First pick
Domaine de Massereau
Wood or forest
9.9 ha0.3 km of path
2.1 km south-eastfrom the center
Voie Verte de la Vaunage
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: EmDee · CC BY-SA 3.01.3%of the land protected
Outdoors in Sommières · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Sommières is within 800 m of a park or wood
Footpaths add up to 29 km across Sommières (2.8 km per km²). Mapped woodland covers 21% of Sommières. Waymarked hiking routes add up to 1 km in Sommières. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
1.3%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
21%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
29 km
2.8 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
1.1 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: Domaine de Massereau
The sea
25 km
from the town center to the coast
Throughout this page, the Gard 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 Sommières 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 areas1.3%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
57out of 100
Woodland21%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
64out of 100
Footpaths2.8 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
71out of 100
Hiking routes0.1 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
31out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Sommières has the 8th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (5,027 to 5,124 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Giberville (5.1 km per km²) to Laventie (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giberville Calvados | 5.1 | 3.2% | 0% | 11 km |
| 2 | Pulnoy Meurthe-et-Moselle | 4.7 | 25% | 0% | 368 km |
| 3 | Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 4.3 | 45% | 17% | 95 km |
| 4 | Billy-Berclau Pas-de-Calais | 4 | 15% | 0% | 67 km |
| 5 | Bezannes Marne | 3.4 | 1.8% | 0.1% | 198 km |
| 6 | Ornex Ain | 3.2 | 22% | 0% | 299 km |
| 7 | Saint-Étienne-au-Mont Pas-de-Calais | 2.8 | 35% | 100% | On it |
| 8 | Sommières Gard | 2.8 | 21% | 1.3% | 25 km |
| 9 | Le Val d'Hazey Eure | 2.6 | 32% | 0.3% | 77 km |
| 10 | Châteaulin Finistère | 2.5 | 21% | 100% | On it |
| 11 | Dives-sur-Mer Calvados | 2.5 | 8.8% | 0% | 1.2 km |
| 12 | Gruissan Aude | 2.5 | 13% | 100% | On it |
| 13 | Haillicourt Pas-de-Calais | 2.5 | 0.2% | 0% | 63 km |
| 14 | Saint-Georges-de-Didonne Charente-Maritime | 2.3 | 19% | 37% | On it |
| 15 | La Mézière Ille-et-Vilaine | 2.1 | 7.5% | 0% | 36 km |
| 16 | Bonnières-sur-Seine Yvelines | 2.1 | 45% | 20% | 99 km |
| 17 | Hauts de Bienne Jura | 1.9 | 77% | 100% | 326 km |
| 18 | Champagne-sur-Oise Val-d'Oise | 1.8 | 33% | 54% | 119 km |
| 19 | Baden Morbihan | 1.8 | 15% | 100% | On it |
| 20 | Yffiniac Côtes-d'Armor | 1.5 | 4.4% | 0.1% | 1.8 km |
| 21 | La Ferté Macé Orne | 1.4 | 27% | 100% | 73 km |
| 22 | Petite-Forêt Nord | 1.3 | 1.8% | 1.4% | 102 km |
| 23 | Genlis Côte-d'Or | 1.3 | 0.4% | 0% | 418 km |
| 24 | Villefranche-de-Lauragais Haute-Garonne | 1.2 | 0.5% | 0% | 117 km |
| 25 | Cilaos Réunion | 1.1 | 43% | 100% | 18 km |
| 26 | Muzillac Morbihan | 1 | 4.9% | 7.8% | On it |
| 27 | Maen Roch Ille-et-Vilaine | 1 | 3.9% | 0% | 25 km |
| 28 | Faulquemont Moselle | 0.9 | 22% | 0% | 354 km |
| 29 | Saint-Marcellin-en-Forez Loire | 0.8 | 25% | 1.8% | 215 km |
| 30 | Luynes Indre-et-Loire | 0.8 | 39% | 3.5% | 176 km |
| 31 | Aÿ-Champagne Marne | 0.7 | 16% | 100% | 211 km |
| 32 | Blaye Gironde | 0.7 | 2.7% | 58% | On it |
| 33 | Habsheim Haut-Rhin | 0.7 | 49% | 50% | 438 km |
| 34 | Saint-Sever Landes | 0.6 | 17% | 4.2% | 67 km |
| 35 | Pacy-sur-Eure Eure | 0.6 | 45% | 3.1% | 88 km |
| 36 | Val-de-Moder Bas-Rhin | 0.5 | 5.9% | 0.1% | 424 km |
| 37 | Sully-sur-Loire Loiret | 0.4 | 25% | 40% | 238 km |
| 38 | Villeneuve-en-Retz Loire-Atlantique | 0.2 | 7.1% | 36% | 5.1 km |
| 39 | Saint-Pantaléon-de-Larche Corrèze | 0.2 | 25% | 0.3% | 161 km |
| 40 | Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre Deux-Sèvres | 0.2 | 7% | 0% | 62 km |
| 41 | Laventie Pas-de-Calais | 0.1 | 0.7% | 0% | 54 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 Sommières
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Domaine de Massereau leads, at 9.9 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Jardin du Château
Wood or forest · 300 m outside the commune
6.8 ha
2.3 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Domaine de la Saussinette
Park or garden
1 ha
0.7 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Terriers
Park or garden · 110 m outside the commune
0.8 ha
1.1 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin de l'Aube
Park or garden · 160 m outside the commune
0.5 ha0.2 km of path
1 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
1.3% of Sommières lies in protected areas
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 site
Le Vidourle
1.3% of the commune1.7 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area1.3%
Natura 2000 site1.3%
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.
1.3% of Sommières’ land is protected, more than in 57% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Gard has 13%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
29 km of footpaths cross Sommières
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
29 km
2.8 km per km²
Hiking routes
1.1 km
waymarked: 0.1 km per km²
Woodland
21%
about 2.1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
SommièresGard medianFrance median
Footpaths2.8
Hiking routes0.1
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
SommièresGard medianFrance median
Woodland21%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 71% 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. Every home in Sommières is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
4 named hiking routes within 2 km
PR (local walk)Other named walk
PR 486.6 km
A la découverte de la pierre de Junas6.2 km
Villevieille remonter le temps1 km
Les capitelles de la Bénovie0.3 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Sommières: May and June
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Villevieille, 1.4 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°C) | 12 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 31 | 26 | 21 | 16 | 12 |
| Rain (mm) | 62 | 43 | 47 | 71 | 53 | 39 | 22 | 49 | 108 | 104 | 98 | 66 |
July is the driest month (22 mm) and the warmest (highs of 32 °C). 108 mm of rain falls in September, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 40 nights a year. Summer highs reach 32 °C, too hot for the outline. The climate in Sommières →
Neighbors
Next to Sommières
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
AubaisRestinclièresCalvissonAigues-VivesGallargues-le-MontueuxSussarguesSommières
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sommières | 1.3% | 21% | 2.8 | 25 km |
| Aubais 2,925 · 6.3 km | 1.3% | 24% | 3.1 | 22 km |
| Restinclières 2,612 · 7.8 km | 0% | 8.6% | 1.7 | 18 km |
| Calvisson 6,486 · 8.8 km | 0% | 27% | 2.7 | 27 km |
| Aigues-Vives 3,331 · 8.9 km | 13% | 4.2% | 1.3 | 21 km |
| Gallargues-le-Montueux 3,659 · 9.8 km | 2% | 2% | 1.3 | 19 km |
| Sussargues 2,840 · 10 km | 0% | 8.6% | 2.3 | 17 km |
Aigues-Vives has at least twice as much protected land.
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 Sommières
Is Sommières in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 1.3% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Sommières?
OpenStreetMap maps 29 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 2.8 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 1 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Sommières is woodland?
21% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Sommières near the sea?
No: the coast is 25 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Sommières?
May and June: 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.