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NozayPhoto: Véronique PAGNIER · Public domain
5.7%woodland
Outdoors in Nozay · protected areas, woods and footpaths

Almost every home in Nozay is within 800 m of a park or wood

Footpaths add up to 24 km across Nozay (3.2 km per km²). No protected area reaches Nozay; the nearest, Sites Géologiques du Département de l’Essonne nature reserve, is 2.1 km from the town center. Mapped woodland covers 5.7% of Nozay. 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: Sites Géologiques du Département de l’Essonne nature reserve, 2.1 km
Woodland
5.7%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
24 km
3.2 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
8
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Forêt départementale du Rocher de Saulx

Throughout this page, the Essonne 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 Nozay?

Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.

What sets Nozay apart: its footpaths, then protected land close by.

Against French towns

How Nozay 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
NoneMedian 0.1%100
22out of 100
Woodland5.7%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
Median 13%0100
26out of 100
Footpaths3.2 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
Median 1.7 km per km²08+
77out of 100
Hiking routes0 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
NoneMedian 0.3 km per km²3+
12out of 100

Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.

Towns its size

Nozay has the 5th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size

The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (4,437 to 4,507 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.

Nozay 3.2
Cap-d'AilMarans
0612 km per km²

From Cap-d'Ail (10.8 km per km²) to Marans (0.2 km per km²).

Every town in the comparison
TownPaths (km/km²)WoodlandProtectedCoast
1Cap-d'Ail Alpes-Maritimes10.87.8%0.2%On it
2Jacob-Bellecombette Savoie7.426%45%232 km
3Saint-Nicolas Pas-de-Calais4.82.8%0%79 km
4Royat Puy-de-Dôme4.263%0.2%257 km
5Nozay Essonne3.25.7%0%162 km
6Maurecourt Yvelines3.215%0%125 km
7Bretteville-sur-Odon Calvados3.24.3%0%17 km
8La Chaussée-Saint-Victor Loir-et-Cher311%8.1%215 km
9Montrabé Haute-Garonne36.6%0%142 km
10Thourotte Oise2.88%0.8%116 km
11Montigny-en-Ostrevent Nord2.813%0.4%92 km
12Écrouves Meurthe-et-Moselle2.623%100%346 km
13Saint-Laurent-du-Pont Isère2.367%100%224 km
14Villeneuve-de-la-Raho Pyrénées-Orientales2.20.2%0%9.8 km
15Vinon-sur-Verdon Var2.134%100%57 km
16Rousson Gard1.828%0%70 km
17Noirmoutier-en-l'Île Vendée1.74%38%On it
18Capdenac-Gare Aveyron1.728%0%177 km
19Maintenon Eure-et-Loir1.628%0.5%130 km
20Saclay Essonne1.67.5%0%153 km
21Guise Aisne1.54.9%0%143 km
22Banyuls-sur-Mer Pyrénées-Orientales1.36.4%78%On it
23Plobsheim Bas-Rhin1.110%31%459 km
24Vinay Isère1.126%0%200 km
25Beaussais-sur-Mer Côtes-d'Armor0.912%100%On it
26Hergnies Nord0.98.5%100%94 km
27Guignes Seine-et-Marne0.936%0%189 km
28Hesdin-la-Forêt Pas-de-Calais0.951%0%28 km
29Chancelade Dordogne0.748%0%100 km
30Lamotte-Beuvron Loir-et-Cher0.752%100%239 km
31Villeneuve-lès-Béziers Hérault0.61.8%30%7.4 km
32Mesnil-Roc'h Ille-et-Vilaine0.636%100%8.2 km
33Lunel-Viel Hérault0.64.6%0%13 km
34La Réole Gironde0.57.2%6.5%64 km
35Pineuilh Gironde0.58.5%2.2%67 km
36Jarnac Charente0.56.2%23%53 km
37Gonfaron Var0.442%23%21 km
38Freneuse Yvelines0.434%51%100 km
39Charmes Vosges0.460%8%391 km
40Torigny-les-Villes Manche0.35.4%0%38 km
41Marans Charente-Maritime0.20.3%100%11 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.

12345678
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 Nozay

Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Forêt départementale du Rocher de Saulx leads, at 174 ha. Directions go to a point inside.

First pick

Forêt départementale du Rocher de Saulx

Wood or forest · 0 m outside the commune
174 ha14.4 km of path
3 h 10 minto walk all 14.4 km of path
2.5 km north-eastfrom the center
Chemin de Lunezy à BallainvilliersChemin de Villejust à Plessis Saint-PierreChemin des Palais+1 path
Directionsto a point inside

Bois des Fossés

Wood or forest
115 ha4.4 km of path
1 hto walk all 4.4 km of path
1.8 km south-westfrom the center
Chemin du Bel ÉbatChemin de la Ronce à Bel Ébat
Directionsto a point inside

Bois des Carrés

Wood or forest · 240 m outside the commune
108 ha5.4 km of path
1 h 10 minto walk all 5.4 km of path
3.3 km westfrom the center
Chemin du MuguetChemin de Saint-Jean-de-BeauregardChemin de la Vallée
Directionsto a point inside

Bois du Gros Chêne

Wood or forest
57 ha6 km of path
1 h 20 minto walk all 6 km of path
1.7 km south-eastfrom the center
Voie des RochesChemin des VauxChemin Neuf des Auvergnes+5 paths
Directionsto a point inside

Bois de la Turaude

Wood or forest
29 ha1.9 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.9 km of path
2.1 km north-eastfrom the center
Chemin de la Croix-Saint-JacquesRoute de ChasseSentier de la Turaude+1 path
Directionsto a point inside

Bois de Saint-Eloi

Wood or forest
17 ha2.9 km of path
40 minto walk all 2.9 km of path
1.1 km eastfrom the center
Chemin de Saint-ÉloiChemin du Bois Monsieur
Directionsto a point inside

Bois de Monsieur

Wood or forest
12 ha2.3 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.3 km of path
1.1 km eastfrom the center
Chemin du Bois Monsieur
Directionsto a point inside

Chevaux

Park or garden
2.9 ha
1.4 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

Sites Géologiques du Département de l’Essonne nature reserve is the nearest protected area, 2.1 km away

The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.

Nature reserve

Sites Géologiques du Département de l’Essonne nature reserve

2.1 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

24 km of footpaths cross Nozay

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
24 km
3.2 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 km
waymarked: 0 km per km²
Woodland
5.7%
about 0.4 km² of mapped woods

Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap

NozayEssonne medianFrance median
Footpaths3.2
Hiking routes0
02.55 km per km²

Share of the land · mapped woods and forest

NozayEssonne medianFrance median
Woodland5.7%
0%50%100%

That is more than in 77% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 74% 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 Nozay is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.

A named hiking route within 2 km

GR (long-distance)
GR 655ET6.9 km

GR 655ET passes within 2 km of Nozay.

Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).

When to get out

The best walking months in Nozay: April and June to September

Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Gometz-Le-Chat., 7.9 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)8.710.111.713.615.216.115.814.312.510.79.18.3
High (°C)781216192325252116107
Rain (mm)605454527361616053656777

April is the driest month (52 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 25 °C). 77 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 46 nights a year. The climate in Nozay →

Neighbors

Next to Nozay

The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.

La Ville-du-BoisVillejustMarcoussisMontlhéryLongpont-sur-OrgeBallainvilliersNozay
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
TownProtectedWoodlandPaths (km/km²)
Nozay0%5.7%3.2
La Ville-du-Bois
8,161 · 2 km
0%28%4.4
Villejust
2,558 · 2.2 km
0%4.4%2.4
Marcoussis
8,618 · 2.2 km
0%34%2.7
Montlhéry
9,772 · 3 km
0%9.8%4.1
Longpont-sur-Orge
6,482 · 3.8 km
0%15%3.2
Ballainvilliers
4,904 · 3.9 km
0%2.3%2.4

La Ville-du-Bois and Marcoussis are 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 Nozay

Is Nozay in a national or regional nature park?

No. The nearest protected area is Sites Géologiques du Département de l’Essonne nature reserve, 2.1 km from the town center.

Are there good walks in Nozay?

OpenStreetMap maps 24 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 3.2 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²).

How much of Nozay is woodland?

5.7% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.

Is Nozay near the sea?

No: the coast is 162 km from the town center, as the crow flies.

When is the best time for walking in Nozay?

April and June 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.