First pick
Foret Noire
Wood or forest
506 ha7 km of path
1 h 35 minto walk all 7 km of path
2.2 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.065%woodland
Outdoors in Bellignat · protected areas, woods and footpaths
65% of Bellignat is woodland, more than in 9 in 10 French towns
Bellignat has 6 km of waymarked hiking routes. 20 km of footpaths cross Bellignat (2.5 km per km²). No protected area reaches Bellignat; the nearest, Récif Fossile de Marchon - Christian Gourrat nature reserve, is 4.3 km from the town center. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
0%
of the commune’s land
Nearest: Récif Fossile de Marchon - Christian Gourrat nature reserve, 4.3 km
Woodland
65%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
20 km
2.5 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
5.8 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
4
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Foret Noire
Throughout this page, the Ain median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median.
What kind of place
What kind of outdoors place is Bellignat?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A wooded commune65% mapped woodland, more than in 97% of compared French towns, against 13% for the median compared town.Protected land nearbyRécif Fossile de Marchon - Christian Gourrat nature reserve is 4.3 km from the town center.
What sets Bellignat apart: its woods, then protected land close by.
Against French towns
How Bellignat compares with French towns
Each figure against the 3,798 compared French towns (communes with an overall grade): the marked bar is the town’s, the line the median. Described, not graded.
Protected areas0%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
22out of 100
Woodland65%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
97out of 100
Footpaths2.5 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
67out of 100
Hiking routes0.7 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
74out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Bellignat has the 6th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (3,508 to 3,543 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Bergues (12 km per km²) to Dun-sur-Auron (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bergues Nord | 12 | 18% | 0% | 8.9 km |
| 2 | Deauville Calvados | 5.5 | 1.1% | 0% | On it |
| 3 | Danjoutin Territoire de Belfort | 3.3 | 33% | 0% | 429 km |
| 4 | Quissac Gard | 2.8 | 46% | 0% | 39 km |
| 5 | Mérignies Nord | 2.6 | 7.7% | 0% | 76 km |
| 6 | Bellignat Ain | 2.5 | 65% | 0% | 311 km |
| 7 | Hérimoncourt Doubs | 2.5 | 57% | 0% | 409 km |
| 8 | Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda Pyrénées-Orientales | 2.4 | 82% | 1.8% | 32 km |
| 9 | La Forêt-Fouesnant Finistère | 2.3 | 7.6% | 0% | On it |
| 10 | La Bernerie-en-Retz Loire-Atlantique | 2.1 | 2.2% | 0.8% | On it |
| 11 | Rubelles Seine-et-Marne | 2 | 19% | 0% | 190 km |
| 12 | Crémieu Isère | 1.9 | 36% | 24% | 254 km |
| 13 | Montalieu-Vercieu Isère | 1.9 | 25% | 4.2% | 266 km |
| 14 | Portiragnes Hérault | 1.9 | 5% | 80% | On it |
| 15 | Sorède Pyrénées-Orientales | 1.6 | 68% | 43% | 7.9 km |
| 16 | Lécousse Ille-et-Vilaine | 1.5 | 1.4% | 0% | 31 km |
| 17 | Fargues-Saint-Hilaire Gironde | 1.4 | 23% | 1.7% | 24 km |
| 18 | Cerny Essonne | 1.2 | 41% | 100% | 179 km |
| 19 | Saint-Didier-en-Velay Haute-Loire | 1.1 | 35% | 0% | 194 km |
| 20 | Pleumeleuc Ille-et-Vilaine | 0.9 | 1.9% | 0% | 35 km |
| 21 | Vertaizon Puy-de-Dôme | 0.9 | 9% | 2.1% | 253 km |
| 22 | Béligneux Ain | 0.9 | 14% | 6.3% | 268 km |
| 23 | Marssac-sur-Tarn Tarn | 0.8 | 4.6% | 0% | 124 km |
| 24 | Carcès Var | 0.7 | 51% | 25% | 39 km |
| 25 | Rieumes Haute-Garonne | 0.7 | 22% | 0% | 164 km |
| 26 | Vrigne aux Bois Ardennes | 0.7 | 60% | 46% | 215 km |
| 27 | Varangéville Meurthe-et-Moselle | 0.7 | 12% | 0% | 377 km |
| 28 | Saint-Soupplets Seine-et-Marne | 0.7 | 9.4% | 0% | 151 km |
| 29 | Le Breuil Saône-et-Loire | 0.6 | 17% | 0% | 362 km |
| 30 | Savigneux Loire | 0.6 | 3% | 66% | 228 km |
| 31 | Bellac Haute-Vienne | 0.6 | 20% | 0.4% | 158 km |
| 32 | Saint-Maur Indre | 0.5 | 33% | 2.1% | 220 km |
| 33 | Gallardon Eure-et-Loir | 0.5 | 8.3% | 0% | 140 km |
| 34 | Capestang Hérault | 0.5 | 0.9% | 18% | 20 km |
| 35 | Montmirail Marne | 0.4 | 27% | 0% | 198 km |
| 36 | Gramat Lot | 0.4 | 39% | 100% | 185 km |
| 37 | Espira-de-l'Agly Pyrénées-Orientales | 0.4 | 11% | 3.9% | 17 km |
| 38 | Sallertaine Vendée | 0.2 | 3.4% | 44% | 13 km |
| 39 | Isigny-sur-Mer Calvados | 0.2 | 1.4% | 75% | 5 km |
| 40 | Weyersheim Bas-Rhin | 0.2 | 14% | 0% | 444 km |
| 41 | Dun-sur-Auron Cher | 0.1 | 5.4% | 17% | 291 km |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park or wood. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is the commune’s boundary.
Green: parks, gardens and woods mapped on OpenStreetMap, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · INPN / PatriNat · IGN
Places to walk
Parks and woods to walk in, in and around Bellignat
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Foret Noire leads, at 506 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Foret de Niermes
Wood or forest · 100 m outside the commune
67 ha2.1 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.1 km of path
1.9 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Sous Muse
Wood or forest · 50 m outside the commune
12 ha
2.9 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de La Peupleraie
Park or garden · 310 m outside the commune
1.9 ha0.3 km of path
1.2 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Récif Fossile de Marchon - Christian Gourrat nature reserve is the nearest protected area, 4.3 km away
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Nature reserve
Récif Fossile de Marchon - Christian Gourrat nature reserve
4.3 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area0%
Designations overlap (a regional park can hold a Natura 2000 site), so the rows don’t add up; the first counts each piece of land once.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
20 km of footpaths and 6 km of hiking routes cross Bellignat
Paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, and waymarked hiking routes, mapped on OpenStreetMap inside the commune; woods are mapped forest and woodland, private woods included.
Footpaths
20 km
2.5 km per km²
Hiking routes
5.8 km
waymarked: 0.7 km per km²
Woodland
65%
about 5 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BellignatAin medianFrance median
Footpaths2.5
Hiking routes0.7
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BellignatAin medianFrance median
Woodland65%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 67% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 97% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. Every home in Bellignat is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
A named hiking route within 2 km
Other named walk
Sentier de la Foret Noir6.1 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Bellignat: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Cernon, 17 km away, and the daylight at the town’s latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 15 to 30 °C and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 16 | 10 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 136 | 119 | 120 | 122 | 138 | 113 | 112 | 115 | 116 | 149 | 162 | 165 |
July is the driest month (112 mm) and the warmest (highs of 25 °C). 165 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 86 nights a year. The climate in Bellignat →
Neighbors
Next to Bellignat
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
OyonnaxArbentMontréal-la-CluseNantuaValserhônePéronBellignat
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellignat | 0% | 65% | 2.5 |
| Oyonnax 22,480 · 1.6 km | 0% | 59% | 2.4 |
| Arbent 3,555 · 5.2 km | 0.2% | 80% | 1.7 |
| Montréal-la-Cluse 3,568 · 8.7 km | 0% | 67% | 2.1 |
| Nantua 3,416 · 11 km | 0% | 71% | 3 |
| Valserhône 16,712 · 20 km | 19% | 59% | 1.7 |
| Péron 2,916 · 23 km | 100% | 56% | 1.3 |
Valserhône and Péron have at least twice as much protected land.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Protected areas. National-park cores, national parks’ outer areas, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites, from INPN. A national park’s core is strictly protected; its outer area and a regional park are charters between communes, not bans. Designations overlap, so the total counts each piece of land once.
- Woodland. Forest and woods as OpenStreetMap maps them, private woods included: woods nobody has mapped are missing, and a mapped wood isn’t necessarily open to walkers.
- Footpaths and hiking routes. Footpaths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, then waymarked hiking routes (GR and others) measured apart. A route often follows a path or lane already counted: the two overlap. Paths nobody has mapped are missing.
- Green space nearby. The share of residents (INSEE’s 200 m grid) within 800 m, as the crow flies, of a mapped park, garden or wood edge. It measures nearness, not a way in. Guadeloupe and French Guiana have no grid: their pages say whether the town center is within 800 m.
- The coast. The straight-line distance from the town center to OpenStreetMap’s coastline, which follows the tide line into estuaries. A commune is on the coast when the coastline crosses its boundary.
- No grade yet. U.S. and UK towns have an Outdoors Grade; French towns don’t yet. Each figure is set beside the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade) in the département and in France, each figure its own median.
Questions about the outdoors in Bellignat
Is Bellignat in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Récif Fossile de Marchon - Christian Gourrat nature reserve, 4.3 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Bellignat?
OpenStreetMap maps 20 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 2.5 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 6 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Bellignat is woodland?
65% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Bellignat near the sea?
No: the coast is 311 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Bellignat?
April to September: long days, mild highs and little rain, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at the nearest suitable station.
Why is there no Outdoors Grade for French towns?
TownRatings grades the outdoors in the U.S. and the UK; the French figures are new and not graded yet. This page sets each one beside the median compared French town instead.
Sources: INPN / PatriNat (protected areas 2026, Natura 2000 2024) · © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL (paths, hiking routes, woods, coast, gardens) · INSEE, Filosofi 2021 200 m grid (residents) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Météo-France normals 1991–2020 · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.