First pick
Bois de la Bâtie
Wood or forest
11 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
2.1 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Patafisik · CC BY-SA 4.031%of the land protected
Outdoors in Saint-Ismier · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Saint-Ismier has more footpaths per km² than 8 in 10 French towns
66 km of footpaths cross Saint-Ismier (4.5 km per km²). 40% of Saint-Ismier is mapped woodland. 31% of Saint-Ismier’s land lies in protected areas. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
31%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
40%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
66 km
4.5 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
11 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: Bois de la Bâtie
Throughout this page, the Isère 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-Ismier?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths4.5 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.A wooded commune40% mapped woodland, more than in 86% of compared French towns, against 13% for the median compared town.Protected countryside31% of the land lies in protected areas.
What sets Saint-Ismier apart: its footpaths, then its woods.
Against French towns
How Saint-Ismier 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 areas31%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
83out of 100
Woodland40%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
86out of 100
Footpaths4.5 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
88out of 100
Hiking routes0.7 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
73out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Saint-Ismier has the 3rd most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (7,071 to 7,266 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Guingamp (6.8 km per km²) to Herbignac (0.2 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guingamp Côtes-d'Armor | 6.8 | 16% | 0% | 16 km |
| 2 | Colombelles Calvados | 4.9 | 3.1% | 0% | 9.7 km |
| 3 | Saint-Ismier Isère | 4.5 | 40% | 31% | 206 km |
| 4 | Labenne Landes | 4 | 54% | 20% | 2.8 km |
| 5 | Écouen Val-d'Oise | 4 | 16% | 0% | 135 km |
| 6 | Égly Essonne | 3.9 | 13% | 0% | 167 km |
| 7 | Balaruc-les-Bains Hérault | 3.5 | 0.7% | 33% | 3.8 km |
| 8 | Notre-Dame-de-Bondeville Seine-Maritime | 3.3 | 52% | 0% | 47 km |
| 9 | Vendargues Hérault | 3.3 | 11% | 0% | 12 km |
| 10 | Eckbolsheim Bas-Rhin | 3.1 | 7.3% | 0% | 448 km |
| 11 | Auby Nord | 2.8 | 16% | 1.7% | 84 km |
| 12 | Ugine Savoie | 2.2 | 58% | 2.4% | 236 km |
| 13 | Waziers Nord | 2.2 | 4.9% | 0% | 88 km |
| 14 | Wissous Essonne | 2.1 | 5.8% | 0% | 159 km |
| 15 | Chauray Deux-Sèvres | 2 | 2.4% | 0% | 58 km |
| 16 | La Gaude Alpes-Maritimes | 1.8 | 44% | 2.8% | 7.1 km |
| 17 | Montauroux Var | 1.8 | 61% | 9.8% | 16 km |
| 18 | Aulnoy-lez-Valenciennes Nord | 1.7 | 0.5% | 0% | 108 km |
| 19 | Bagnères-de-Bigorre Hautes-Pyrénées | 1.6 | 30% | 42% | 144 km |
| 20 | Kervignac Morbihan | 1.5 | 30% | 0% | On it |
| 21 | La Talaudière Loire | 1.5 | 6.6% | 0% | 215 km |
| 22 | Templeuve-en-Pévèle Nord | 1.4 | 11% | 0% | 76 km |
| 23 | Eyguières Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.4 | 13% | 100% | 30 km |
| 24 | Pont-Saint-Martin Loire-Atlantique | 1.3 | 17% | 1.7% | 33 km |
| 25 | Caudan Morbihan | 1.2 | 16% | 3.4% | On it |
| 26 | Mably Loire | 1.2 | 6.8% | 4.4% | 279 km |
| 27 | Pleurtuit Ille-et-Vilaine | 1.2 | 9.8% | 100% | On it |
| 28 | Divatte-sur-Loire Loire-Atlantique | 1.2 | 7.5% | 5.6% | 56 km |
| 29 | Orgeval Yvelines | 1.1 | 27% | 0% | 129 km |
| 30 | Les Trois-Bassins Réunion | 1 | 20% | 82% | On it |
| 31 | Villemandeur Loiret | 1 | 13% | 0% | 236 km |
| 32 | Lodève Hérault | 1 | 51% | 100% | 47 km |
| 33 | Péronne Somme | 1 | 6.5% | 12% | 94 km |
| 34 | Trégunc Finistère | 0.9 | 9.6% | 6.1% | On it |
| 35 | Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 0.6 | 37% | 6.3% | 8.8 km |
| 36 | Aubigny-Les Clouzeaux Vendée | 0.6 | 2.7% | 0% | 24 km |
| 37 | Sainte-Pazanne Loire-Atlantique | 0.6 | 4.9% | 0% | 15 km |
| 38 | Viriat Ain | 0.5 | 21% | 0% | 311 km |
| 39 | Verneuil d'Avre et d'Iton Eure | 0.4 | 20% | 1.5% | 87 km |
| 40 | Saint-Pierre-en-Auge Calvados | 0.3 | 8.1% | 0% | 32 km |
| 41 | Herbignac Loire-Atlantique | 0.2 | 14% | 100% | 7.8 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-Ismier
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois de la Bâtie leads, at 11 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc de Chapicolle
Park or garden · 280 m outside the commune
0.8 ha0.1 km of path
2 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
31% of Saint-Ismier lies in protected areas
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Regional nature park
Chartreuse Regional Nature Park
31% of the commune1.4 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area31%
Regional nature park31%
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.
31% of Saint-Ismier’s land is protected, more than in 83% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Isère has 0%. A regional nature park is a charter between communes to look after a landscape: farming, building and hunting go on inside it.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
Footpaths and woods in Saint-Ismier
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
66 km
4.5 km per km²
Hiking routes
11 km
waymarked: 0.7 km per km²
Woodland
40%
about 6 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Saint-IsmierIsère medianFrance median
Footpaths4.5
Hiking routes0.7
036 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Saint-IsmierIsère medianFrance median
Woodland40%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 88% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 86% 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 Saint-Ismier is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
9 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)GR de PaysOther named walk
GR 96515 km
GRP TC9.2 km
Circuit de la Monta5.1 km
Traversée de la Chartreuse2.9 km
Chemin d'Assise, Cluny - Montcenis2.7 km
Domène à Murianette, par les rives de l'Isère2.2 km
Circuit de Beauregard1.7 km
La Tour de Revel (par le Mollard)1.6 km
Le Pleynon0.8 km
GR 965 passes within 2 km of Saint-Ismier.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Saint-Ismier: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at St-Pierre de Soucy, 33 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 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.4 | 8.8 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 28 | 27 | 22 | 17 | 10 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 98 | 73 | 85 | 80 | 98 | 97 | 95 | 94 | 89 | 95 | 107 | 112 |
February is the driest month (73 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 28 °C). 112 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 79 nights a year. The climate in Saint-Ismier →
Neighbors
Next to Saint-Ismier
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Saint-Nazaire-les-EymesMontbonnot-Saint-MartinBerninLe VersoudVillard-BonnotDomèneSaint-Ismier
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Ismier | 31% | 40% | 4.5 |
| Saint-Nazaire-les-Eymes 3,016 · 1.5 km | 30% | 37% | 3 |
| Montbonnot-Saint-Martin 5,698 · 3 km | 0% | 9.5% | 4.6 |
| Bernin 3,334 · 3.4 km | 14% | 28% | 3.7 |
| Le Versoud 4,900 · 4.2 km | 0% | 18% | 3.2 |
| Villard-Bonnot 7,509 · 4.8 km | 0% | 28% | 1.7 |
| Domène 6,835 · 5 km | 0% | 24% | 3.8 |
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-Ismier
Is Saint-Ismier in a national or regional nature park?
Yes: Saint-Ismier lies in Chartreuse Regional Nature Park (31% of the commune).
Are there good walks in Saint-Ismier?
OpenStreetMap maps 66 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 4.5 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 11 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Saint-Ismier is woodland?
40% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Saint-Ismier near the sea?
No: the coast is 206 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Saint-Ismier?
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.