First pick
Parc Novaciéries
Park or garden
5.7 ha3.6 km of path
50 minto walk all 3.6 km of path
0.6 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Bissorte · CC BY-SA 4.033%of the land protected
Outdoors in Saint-Chamond · protected areas, woods and footpaths
33% of Saint-Chamond’s land is protected for nature
26% of Saint-Chamond is mapped woodland. 115 km of footpaths cross Saint-Chamond (2.1 km per km²). Saint-Chamond has 21 km of waymarked hiking routes. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
33%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
26%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
115 km
2.1 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
21 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
12
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc Novaciéries
Throughout this page, the Loire 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 Saint-Chamond 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 areas33%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
83out of 100
Woodland26%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
71out of 100
Footpaths2.1 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
59out of 100
Hiking routes0.4 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
53out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Saint-Chamond has the 9th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (33,464 to 37,928 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 | Villeneuve-Saint-Georges Val-de-Marne | 6.6 | 4.3% | 0% | 164 km |
| 11 | Romainville Seine-Saint-Denis | 6 | 11% | 0% | 151 km |
| 12 | Palaiseau Essonne | 5.9 | 18% | 0% | 158 km |
| 13 | Creil Oise | 5.8 | 25% | 41% | 117 km |
| 14 | Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Essonne | 5.6 | 9.5% | 0% | 169 km |
| 15 | Marseille 7e Bouches-du-Rhône | 5.4 | 0.7% | 33% | On it |
| 16 | Vitrolles Bouches-du-Rhône | 4.9 | 8.9% | 33% | 9.7 km |
| 17 | Trappes Yvelines | 4.8 | 20% | 22% | 140 km |
| 18 | Les Mureaux Yvelines | 4.7 | 16% | 0% | 120 km |
| 19 | Athis-Mons Essonne | 4.6 | 4% | 0% | 165 km |
| 20 | Meyzieu Rhône | 4.2 | 13% | 26% | 256 km |
| 21 | Mâcon Saône-et-Loire | 4.2 | 17% | 0% | 311 km |
| 22 | Châtillon Hauts-de-Seine | 4.2 | 0.2% | 0% | 152 km |
| 23 | Six-Fours-les-Plages Var | 3.9 | 34% | 21% | On it |
| 24 | Saint-Raphaël Var | 3.8 | 60% | 61% | On it |
| 25 | Thonon-les-Bains Haute-Savoie | 3.8 | 17% | 8.5% | 299 km |
| 26 | Roanne Loire | 3.7 | 2.7% | 15% | 275 km |
| 27 | Le Port Réunion | 3.7 | 0.5% | 5.6% | On it |
| 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 | Conflans-Sainte-Honorine Yvelines | 3.2 | 3.8% | 0% | 126 km |
| 31 | Marignane Bouches-du-Rhône | 2.9 | 3.4% | 16% | 8.5 km |
| 32 | Bezons Val-d'Oise | 2.4 | 1.9% | 0% | 137 km |
| 33 | Saint-Chamond Loire | 2.1 | 26% | 33% | 215 km |
| 34 | Villefranche-sur-Saône Rhône | 1.9 | 0.7% | 0% | 274 km |
| 35 | Auxerre Yonne | 1.8 | 15% | 0% | 298 km |
| 36 | Houilles Yvelines | 1.7 | 0% | 0% | 136 km |
| 37 | Romans-sur-Isère Drôme | 1.7 | 11% | 12% | 178 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 Saint-Chamond
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc Novaciéries leads, at 5.7 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Square Henri Dunant
Park or garden
5.9 ha2.3 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.3 km of path
0.7 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de Fonsala
Park or garden
5.1 ha2 km of path
25 minto walk all 2 km of path
1.9 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Nelson Mandela
Park or garden
1.7 ha1.7 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.7 km of path
Centralin the middle of Saint-Chamond
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Labesse
Park or garden
2.1 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
1.6 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc du château du Jarez
Park or garden
1.4 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
0.6 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc du Vieux Creux
Park or garden
1 ha0.3 km of path
1.9 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Square du bicentenaire
Park or garden
0.6 ha0.5 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.5 km of path
1.5 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
All 12 named parks, gardens and woods
Parc NovaciériesPark or garden · 5.7 ha · 3.6 km of path
DirectionsSquare Henri DunantPark or garden · 5.9 ha · 2.3 km of path
DirectionsParc de FonsalaPark or garden · 5.1 ha · 2 km of path
DirectionsParc Nelson MandelaPark or garden · 1.7 ha · 1.7 km of path
DirectionsParc LabessePark or garden · 2.1 ha · 1.2 km of path
DirectionsParc du château du JarezPark or garden · 1.4 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsParc du Vieux CreuxPark or garden · 1 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsSquare du bicentenairePark or garden · 0.6 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsSquare Marius DeplassieuxPark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.3 km of path · just outside
DirectionsEsplanade Melchior Mitte de ChevrièrePark or garden · 0.6 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsSquare du JanonPark or garden · 0.2 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsSquare de la BrossePark or garden · 0.2 ha
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Protected land in and around Saint-Chamond
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Regional nature park
Pilat Regional Nature Park
33% of the commune0.8 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area33%
Regional nature park33%
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.
33% of Saint-Chamond’s land is protected, more than in 83% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Loire has 1.2%. 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
115 km of footpaths and 21 km of hiking routes cross Saint-Chamond
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
115 km
2.1 km per km²
Hiking routes
21 km
waymarked: 0.4 km per km²
Woodland
26%
about 14.4 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Saint-ChamondLoire medianFrance median
Footpaths2.1
Hiking routes0.4
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Saint-ChamondLoire medianFrance median
Woodland26%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 59% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 71% 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-Chamond is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
3 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 718 km
Boucle verte 40.5 km
Boucle verte 50.4 km
GR 7 passes within 2 km of Saint-Chamond.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Saint-Chamond: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at St Etienne-Boutheon, 19 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 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 38 | 30 | 34 | 55 | 82 | 81 | 77 | 73 | 70 | 76 | 73 | 39 |
February is the driest month (30 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 27 °C). 82 mm of rain falls in May, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 60 nights a year. The climate in Saint-Chamond →
Neighbors
Next to Saint-Chamond
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
L'HormeSaint-Paul-en-JarezLa Grand-CroixSaint-Jean-BonnefondsSorbiersLa TalaudièreSaint-Chamond
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Chamond | 33% | 26% | 2.1 |
| L'Horme 4,806 · 3 km | 0% | 3.4% | 2 |
| Saint-Paul-en-Jarez 4,699 · 4.9 km | 97% | 18% | 1 |
| La Grand-Croix 4,947 · 5.3 km | 0% | 15% | 2.5 |
| Saint-Jean-Bonnefonds 6,563 · 5.8 km | 0% | 12% | 1.4 |
| Sorbiers 8,116 · 5.9 km | 0% | 14% | 1.8 |
| La Talaudière 7,133 · 6.5 km | 0% | 6.6% | 1.5 |
Saint-Paul-en-Jarez 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 Saint-Chamond
Is Saint-Chamond in a national or regional nature park?
Yes: Saint-Chamond lies in Pilat Regional Nature Park (33% of the commune).
Are there good walks in Saint-Chamond?
OpenStreetMap maps 115 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 2.1 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 21 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Saint-Chamond is woodland?
26% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Saint-Chamond near the sea?
No: the coast is 215 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Saint-Chamond?
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 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.