First pick
Forêt des Loritz
Wood or forest
155 ha13.5 km of path
3 hto walk all 13.5 km of path
4.3 km southfrom the center
Piste de Défense des Forêts Contre l'IncendiePasse des EcossaisPasse des Allassins
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Cobber17 · CC BY 3.040%of the land protected
Outdoors in Dolus-d'Oléron · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Dolus-d'Oléron is on the coast
Protected areas cover 40% of Dolus-d'Oléron’s land. Mapped woodland covers 31% of Dolus-d'Oléron. 55 km of footpaths cross Dolus-d'Oléron (1.9 km per km²). France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
40%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
31%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
55 km
1.9 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 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: Forêt des Loritz
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 2.6 km from its center
Throughout this page, the Charente-Maritime 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 Dolus-d'Oléron?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 2.6 km from its center.Protected countryside40% of the land lies in protected areas.A wooded commune31% mapped woodland, more than in 78% of compared French towns, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Dolus-d'Oléron apart: the sea, then its protected countryside.
Against French towns
How Dolus-d'Oléron 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 areas40%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
85out of 100
Woodland31%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
78out of 100
Footpaths1.9 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
56out of 100
Hiking routes0 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
12out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Dolus-d'Oléron has the 8th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (3,179 to 3,219 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Fonbeauzard (4.4 km per km²) to Illiers-Combray (0.3 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fonbeauzard Haute-Garonne | 4.4 | 10% | 0% | 151 km |
| 2 | Saint-Michel Aisne | 3.4 | 55% | 62% | 170 km |
| 3 | Gagnac-sur-Garonne Haute-Garonne | 3 | 15% | 38% | 156 km |
| 4 | Ville-di-Pietrabugno Haute-Corse | 2.7 | 25% | 0% | On it |
| 5 | Saint-Michel Charente | 2.3 | 12% | 3.2% | 71 km |
| 6 | Saint-Gervais-la-Forêt Loir-et-Cher | 2.2 | 63% | 0% | 220 km |
| 7 | Lissieu Rhône | 2 | 19% | 0% | 260 km |
| 8 | Dolus-d'Oléron Charente-Maritime | 1.9 | 31% | 40% | On it |
| 9 | Knutange Moselle | 1.9 | 64% | 0% | 303 km |
| 10 | Fretin Nord | 1.8 | 3.1% | 0% | 72 km |
| 11 | Montagny Rhône | 1.7 | 25% | 0% | 235 km |
| 12 | Proville Nord | 1.6 | 15% | 9.5% | 109 km |
| 13 | Salomé Nord | 1.6 | 3% | 0% | 65 km |
| 14 | Lozanne Rhône | 1.6 | 17% | 0% | 259 km |
| 15 | Châteaugay Puy-de-Dôme | 1.6 | 4.7% | 5.2% | 265 km |
| 16 | Nay Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 1.6 | 14% | 8.5% | 109 km |
| 17 | Fontoy Moselle | 1.5 | 48% | 0% | 300 km |
| 18 | La Machine Nièvre | 1.5 | 65% | 58% | 357 km |
| 19 | Bréviandes Aube | 1.4 | 26% | 0% | 277 km |
| 20 | Rochecorbon Indre-et-Loire | 1.3 | 21% | 7.3% | 190 km |
| 21 | Marsac-sur-l'Isle Dordogne | 1.2 | 33% | 0% | 99 km |
| 22 | Davézieux Ardèche | 1.2 | 4.3% | 0% | 195 km |
| 23 | Saint-Paul-de-Vence Alpes-Maritimes | 1.1 | 32% | 0% | 5 km |
| 24 | Saône Doubs | 1.1 | 43% | 28% | 397 km |
| 25 | Druelle Balsac Aveyron | 1.1 | 22% | 0% | 140 km |
| 26 | Veynes Hautes-Alpes | 1.1 | 51% | 63% | 137 km |
| 27 | Breuil-le-Vert Oise | 1 | 31% | 0% | 105 km |
| 28 | Sallèles-d'Aude Aude | 1 | 7.8% | 1.7% | 21 km |
| 29 | La Loupe Eure-et-Loir | 1 | 9.5% | 100% | 118 km |
| 30 | Souillac Lot | 1 | 67% | 6.9% | 163 km |
| 31 | Camblanes-et-Meynac Gironde | 0.9 | 12% | 2.8% | 28 km |
| 32 | Creuzier-le-Vieux Allier | 0.8 | 10% | 3% | 293 km |
| 33 | Saint-Sauveur-Villages Manche | 0.8 | 2% | 35% | 13 km |
| 34 | Meschers-sur-Gironde Charente-Maritime | 0.6 | 7.4% | 60% | On it |
| 35 | Seltz Bas-Rhin | 0.6 | 36% | 57% | 447 km |
| 36 | Imphy Nièvre | 0.6 | 32% | 46% | 343 km |
| 37 | Crêches-sur-Saône Saône-et-Loire | 0.6 | 5.5% | 16% | 303 km |
| 38 | Mayet Sarthe | 0.5 | 38% | 40% | 155 km |
| 39 | Saint-Siméon-de-Bressieux Isère | 0.3 | 15% | 0% | 211 km |
| 40 | Montsûrs Mayenne | 0.3 | 15% | 19% | 80 km |
| 41 | Illiers-Combray Eure-et-Loir | 0.3 | 8.1% | 0% | 142 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 Dolus-d'Oléron
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Forêt des Loritz leads, at 155 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Forêt d'Avail
Wood or forest
86 ha15 km of path
3 h 20 minto walk all 15 km of path
2.8 km southfrom the center
Piste Cyclable du RouchouxPasse de Royan
Directionsto a point inside
Bois d'Avail
Wood or forest
57 ha4.8 km of path
1 h 5 minto walk all 4.8 km of path
2.6 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
40% of Dolus-d'Oléron lies in protected areas
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Nature reserve
Moëze-Oléron nature reserve
1.1% of the commune2.8 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Marais de Brouage-Oléron
26% of the commune0.3 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Marais de Brouage (et marais nord d’Oléron)
26% of the commune0.3 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Dunes et forêts littorales de l’ile d’Oléron
7.5% of the commune2.3 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Marais de la Seudre
6.6% of the commune1.4 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Marais et estuaire de la Seudre, île d’Oléron
6.6% of the commune1.4 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area40%
Nature reserve1.1%
Natura 2000 site40%
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.
40% of Dolus-d'Oléron’s land is protected, more than in 85% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Charente-Maritime has 12%.
All 8 protected areas
Pertuis charentais - RochebonneNatura 2000 site · 2.6 km
Pertuis CharentaisNatura 2000 site · 2.6 km
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
55 km of footpaths cross Dolus-d'Oléron
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
55 km
1.9 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 km
waymarked: 0 km per km²
Woodland
31%
about 9 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Dolus-d'OléronCharente-Maritime medianFrance median
Footpaths1.9
Hiking routes0
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Dolus-d'OléronCharente-Maritime medianFrance median
Woodland31%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 56% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 78% 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 Dolus-d'Oléron is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Dolus-d'Oléron: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Chateau d’oleron, 6.9 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 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°C) | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 14 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 81 | 58 | 57 | 61 | 51 | 43 | 39 | 44 | 67 | 87 | 103 | 93 |
July is the driest month (39 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 25 °C). 103 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 12 nights a year. The climate in Dolus-d'Oléron →
Neighbors
Next to Dolus-d'Oléron
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Le Château-d'OléronSaint-Pierre-d'OléronSaint-Georges-d'OléronBourcefranc-le-ChapusMarennes-Hiers-BrouageFourasDolus-d'Oléron
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolus-d'Oléron | 40% | 31% | 1.9 | On it |
| Le Château-d'Oléron 4,366 · 4.8 km | 50% | 7.5% | 1.5 | On it |
| Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron 6,633 · 4.8 km | 26% | 12% | 1.5 | On it |
| Saint-Georges-d'Oléron 4,067 · 9.4 km | 40% | 25% | 3.4 | On it |
| Bourcefranc-le-Chapus 3,486 · 12 km | 46% | 7.9% | 0.9 | On it |
| Marennes-Hiers-Brouage 6,163 · 15 km | 75% | 3.2% | 0.6 | On it |
| Fouras 4,148 · 16 km | 43% | 2.8% | 2.8 | 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 Dolus-d'Oléron
Is Dolus-d'Oléron in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 40% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Dolus-d'Oléron?
OpenStreetMap maps 55 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1.9 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²).
How much of Dolus-d'Oléron is woodland?
31% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Dolus-d'Oléron near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 2.6 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Dolus-d'Oléron?
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.