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Best Forest Hikes in France

We track 2,894 routes that match this search in France. They average 9.8 km and 233 m (764 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 445 km.

That is 19 percent of the 15,466 routes we map in France.

Forest trails are the dependable choice: shade when it is hot, shelter when it is not, and a completely different character once the leaves turn. The mix is broad: 1198 are rated easy and 333 are hard or harder, so there is something here whether you have two hours or a full day. A good share of them are loops, so you can park once and finish where you started.

Trails

Expert

Sentier de Grande Randonnée 98

Parc national des Calanques (cœur) · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Distance
62.4 km
/ 38.8 mi
Elevation gain
1,373 m
Typical duration
16 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Les Sagnoles - Villefort

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
38.7 km
/ 24.1 mi
Elevation gain
852 m
Typical duration
10 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
Moderate

Les Cascades d'Orgon

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
9.3 km
/ 5.8 mi
Elevation gain
460 m
Typical duration
2 hr 38 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • Forest
Hard

Les lacs de Crupillouse

Parc national des Écrins (cœur) · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Distance
16.4 km
/ 10.2 mi
Elevation gain
1,351 m
Typical duration
5 hr 28 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • Forest
Moderate

Le pas de l'ane

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
12.0 km
/ 7.4 mi
Elevation gain
521 m
Typical duration
3 hr 17 min
  • Canyon and gorge
  • Forest
  • Panoramic viewpoint
Moderate

Sommet de Finiels

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
9.6 km
/ 6.0 mi
Elevation gain
292 m
Typical duration
2 hr 27 min
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
  • Forest
Hard

Le Pont du Tarn

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
18.6 km
/ 11.6 mi
Elevation gain
716 m
Typical duration
5 hr 4 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Forest
Expert

Le versant nord de l'Aigoual

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
35.9 km
/ 22.3 mi
Elevation gain
1,239 m
Typical duration
9 hr 58 min
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Panoramic viewpoint
Easy

Sentier des Rocs de Galta

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
5.5 km
/ 3.4 mi
Elevation gain
223 m
Typical duration
1 hr 29 min
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Ventalon

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
7.3 km
/ 4.6 mi
Elevation gain
442 m
Typical duration
2 hr 12 min
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

La Dauphine

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
12.7 km
/ 7.9 mi
Elevation gain
434 m
Typical duration
3 hr 17 min
  • Forest
  • Panoramic viewpoint
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Les 4000 marches

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
23.6 km
/ 14.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,388 m
Typical duration
7 hr 16 min
  • Forest
  • Panoramic viewpoint
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Les Ferrailles - Montjustin

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur · France

Distance
10.1 km
/ 6.3 mi
Elevation gain
222 m
Typical duration
2 hr 26 min
  • Coastal
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Sentier des morts

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
9.2 km
/ 5.7 mi
Elevation gain
335 m
Typical duration
2 hr 26 min
  • River
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Chemin d'Amiens

Normandy · France

Distance
168 km
/ 104 mi
Elevation gain
3,696 m
Typical duration
45 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Chemin de Barfleur

Normandy · France

Distance
161 km
/ 100.0 mi
Elevation gain
3,540 m
Typical duration
43 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

De Néris-les-Bains à Chabanne

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes · France

Distance
146 km
/ 90.6 mi
Elevation gain
3,208 m
Typical duration
39 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Forêt d'Orléans

Centre-Val de Loire · France

Distance
110 km
/ 68.5 mi
Elevation gain
2,427 m
Typical duration
29 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Les Portes de Paris

Ile-de-France · France

Distance
52.2 km
/ 32.5 mi
Elevation gain
1,149 m
Typical duration
13 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Sur les pas des Huguenots

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes · France

Distance
87.2 km
/ 54.2 mi
Elevation gain
1,919 m
Typical duration
23 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Bézuc

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
16.4 km
/ 10.2 mi
Elevation gain
535 m
Typical duration
4 hr 15 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Fontmort

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
6.3 km
/ 3.9 mi
Elevation gain
425 m
Typical duration
1 hr 58 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Hard

L'Aves

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
12.4 km
/ 7.7 mi
Elevation gain
677 m
Typical duration
3 hr 35 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

La forêt de l'Aigoual

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
11.7 km
/ 7.3 mi
Elevation gain
520 m
Typical duration
3 hr 14 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

La forêt du Lingas

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
3.5 km
/ 2.2 mi
Elevation gain
77 m
Typical duration
50 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Le Col du Cheval de Bois

Parc national des Écrins (cœur) · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Distance
18.6 km
/ 11.6 mi
Elevation gain
1,024 m
Typical duration
5 hr 31 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Les Auberts - Pré de la Chaumette

Parc national des Écrins (cœur) · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Distance
4.5 km
/ 2.8 mi
Elevation gain
98 m
Typical duration
1 hr 4 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Les Fermonds - ?

Parc national des Écrins (cœur) · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Distance
3.0 km
/ 1.8 mi
Elevation gain
65 m
Typical duration
43 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Les Merveilles par la Gordolasque

Parc national du Mercantour (cœur) · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Distance
13.1 km
/ 8.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,221 m
Typical duration
4 hr 34 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Les corniches de l'Hospitalet

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
4.2 km
/ 2.6 mi
Elevation gain
236 m
Typical duration
1 hr 13 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Les ruisseaux

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
5.2 km
/ 3.2 mi
Elevation gain
337 m
Typical duration
1 hr 35 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Moulin du Bougès

Parc national des Cévennes (cœur) · Occitania

Distance
8.9 km
/ 5.6 mi
Elevation gain
561 m
Typical duration
2 hr 42 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Via Cluny Etape 11

Bourgogne – Franche-Comté · France

Distance
21.3 km
/ 13.2 mi
Elevation gain
230 m
Typical duration
4 hr 59 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Via Cluny Etape 9

Bourgogne – Franche-Comté · France

Distance
21.3 km
/ 13.2 mi
Elevation gain
611 m
Typical duration
5 hr 32 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Littoral du Léman

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes · France

Distance
85.5 km
/ 53.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,881 m
Typical duration
22 hr
  • Coastal
  • Mountain
  • Forest

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
Sentier de Grande Randonnée 98Parc national des Calanques (cœur)62.4 km1,373 m16 hrExpertApril to October
Les Sagnoles - VillefortParc national des Cévennes (cœur)38.7 km852 m10 hrExpertApril to October
Les Cascades d'OrgonParc national des Cévennes (cœur)9.3 km460 m2 hr 38 minModerateApril to October
Les lacs de CrupillouseParc national des Écrins (cœur)16.4 km1,351 m5 hr 28 minHardApril to October
Le pas de l'aneParc national des Cévennes (cœur)12.0 km521 m3 hr 17 minModerateApril to October
Sommet de FinielsParc national des Cévennes (cœur)9.6 km292 m2 hr 27 minModerateApril to October
Le Pont du TarnParc national des Cévennes (cœur)18.6 km716 m5 hr 4 minHardApril to October
Via Francigena France 04, Clairvaux - Perrancey-les-Vieux-MoulinsGrand Est74.8 km1,645 m19 hrExpertApril to October
Via Francigena France 05, Perrancey-les-Vieux-Moulins - BesançonBourgogne – Franche-Comté151 km3,329 m40 hrExpertApril to October
Le versant nord de l'AigoualParc national des Cévennes (cœur)35.9 km1,239 m9 hr 58 minExpertApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with Sentier de Grande Randonnée 98, Les Sagnoles - Villefort, Les Cascades d'Orgon. Those are the routes people come back to. Every route on this page links through to a full guide with the map, elevation profile, seasonal advice and what to bring.

Frequently asked questions

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