First pick
Bois de Caumont
Wood or forest
25 ha1.4 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.4 km of path
1.3 km south-westfrom the center
Sentier de la Falaise de Caumont
Directionsto a point inside
10%woodland
Outdoors in Houlgate · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Houlgate is on the coast
Waymarked hiking routes add up to 12 km in Houlgate. 12 km of footpaths cross Houlgate (2.5 km per km²). No protected area reaches Houlgate; the nearest, Littoral augeron (Natura 2000), is 1.7 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: Littoral augeron, 1.7 km
Woodland
10%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
12 km
2.5 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
12 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
5
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Bois de Caumont
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 0.9 km from its center
Throughout this page, the Calvados 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 Houlgate?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 0.9 km from its center.On waymarked routes12 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.Protected land nearbyLittoral augeron (Natura 2000) is 1.7 km from the town center.
What sets Houlgate apart: the sea, then its hiking routes.
Against French towns
How Houlgate 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
Woodland10%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
42out of 100
Footpaths2.5 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
67out of 100
Hiking routes2.5 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
98out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Houlgate has the 4th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (1,834 to 2,582 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From École-Valentin (3.9 km per km²) to Bouligny (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | École-Valentin Doubs | 3.9 | 16% | 0% | 405 km |
| 2 | Sainte-Foy-la-Grande Gironde | 3.7 | 0% | 8.7% | 66 km |
| 3 | Mers-les-Bains Somme | 3.5 | 10% | 100% | On it |
| 4 | Houlgate Calvados | 2.5 | 10% | 0% | On it |
| 5 | Villejust Essonne | 2.4 | 4.4% | 0% | 160 km |
| 6 | Sainte-Feyre Creuse | 2.1 | 30% | 0% | 222 km |
| 7 | Camiers Pas-de-Calais | 2 | 30% | 32% | On it |
| 8 | Sain-Bel Rhône | 1.9 | 12% | 0% | 253 km |
| 9 | La Rivière-Saint-Sauveur Calvados | 1.8 | 14% | 29% | On it |
| 10 | Fareins Ain | 1.8 | 8.8% | 0.1% | 279 km |
| 11 | Entzheim Bas-Rhin | 1.7 | 1.5% | 0% | 449 km |
| 12 | Mornas Vaucluse | 1.5 | 35% | 5% | 84 km |
| 13 | Watten Nord | 1.4 | 24% | 100% | 18 km |
| 14 | Rantigny Oise | 1.4 | 18% | 0% | 109 km |
| 15 | Beautor Aisne | 1.3 | 3.6% | 40% | 133 km |
| 16 | Conques-sur-Orbiel Aude | 1.3 | 8.1% | 0% | 60 km |
| 17 | Barcelonnette Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 1.3 | 46% | 100% | 91 km |
| 18 | Granges-Aumontzey Vosges | 1.1 | 70% | 90% | 436 km |
| 19 | Cattenom Moselle | 1.1 | 37% | 0% | 308 km |
| 20 | Prayssac Lot | 1 | 42% | 0% | 151 km |
| 21 | Chatte Isère | 0.7 | 24% | 0% | 190 km |
| 22 | Arelaune-en-Seine Seine-Maritime | 0.7 | 69% | 100% | 29 km |
| 23 | La Croix-en-Touraine Indre-et-Loire | 0.7 | 24% | 0% | 199 km |
| 24 | Criel-sur-Mer Seine-Maritime | 0.7 | 4.9% | 7% | On it |
| 25 | Lusignan Vienne | 0.7 | 17% | 0% | 97 km |
| 26 | Avelin Nord | 0.6 | 6.1% | 0% | 72 km |
| 27 | Civray Vienne | 0.5 | 19% | 0% | 101 km |
| 28 | Le Cailar Gard | 0.4 | 2% | 68% | 17 km |
| 29 | Vervins Aisne | 0.4 | 1.1% | 0% | 164 km |
| 30 | Port-Sainte-Foy-et-Ponchapt Dordogne | 0.4 | 13% | 2.1% | 65 km |
| 31 | Frans Ain | 0.4 | 4% | 0% | 275 km |
| 32 | Toucy Yonne | 0.4 | 24% | 0% | 288 km |
| 33 | Auxi-le-Château Pas-de-Calais | 0.3 | 25% | 1% | 31 km |
| 34 | Vivy Maine-et-Loire | 0.3 | 15% | 100% | 140 km |
| 35 | Nogent-sur-Vernisson Loiret | 0.2 | 46% | 0.3% | 249 km |
| 36 | Eymet Dordogne | 0.2 | 8.6% | 0.4% | 86 km |
| 37 | Athies-sous-Laon Aisne | 0.2 | 8.9% | 0% | 159 km |
| 38 | Val-de-Scie Seine-Maritime | 0.1 | 18% | 0% | 23 km |
| 39 | Noyen-sur-Sarthe Sarthe | 0.1 | 28% | 0% | 126 km |
| 40 | Chalamont Ain | 0.1 | 20% | 69% | 284 km |
| 41 | Bouligny Meuse | 0.1 | 8.4% | 0% | 293 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 Houlgate
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois de Caumont leads, at 25 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Bois de Beuzeval
Wood or forest · 0 m outside the commune
5.8 ha
2 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc municipal
Park or garden
0.7 ha0.5 km of path
Centralin the middle of Houlgate
Directionsto a point inside
Square Claude Debussy
Park or garden
0.2 ha0.2 km of path
0.7 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Littoral augeron is the nearest protected area, 1.7 km away
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 site
Littoral augeron
1.7 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
12 km of footpaths and 12 km of hiking routes cross Houlgate
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
12 km
2.5 km per km²
Hiking routes
12 km
waymarked: 2.5 km per km²
Woodland
10%
about 0.5 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
HoulgateCalvados medianFrance median
Footpaths2.5
Hiking routes2.5
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
HoulgateCalvados medianFrance median
Woodland10%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 67% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 58% 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 Houlgate is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
4 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 2238.7 km
Le Tour de Houlgate11 km
La Boucle Notre-Dame3.1 km
Vallée de la Dives3.1 km
GR 223 passes within 2 km of Houlgate.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Houlgate: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Lisieux_Sapc, 26 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) | 8.6 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.3 | 16.2 | 15.8 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.0 | 8.2 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 17 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 82 | 69 | 64 | 62 | 66 | 68 | 56 | 66 | 69 | 86 | 87 | 106 |
July is the driest month (56 mm) and the warmest (highs of 24 °C). 106 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 43 nights a year. The climate in Houlgate →
Neighbors
Next to Houlgate
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Dives-sur-MerCabourgDeauvilleOuistrehamTouquesTrouville-sur-MerHoulgate
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houlgate | 0% | 10% | 2.5 | On it |
| Dives-sur-Mer 5,122 · 2.4 km | 0% | 8.8% | 2.5 | 1.2 km |
| Cabourg 3,725 · 4.1 km | 0% | 0.4% | 4.3 | 0.8 km |
| Deauville 3,539 · 12 km | 0% | 1.1% | 5.5 | On it |
| Ouistreham 9,212 · 14 km | 8.5% | 3.8% | 4.6 | On it |
| Touques 3,913 · 14 km | 0% | 2.5% | 1.3 | 2.8 km |
| Trouville-sur-Mer 4,619 · 14 km | 0.5% | 7.9% | 1.8 | On it |
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 Houlgate
Is Houlgate in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Littoral augeron, 1.7 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Houlgate?
OpenStreetMap maps 12 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); 12 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Houlgate is woodland?
10% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Houlgate near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 0.9 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Houlgate?
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.