First pick
Forêt domaniale de Fénétrange
Wood or forest · 0 m outside the commune
5,867 ha22.2 km of path
4 h 55 minto walk all 22.2 km of path
8.5 km south-westfrom the center
Chemin du gros chênechemin balisé
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: BDBR/CD67 · CC BY 3.01.7%of the land protected
Outdoors in Sarre-Union · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Parks, woods and footpaths in Sarre-Union
3 km of footpaths cross Sarre-Union (0.2 km per km²). Mapped woodland covers 21% of Sarre-Union. Sarre-Union has 7 km of waymarked hiking routes. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
1.7%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
21%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
3.4 km
0.2 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
6.9 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Green space nearby
55%
of residents within 800 m of a park or wood
Compared town: 100%
Throughout this page, the Bas-Rhin median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median.
Against French towns
How Sarre-Union 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 areas1.7%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
58out of 100
Woodland21%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
64out of 100
Footpaths0.2 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
4out of 100
Hiking routes0.4 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
58out of 100
Green space nearby55%Share of residents within 800 m of a mapped park or wood
1out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Sarre-Union has the 5th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (2,698 to 2,762 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Andilly (7.1 km per km²) to Sains-du-Nord (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andilly Val-d'Oise | 7.1 | 53% | 0% | 134 km |
| 2 | Chaligny Meurthe-et-Moselle | 5.1 | 72% | 0% | 364 km |
| 3 | Argelès-Gazost Hautes-Pyrénées | 4.3 | 17% | 100% | 130 km |
| 4 | Quintin Côtes-d'Armor | 3.6 | 4.7% | 0% | 19 km |
| 5 | Collioure Pyrénées-Orientales | 3.4 | 6.3% | 4% | On it |
| 6 | Bagnoles de l'Orne Normandie Orne | 3.3 | 39% | 100% | 69 km |
| 7 | Balaruc-le-Vieux Hérault | 2.5 | 5.5% | 19% | 5.4 km |
| 8 | Anet Eure-et-Loir | 2.4 | 48% | 0.1% | 102 km |
| 9 | Chailles Loir-et-Cher | 2.3 | 48% | 4.8% | 222 km |
| 10 | Malaucène Vaucluse | 2.1 | 57% | 100% | 83 km |
| 11 | Loire-sur-Rhône Rhône | 1.9 | 44% | 84% | 229 km |
| 12 | Capinghem Nord | 1.7 | 1.8% | 0% | 57 km |
| 13 | Venarey-les-Laumes Côte-d'Or | 1.5 | 18% | 2.2% | 357 km |
| 14 | Venette Oise | 1.4 | 7.3% | 0% | 117 km |
| 15 | Marmoutier Bas-Rhin | 1.3 | 28% | 0% | 423 km |
| 16 | Trieux Meurthe-et-Moselle | 1.3 | 31% | 0% | 299 km |
| 17 | Aouste-sur-Sye Drôme | 1.2 | 40% | 2.3% | 141 km |
| 18 | Saint-Witz Val-d'Oise | 1.2 | 8.3% | 0.1% | 137 km |
| 19 | Vert-le-Petit Essonne | 1.1 | 17% | 11% | 177 km |
| 20 | Bessines-sur-Gartempe Haute-Vienne | 0.9 | 36% | 0.4% | 181 km |
| 21 | Orgon Bouches-du-Rhône | 0.8 | 17% | 100% | 40 km |
| 22 | Magné Deux-Sèvres | 0.8 | 15% | 100% | 44 km |
| 23 | Ronchamp Haute-Saône | 0.8 | 73% | 100% | 440 km |
| 24 | Vulaines-sur-Seine Seine-et-Marne | 0.8 | 24% | 0% | 205 km |
| 25 | Saleux Somme | 0.7 | 22% | 0% | 53 km |
| 26 | Marigny-Le-Lozon Manche | 0.7 | 0.2% | 46% | 21 km |
| 27 | Confolens Charente | 0.6 | 12% | 3.7% | 127 km |
| 28 | Warmeriville Marne | 0.5 | 11% | 0% | 205 km |
| 29 | Montignac-Lascaux Dordogne | 0.5 | 52% | 1.6% | 138 km |
| 30 | Alixan Drôme | 0.5 | 0.2% | 0% | 170 km |
| 31 | Caux Hérault | 0.4 | 12% | 0% | 25 km |
| 32 | Montrevel-en-Bresse Ain | 0.4 | 7.8% | 0% | 319 km |
| 33 | Magescq Landes | 0.3 | 77% | 2.4% | 16 km |
| 34 | Huttenheim Bas-Rhin | 0.3 | 32% | 35% | 460 km |
| 35 | Chanas Isère | 0.3 | 19% | 0% | 204 km |
| 36 | Montholon Yonne | 0.2 | 36% | 0% | 279 km |
| 37 | Sarre-Union Bas-Rhin | 0.2 | 21% | 1.7% | 389 km |
| 38 | Yerville Seine-Maritime | 0.2 | 3.2% | 0% | 24 km |
| 39 | Ouveillan Aude | 0.2 | 1.4% | 0% | 22 km |
| 40 | Ennezat Puy-de-Dôme | 0.1 | 0.1% | 0% | 268 km |
| 41 | Sains-du-Nord Nord | 0.1 | 34% | 100% | 149 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 Sarre-Union
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Forêt domaniale de Fénétrange leads, at 5,867 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Bannholz
Wood or forest · 50 m outside the commune
103 ha
2 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Close to home
6 in 10 residents of Sarre-Union live within 800 m of a park or wood
Each square is 1 resident in 100: in green, those within 800 m, as the crow flies, of a mapped park, garden or woodland edge (INSEE’s 200 m population grid against OpenStreetMap).
55% within 800 m45% further
Residents within 800 m of green space · share of residents
Sarre-UnionBas-Rhin medianFrance median
Within 800 m55%
0%50%100%
About 1,200 residents live further away. The distance is a straight line to the edge of a mapped park or wood, not a walk to a gate, and a wood can be private.
Protected areas
1.7% of Sarre-Union lies in protected areas
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Regional nature park
Vosges du Nord Regional Nature Park
2.5 km from the town center
Natura 2000 site
Vallée de la Sarre, de l’Albe et de l’Isch, le marais du Francaltroff, Bas-Rhin
1.7% of the commune0.3 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area1.7%
Natura 2000 site1.7%
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.
1.7% of Sarre-Union’s land is protected, more than in 58% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Bas-Rhin has 0.1%. A regional nature park is a charter between communes to look after a landscape: farming, building and hunting go on inside it.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
3 km of footpaths and 7 km of hiking routes cross Sarre-Union
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
3.4 km
0.2 km per km²
Hiking routes
6.9 km
waymarked: 0.4 km per km²
Woodland
21%
about 3.2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Sarre-UnionBas-Rhin medianFrance median
Footpaths0.2
Hiking routes0.4
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Sarre-UnionBas-Rhin medianFrance median
Woodland21%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 96% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 64% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them.
7 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
Saarwanderweg / Sentier de la Sarre11 km
Sentier de Bonnefontaine7.2 km
Sentier educatif6.8 km
Sentier du Monument Pilâtre de Rozier5.6 km
Sentier des pelerins4.3 km
Sentier de la table ronde3.3 km
Sentier du Président Jean Braun3.3 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Sarre-Union: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Mouterhouse, 27 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.3 | 16.2 | 15.8 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.3 |
| High (°C) | 5 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 15 | 9 | 5 |
| Rain (mm) | 92 | 80 | 79 | 55 | 78 | 69 | 76 | 69 | 72 | 83 | 89 | 112 |
April is the driest month (55 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 26 °C). 112 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 99 nights a year. The climate in Sarre-Union →
Neighbors
Next to Sarre-Union
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
SarralbeHambachWoustvillerPuttelange-aux-LacsSarregueminesSarrebourgSarre-Union
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarre-Union | 1.7% | 21% | 0.2 |
| Sarralbe 4,364 · 7.9 km | 10% | 29% | 0.5 |
| Hambach 2,766 · 15 km | 0% | 30% | 0.6 |
| Woustviller 2,786 · 16 km | 1.6% | 25% | 1.3 |
| Puttelange-aux-Lacs 3,016 · 18 km | 0% | 30% | 1.1 |
| Sarreguemines 20,143 · 19 km | 0.9% | 32% | 2.6 |
| Sarrebourg 12,170 · 23 km | 0% | 17% | 2.3 |
Sarralbe has at least twice as much protected land. Sarreguemines is more wooded.
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 Sarre-Union
Is Sarre-Union in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 1.7% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Sarre-Union?
OpenStreetMap maps 3 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 0.2 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 7 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Sarre-Union is woodland?
21% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Sarre-Union near the sea?
No: the coast is 389 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Sarre-Union?
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 9, 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.