.

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josianebrochot
josianebrochot

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Pleasant route, may be a bit too much driving, but not at all busy.

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liquidambar
liquidambar

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 07, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very pleasant route, very good description.
We did this hike under a pale sun and, in addition to enjoying the pleasant scenery, we saw lots of deer. I recommend it. Thank you to the person who created this route.

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liquidambar
liquidambar

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 07, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

There were six of us on this hike, and we were pleasantly surprised to find the paths were not very muddy despite a very rainy Saturday. The route and scenery were very pleasant. The route description was perfect. Thank you for offering such beautiful hikes. It is a real pleasure to walk in these conditions.

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michel.romelot
michel.romelot

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 09, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Be careful on the descent, the wood is very slippery.

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