First pick
Berges de la Rivière des Galets
Park or garden · 40 m outside the commune
7.7 ha2.1 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.1 km of path
3 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Clémenceau Lauret · CC BY-SA 4.088%of the land protected
Outdoors in La Possession · protected areas, woods and footpaths
La Possession lies in the heart of Réunion National Park
88% of La Possession’s land lies in protected areas. Mapped woodland covers 67% of La Possession. La Possession has 66 km of waymarked hiking routes. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
88%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
67%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
194 km
1.6 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
66 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
3
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Berges de la Rivière des Galets
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 2.3 km from its center
Throughout this page, the Réunion 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 La Possession?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
In the heart of Réunion National Park69% of the commune is in the park’s core, its strictly protected zone.A wooded commune67% mapped woodland, more than in 97% of compared French towns, against 13% for the median compared town.On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 2.3 km from its center.A nature reserveBras des Merles - Bras Bémale nature reserve covers 7.3% of the commune.
What sets La Possession apart: the national park all around it, then its woods.
Against French towns
How La Possession 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 areas88%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
91out of 100
Woodland67%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
97out of 100
Footpaths1.6 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
49out of 100
Hiking routes0.6 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
65out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
La Possession has the 4th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (34,708 to 38,477 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Saint-Martin-d'Hères (10.1 km per km²) to Sainte-Marie (0.7 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Martin-d'Hères Isère | 10.1 | 14% | 0% | 203 km |
| 2 | Échirolles Isère | 9.9 | 11% | 0% | 200 km |
| 3 | Schiltigheim Bas-Rhin | 9 | 7.7% | 0.2% | 449 km |
| 4 | Annemasse Haute-Savoie | 8.3 | 2.4% | 0% | 286 km |
| 5 | Châtenay-Malabry Hauts-de-Seine | 8.2 | 30% | 0% | 155 km |
| 6 | Franconville Val-d'Oise | 8.2 | 27% | 0% | 132 km |
| 7 | Lyon 4e Rhône | 7.8 | 6.8% | 0% | 253 km |
| 8 | Marseille 1er Bouches-du-Rhône | 7.5 | 0.1% | 0% | On it |
| 9 | Paris 8e Paris | 6.9 | 0% | 0% | 146 km |
| 10 | Marseille 6e Bouches-du-Rhône | 6.8 | 1.2% | 0% | 1 km |
| 11 | Villeneuve-Saint-Georges Val-de-Marne | 6.6 | 4.3% | 0% | 164 km |
| 12 | Romainville Seine-Saint-Denis | 6 | 11% | 0% | 151 km |
| 13 | Palaiseau Essonne | 5.9 | 18% | 0% | 158 km |
| 14 | Creil Oise | 5.8 | 25% | 41% | 117 km |
| 15 | Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Essonne | 5.6 | 9.5% | 0% | 169 km |
| 16 | Chartres Eure-et-Loir | 5.5 | 2.4% | 0% | 138 km |
| 17 | Marseille 7e Bouches-du-Rhône | 5.4 | 0.7% | 33% | On it |
| 18 | Vitrolles Bouches-du-Rhône | 4.9 | 8.9% | 33% | 9.7 km |
| 19 | Athis-Mons Essonne | 4.6 | 4% | 0% | 165 km |
| 20 | Meyzieu Rhône | 4.2 | 13% | 26% | 256 km |
| 21 | Oullins-Pierre-Bénite Rhône | 4.2 | 2.3% | 0% | 246 km |
| 22 | Mâcon Saône-et-Loire | 4.2 | 17% | 0% | 311 km |
| 23 | Châtillon Hauts-de-Seine | 4.2 | 0.2% | 0% | 152 km |
| 24 | Six-Fours-les-Plages Var | 3.9 | 34% | 21% | On it |
| 25 | Saint-Raphaël Var | 3.8 | 60% | 61% | On it |
| 26 | Thonon-les-Bains Haute-Savoie | 3.8 | 17% | 8.5% | 299 km |
| 27 | Roanne Loire | 3.7 | 2.7% | 15% | 275 km |
| 28 | Le Perreux-sur-Marne Val-de-Marne | 3.4 | 1.2% | 0% | 157 km |
| 29 | Savigny-sur-Orge Essonne | 3.4 | 2.2% | 0% | 166 km |
| 30 | La Ciotat Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.4 | 20% | 27% | On it |
| 31 | Conflans-Sainte-Honorine Yvelines | 3.2 | 3.8% | 0% | 126 km |
| 32 | Tremblay-en-France Seine-Saint-Denis | 3 | 3.9% | 0% | 151 km |
| 33 | Joué-lès-Tours Indre-et-Loire | 2.5 | 15% | 0% | 179 km |
| 34 | Bezons Val-d'Oise | 2.4 | 1.9% | 0% | 137 km |
| 35 | Saint-Chamond Loire | 2.1 | 26% | 33% | 215 km |
| 36 | Villefranche-sur-Saône Rhône | 1.9 | 0.7% | 0% | 274 km |
| 37 | Auxerre Yonne | 1.8 | 15% | 0% | 298 km |
| 38 | La Possession Réunion | 1.6 | 67% | 88% | On it |
| 39 | Haguenau Bas-Rhin | 1 | 81% | 76% | 436 km |
| 40 | Saint-Leu Réunion | 0.9 | 23% | 17% | On it |
| 41 | Sainte-Marie Réunion | 0.7 | 50% | 60% | 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 La Possession
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Berges de la Rivière des Galets leads, at 7.7 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc Saint Laurent
Park or garden
3.1 ha1.5 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.5 km of path
1 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Mail Promenade des Banians
Park or garden
0.6 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
1.6 km northfrom the center
Mail Promenade des Banians
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Protected land in and around La Possession
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
National park, core
Réunion National Park
69% of the commune1.3 km from the center
National park, outer area
Réunion National Park
18% of the commune0.2 km from the center
Nature reserve
Bras des Merles - Bras Bémale nature reserve
7.3% of the commune8.4 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area88%
National park, core69%
National park, outer area18%
Nature reserve7.3%
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.
88% of La Possession’s land is protected, more than in 91% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Réunion has 69%. A national park’s outer area (aire d’adhésion) is made of the communes that signed the park’s charter: it guides how they grow, but it isn’t strict protection like the core. Natura 2000 doesn’t apply in the overseas départements.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
194 km of footpaths and 66 km of hiking routes cross La Possession
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
194 km
1.6 km per km²
Hiking routes
66 km
waymarked: 0.6 km per km²
Woodland
67%
about 79.8 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
La PossessionRéunion medianFrance median
Footpaths1.6
Hiking routes0.6
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
La PossessionRéunion medianFrance median
Woodland67%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 51% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 97% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. 97% of La Possession’s residents live within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, close to the typical town.
6 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
Canalisation des Orangers12 km
Chemin Crémont9.6 km
PR257.8 km
Sentier Augustave6.5 km
Sentier de la Roche Écrite6.4 km
Sentier Scout6.1 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in La Possession: October and November
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Le Port, 6.1 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) | 13.3 | 12.8 | 12.3 | 11.6 | 11.1 | 10.9 | 11.0 | 11.4 | 12.0 | 12.6 | 13.1 | 13.4 |
| High (°C) | 32 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 31 |
| Rain (mm) | 118 | 118 | 105 | 40 | 19 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 72 |
July is the driest month (5 mm) and February the warmest (highs of 32 °C). 118 mm of rain falls in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 32 °C, too hot for the outline. The climate in La Possession →
Neighbors
Next to La Possession
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Le PortSaint-PaulSaint-DenisLes Trois-BassinsSalazieSainte-MarieLa Possession
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Possession | 88% | 67% | 1.6 | On it |
| Le Port 33,969 · 4.2 km | 5.6% | 0.5% | 3.7 | On it |
| Saint-Paul 108,088 · 11 km | 64% | 20% | 1.4 | On it |
| Saint-Denis 155,634 · 14 km | 73% | 62% | 1.6 | On it |
| Les Trois-Bassins 7,221 · 18 km | 82% | 20% | 1 | On it |
| Salazie 7,268 · 20 km | 100% | 63% | 0.9 | 16 km |
| Sainte-Marie 37,093 · 21 km | 60% | 50% | 0.7 | On it |
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 La Possession
Is La Possession in a national or regional nature park?
Yes: La Possession lies in Réunion National Park (69% of the commune).
Are there good walks in La Possession?
OpenStreetMap maps 194 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1.6 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 66 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of La Possession is woodland?
67% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is La Possession near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 2.3 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in La Possession?
October and November: 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.