In the forest of Fontainebleau

🥾 In a nutshell

⏱ Duration: 2 days
📏 Length: 26 km
⛰ Elevation gain: 350 meters
💪 Difficulty: medium
🌤 Season: doable all year round, but preferable outside winter

Display map

🙋 Who is this trail for?

This mini-trek in the forest of Fontainebleau is an ideal hike for the inhabitants of Île-de-France wishing to reconnect with nature for a weekend.

The elevation gain is relatively low, and the two stages are reasonable in length. This trail is therefore accessible to anyone who already feels able to walk about ten kilometres.

🚆 Getting there

The trail begins and ends at Fontainebleau-Avon station (Transilien R, TER), for which the Navigo pass is valid.

Count about forty minutes to reach this station from Paris-Gare-de-Lyon.

🛌 Sleep and eat

Barbizon is located halfway along our route and is therefore the ideal place to spend the night. This charming village, which hosted many impressionist painters in the 19th century, includes several lodges, hotels and restaurants.

Please note that wild camping is prohibited in the forest of Fontainebleau.

The ideal is to bring a picnic for the two lunches spent hiking.

🎒 Equipment

The night taking place in a hotel or in a lodge, the equipment to take is similar to that of a day hike. Please find our dedicated guide: What to bring on a trek.

🥾 Day 1: from Fontainebleau to Barbizon

Departing from Fontainebleau-Avon station, this first day of walking allows you to quickly go deep into the forest and discover several viewpoints. It then continues in the famous gorges of Apremont, where erosion has created a scenery as rugged as it is enchanting.

You will then arrive in Barbizon to spend the night there.

Day 1: From Fontainebleau to Barbizon

11km • Medium •

🥾 Day 2: from Barbizon to Fontainebleau

After a night spent in this village, the second day of hiking begins with a long straight walk to the Chêne Brûlé reserve, the starting point of a circuit in the Franchard gorges. The bravest can make a small detour, but our route then heads towards the winding paths of the Houx gorges.

Mont Aigu offers a nice view, while once again we find all the appreciable characteristics of the forest of Fontainebleau: pines, ferns and blocks of sandstone.

Finally, the path bypasses the town of Fontainebleau and joins the station, to end this two-day getaway.

Day 2: From Barbizon to Fontainebleau

15km • Medium •