First pick
Parc de la MJC
Park or garden
1.6 ha0.5 km of path
Centralin the middle of Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Marc Mongenet · CC BY-SA 4.03.2%woodland
Outdoors in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Parks, woods and footpaths in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence
3.2% of Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence is mapped woodland. 10 km of footpaths cross Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence (0.7 km per km²). No protected area reaches Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence; the nearest, Sables de l’Herbasse et des Balmes de l’Isère (Natura 2000), is 4.1 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: Sables de l’Herbasse et des Balmes de l’Isère, 4.1 km
Woodland
3.2%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
10 km
0.7 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0.4 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Green space nearby
90%
of residents within 800 m of a park or wood
Compared town: 100%
Throughout this page, the Drôme 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 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
Protected land nearbySables de l’Herbasse et des Balmes de l’Isère (Natura 2000) is 4.1 km from the town center.Little mapped woodland3.2% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence apart: protected land close by. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence 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
Woodland3.2%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
15out of 100
Footpaths0.7 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
21out of 100
Hiking routes0 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
26out of 100
Green space nearby90%Share of residents within 800 m of a mapped park or wood
8out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence has the 10th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (6,106 to 6,240 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Menucourt (5.4 km per km²) to Livarot-Pays-d'Auge (0.3 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Menucourt Val-d'Oise | 5.4 | 40% | 0.3% | 119 km |
| 2 | Le Barcarès Pyrénées-Orientales | 4.4 | 3.4% | 35% | On it |
| 3 | Quint-Fonsegrives Haute-Garonne | 4.4 | 9.5% | 0% | 139 km |
| 4 | Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts Bouches-du-Rhône | 4.2 | 25% | 30% | 5.2 km |
| 5 | Prades-le-Lez Hérault | 4 | 37% | 7.8% | 18 km |
| 6 | Dourges Pas-de-Calais | 3.9 | 11% | 0% | 79 km |
| 7 | Blainville-sur-Orne Calvados | 3.9 | 7.2% | 0% | 7 km |
| 8 | Jonage Rhône | 3.6 | 16% | 33% | 260 km |
| 9 | Palavas-les-Flots Hérault | 3.6 | 0% | 72% | On it |
| 10 | Petite-Rosselle Moselle | 3.3 | 33% | 0% | 356 km |
| 11 | Prades Pyrénées-Orientales | 2.7 | 33% | 0.3% | 50 km |
| 12 | Cuges-les-Pins Bouches-du-Rhône | 2.6 | 37% | 100% | 10 km |
| 13 | Saint-Quentin-Fallavier Isère | 2.5 | 13% | 0% | 243 km |
| 14 | Behren-lès-Forbach Moselle | 2.4 | 14% | 0% | 363 km |
| 15 | Bruguières Haute-Garonne | 2.3 | 11% | 0% | 154 km |
| 16 | Aurec-sur-Loire Haute-Loire | 2.3 | 55% | 47% | 201 km |
| 17 | Saint-Genest-Lerpt Loire | 2 | 20% | 0% | 211 km |
| 18 | Franqueville-Saint-Pierre Seine-Maritime | 2 | 5.6% | 0.9% | 58 km |
| 19 | Saint-Marcel Saône-et-Loire | 2 | 6% | 0% | 363 km |
| 20 | Feytiat Haute-Vienne | 1.6 | 27% | 0% | 167 km |
| 21 | Oraison Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 1.4 | 45% | 29% | 78 km |
| 22 | Pont-Évêque Isère | 1.4 | 17% | 0% | 229 km |
| 23 | Saint-Symphorien-d'Ozon Rhône | 1.3 | 7.2% | 0% | 239 km |
| 24 | Vendenheim Bas-Rhin | 1.3 | 21% | 0% | 443 km |
| 25 | Loches Indre-et-Loire | 0.9 | 17% | 5% | 186 km |
| 26 | Terrasson-Lavilledieu Dordogne | 0.9 | 39% | 7.1% | 149 km |
| 27 | Bellevigny Vendée | 0.9 | 7.1% | 0% | 38 km |
| 28 | Saint-Denis-lès-Bourg Ain | 0.9 | 5.5% | 0% | 306 km |
| 29 | Malaunay Seine-Maritime | 0.7 | 24% | 0% | 43 km |
| 30 | Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx Landes | 0.7 | 51% | 33% | 9.2 km |
| 31 | Mallemort Bouches-du-Rhône | 0.7 | 4.4% | 20% | 38 km |
| 32 | Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence Drôme | 0.7 | 3.2% | 0% | 169 km |
| 33 | Guer Morbihan | 0.7 | 20% | 0% | 50 km |
| 34 | Octeville-sur-Mer Seine-Maritime | 0.6 | 0.3% | 5.1% | On it |
| 35 | Marennes-Hiers-Brouage Charente-Maritime | 0.6 | 3.2% | 75% | On it |
| 36 | Thue et Mue Calvados | 0.6 | 1.2% | 0% | 15 km |
| 37 | Fayence Var | 0.6 | 46% | 9.6% | 22 km |
| 38 | Horbourg-Wihr Haut-Rhin | 0.6 | 5% | 0% | 475 km |
| 39 | Le Blanc Indre | 0.5 | 11% | 100% | 173 km |
| 40 | Aire-sur-l'Adour Landes | 0.4 | 22% | 2.6% | 93 km |
| 41 | Livarot-Pays-d'Auge Calvados | 0.3 | 14% | 0.9% | 38 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 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc de la MJC leads, at 1.6 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Bois de Thodure
Wood or forest
3 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
1.2 km southfrom the center
Parcours de santé de ThodureAccès salle Thodure
Directionsto a point inside
Bassin Hermitte
Park or garden · 360 m outside the commune
1.5 ha
3.1 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Esplanade des micocouliers
Park or garden
0.3 ha
Centralin the middle of Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Close to home
9 in 10 residents of Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence 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).
90% within 800 m9.7% further
Residents within 800 m of green space · share of residents
Saint-Marcel-lès-ValenceDrôme medianFrance median
Within 800 m90%
0%50%100%
About 600 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
Sables de l’Herbasse et des Balmes de l’Isère is the nearest protected area, 4.1 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
Sables de l’Herbasse et des Balmes de l’Isère
4.1 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
10 km of footpaths cross Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence
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
10 km
0.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0.4 km
waymarked: 0 km per km²
Woodland
3.2%
about 0.5 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Saint-Marcel-lès-ValenceDrôme medianFrance median
Footpaths0.7
Hiking routes0
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Saint-Marcel-lès-ValenceDrôme medianFrance median
Woodland3.2%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 79% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 85% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them.
2 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)
GR 42211 km
GR 934.7 km
2 GR routes pass within 2 km of Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence: GR 422 and GR 93.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence: June to August
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Valence-Chabeui, 6.2 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 10 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 24 | 19 | 12 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 57 | 47 | 54 | 74 | 89 | 57 | 55 | 68 | 83 | 124 | 109 | 58 |
February is the driest month (47 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 29 °C). 124 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 45 nights a year. The climate in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence →
Neighbors
Next to Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Châteauneuf-sur-IsèreBourg-lès-ValenceAlixanMontélierValenceMalissardSaint-Marcel-lès-Valence
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence | 0% | 3.2% | 0.7 |
| Châteauneuf-sur-Isère 4,281 · 4.8 km | 2.1% | 6.5% | 0.6 |
| Bourg-lès-Valence 19,992 · 4.9 km | 0% | 1.8% | 1.8 |
| Alixan 2,729 · 4.9 km | 0% | 0.2% | 0.5 |
| Montélier 4,323 · 6.1 km | 0% | 2.2% | 0.3 |
| Valence 64,458 · 6.2 km | 0% | 3.3% | 2.1 |
| Malissard 3,294 · 7.6 km | 0% | 0.3% | 0.3 |
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 Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence
Is Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Sables de l’Herbasse et des Balmes de l’Isère, 4.1 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence?
OpenStreetMap maps 10 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 0.7 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²).
How much of Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence is woodland?
3.2% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence near the sea?
No: the coast is 169 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence?
June to August: 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.