First pick
Forêt domaniale de la Hardt
Wood or forest
13,454 ha65.3 km of path
14 h 30 minto walk all 65.3 km of path
9 km south-eastfrom the center
Sentier DécouverteParcours de santéSentier Sylvicole+1 path
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Alain meier · CC BY-SA 4.021%of the land protected
Outdoors in Ensisheim · protected areas, woods and footpaths
35% of Ensisheim is woodland, more than in 8 in 10 French towns
21% of Ensisheim’s land lies in protected areas. Waymarked hiking routes add up to 28 km in Ensisheim. Footpaths add up to 23 km across Ensisheim (0.6 km per km²). France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
21%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
35%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
23 km
0.6 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
28 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
2
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Forêt domaniale de la Hardt
Throughout this page, the Haut-Rhin 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 Ensisheim?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A wooded commune35% mapped woodland, more than in 81% of compared French towns, against 13% for the median compared town.A nature reserveHarth nature reserve covers 5.9% of the commune.Few mapped footpaths0.6 km per km², against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.
What sets Ensisheim apart: its woods, then its nature reserve. It is shorter on footpaths.
Against French towns
How Ensisheim 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 areas21%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
79out of 100
Woodland35%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
81out of 100
Footpaths0.6 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
19out of 100
Hiking routes0.8 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
75out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Ensisheim has the 4th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (7,233 to 7,376 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Gières (7.2 km per km²) to Lanton (0.2 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gières Isère | 7.2 | 35% | 0% | 202 km |
| 2 | Gournay-sur-Marne Seine-Saint-Denis | 6 | 4.3% | 0% | 159 km |
| 3 | Colombelles Calvados | 4.9 | 3.1% | 0% | 9.7 km |
| 4 | Villemoisson-sur-Orge Essonne | 4.3 | 13% | 0% | 167 km |
| 5 | Lisses Essonne | 3.8 | 22% | 2.9% | 176 km |
| 6 | Cournonterral Hérault | 3.4 | 3.1% | 62% | 13 km |
| 7 | Vendargues Hérault | 3.3 | 11% | 0% | 12 km |
| 8 | Roquefort-les-Pins Alpes-Maritimes | 3.3 | 52% | 15% | 8 km |
| 9 | Saint-Benoît Vienne | 3.3 | 25% | 0% | 116 km |
| 10 | Audun-le-Tiche Moselle | 3 | 42% | 0% | 288 km |
| 11 | Courdimanche Val-d'Oise | 3 | 17% | 0% | 118 km |
| 12 | Barlin Pas-de-Calais | 2.9 | 5.8% | 0% | 65 km |
| 13 | Perros-Guirec Côtes-d'Armor | 2.9 | 17% | 7% | On it |
| 14 | Vizille Isère | 2.8 | 48% | 0% | 193 km |
| 15 | Courtry Seine-et-Marne | 2.5 | 19% | 0% | 155 km |
| 16 | Moyeuvre-Grande Moselle | 2.4 | 45% | 0% | 310 km |
| 17 | Le Mesnil-Saint-Denis Yvelines | 2.2 | 13% | 100% | 140 km |
| 18 | Waziers Nord | 2.2 | 4.9% | 0% | 88 km |
| 19 | Pontcharra Isère | 2 | 39% | 0% | 217 km |
| 20 | Paimpol Côtes-d'Armor | 1.9 | 12% | 12% | On it |
| 21 | Nanteuil-lès-Meaux Seine-et-Marne | 1.9 | 26% | 0% | 164 km |
| 22 | La Gaude Alpes-Maritimes | 1.8 | 44% | 2.8% | 7.1 km |
| 23 | Bourg-Saint-Maurice Savoie | 1.8 | 15% | 0.4% | 211 km |
| 24 | Le Pian-Médoc Gironde | 1.6 | 60% | 100% | 8.2 km |
| 25 | Fresnes-sur-Escaut Nord | 1.5 | 24% | 100% | 100 km |
| 26 | Mably Loire | 1.2 | 6.8% | 4.4% | 279 km |
| 27 | Divatte-sur-Loire Loire-Atlantique | 1.2 | 7.5% | 5.6% | 56 km |
| 28 | Saint-Christol-lez-Alès Gard | 1.2 | 21% | 0% | 57 km |
| 29 | Orgeval Yvelines | 1.1 | 27% | 0% | 129 km |
| 30 | Lodève Hérault | 1 | 51% | 100% | 47 km |
| 31 | Montoir-de-Bretagne Loire-Atlantique | 0.9 | 0.2% | 50% | On it |
| 32 | Trélissac Dordogne | 0.9 | 43% | 0% | 109 km |
| 33 | Saint-Nicolas-de-Port Meurthe-et-Moselle | 0.9 | 11% | 0% | 376 km |
| 34 | Salazie Réunion | 0.9 | 63% | 100% | 16 km |
| 35 | Digoin Saône-et-Loire | 0.8 | 12% | 6.1% | 325 km |
| 36 | Rosny-sur-Seine Yvelines | 0.7 | 60% | 62% | 104 km |
| 37 | Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 0.6 | 37% | 6.3% | 8.8 km |
| 38 | Ensisheim Haut-Rhin | 0.6 | 35% | 21% | 453 km |
| 39 | Guipry-Messac Ille-et-Vilaine | 0.5 | 8.9% | 0% | 55 km |
| 40 | La Ferté-Saint-Aubin Loiret | 0.4 | 68% | 100% | 224 km |
| 41 | Lanton Gironde | 0.2 | 83% | 100% | On it |
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 Ensisheim
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Forêt domaniale de la Hardt leads, at 13,454 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Grosswald
Wood or forest
168 ha1.9 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.9 km of path
3.6 km westfrom the center
RussawagSentier forestier
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
21% of Ensisheim 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
Harth nature reserve
5.9% of the commune4 km from the center
Nature reserve
Harth nature reserve
0.9% of the commune5.8 km from the center
Nature reserve
L’Eiblen et l’Illfeld nature reserve
1.7 km from the town center
Natura 2000 site
Hardt nord
21% of the commune3.8 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Forêt domaniale de la Harth
20% of the commune3.9 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area21%
Nature reserve6.9%
Natura 2000 site21%
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.
21% of Ensisheim’s land is protected, more than in 79% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Haut-Rhin has 12%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
23 km of footpaths and 28 km of hiking routes cross Ensisheim
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
23 km
0.6 km per km²
Hiking routes
28 km
waymarked: 0.8 km per km²
Woodland
35%
about 12.8 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
EnsisheimHaut-Rhin medianFrance median
Footpaths0.6
Hiking routes0.8
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
EnsisheimHaut-Rhin medianFrance median
Woodland35%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 81% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 81% 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 Ensisheim is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
8 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
Voie de Fessenheim16 km
Circuit des tumuli - Ensisheim13 km
Sentier de l'Ill13 km
Circuit Wittyru - Wittenheim/Ruelisheim8 km
Circuit de la potasse4.7 km
Circuit de l’Écomusée3.9 km
Circuit du Quatelbach - Baldersheim1.7 km
Circuit des Cités1.2 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Ensisheim: April and July to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Colmar-Meyenheim, 8.5 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) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 16.0 | 15.6 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 16 | 10 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 33 | 31 | 34 | 43 | 70 | 66 | 63 | 61 | 51 | 57 | 44 | 43 |
February is the driest month (31 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 27 °C). 70 mm of rain falls in May, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 71 nights a year. The climate in Ensisheim →
Neighbors
Next to Ensisheim
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
RuelisheimPulversheimWittenheimBollwillerBaldersheimStaffelfeldenEnsisheim
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ensisheim | 21% | 35% | 0.6 |
| Ruelisheim 2,519 · 4 km | 0% | 14% | 0.6 |
| Pulversheim 3,069 · 4.2 km | 0% | 42% | 1.5 |
| Wittenheim 15,553 · 6 km | 0% | 32% | 1.6 |
| Bollwiller 4,184 · 6.6 km | 0% | 26% | 0.3 |
| Baldersheim 2,596 · 7.4 km | 60% | 63% | 0.4 |
| Staffelfelden 4,072 · 7.8 km | 0% | 34% | 1.5 |
Baldersheim has at least twice as much protected land. Baldersheim is 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 Ensisheim
Is Ensisheim in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 21% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Ensisheim?
OpenStreetMap maps 23 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 0.6 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 28 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Ensisheim is woodland?
35% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Ensisheim near the sea?
No: the coast is 453 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Ensisheim?
April and July 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.