First pick
Bois Barou
Wood or forest
18 ha2.2 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.2 km of path
1.7 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Yohann-benmalek · CC BY-SA 4.013%woodland
Outdoors in Saint-Galmier · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Parks, woods and footpaths in Saint-Galmier
Footpaths add up to 13 km across Saint-Galmier (0.7 km per km²). No protected area reaches Saint-Galmier; the nearest, Plaine du Forez (Natura 2000), is 4.7 km from the town center. Waymarked hiking routes add up to 6 km in Saint-Galmier. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
0%
of the commune’s land
Nearest: Plaine du Forez, 4.7 km
Woodland
13%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
13 km
0.7 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
6.3 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Green space nearby
93%
of residents within 800 m of a park or wood
Compared town: 100%
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-Galmier 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 areas0%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
22out of 100
Woodland13%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
49out of 100
Footpaths0.7 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
20out of 100
Hiking routes0.3 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
48out of 100
Green space nearby93%Share of residents within 800 m of a mapped park or wood
11out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Saint-Galmier has the 12th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (5,791 to 5,867 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Buc (5.6 km per km²) to Rabastens (0.2 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buc Yvelines | 5.6 | 45% | 0% | 148 km |
| 2 | Chambourcy Yvelines | 4.7 | 37% | 0% | 133 km |
| 3 | Algrange Moselle | 3.6 | 48% | 0% | 302 km |
| 4 | Roquefort-la-Bédoule Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.4 | 50% | 40% | 5.6 km |
| 5 | Boé Lot-et-Garonne | 3.2 | 2.6% | 4.3% | 135 km |
| 6 | Oberhausbergen Bas-Rhin | 3.1 | 6.2% | 0% | 446 km |
| 7 | Sillingy Haute-Savoie | 3.1 | 21% | 0% | 267 km |
| 8 | Douvrin Pas-de-Calais | 3.1 | 8.1% | 0% | 67 km |
| 9 | Ludres Meurthe-et-Moselle | 2.9 | 24% | 0% | 369 km |
| 10 | Seloncourt Doubs | 2.8 | 36% | 0% | 412 km |
| 11 | Riantec Morbihan | 2.6 | 27% | 7% | On it |
| 12 | Villabé Essonne | 2.6 | 22% | 0% | 179 km |
| 13 | Annezin Pas-de-Calais | 2.5 | 10% | 0% | 59 km |
| 14 | Garéoult Var | 2.2 | 30% | 51% | 26 km |
| 15 | Ventabren Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.9 | 8% | 45% | 20 km |
| 16 | Dol-de-Bretagne Ille-et-Vilaine | 1.9 | 6.8% | 0% | 6.4 km |
| 17 | Arradon Morbihan | 1.8 | 16% | 100% | On it |
| 18 | Nieul-sur-Mer Charente-Maritime | 1.8 | 0.2% | 4.5% | On it |
| 19 | Bédarieux Hérault | 1.6 | 23% | 100% | 41 km |
| 20 | Port-la-Nouvelle Aude | 1.6 | 5.2% | 82% | On it |
| 21 | La Wantzenau Bas-Rhin | 1.5 | 27% | 41% | 449 km |
| 22 | Cessy Ain | 1.5 | 5.4% | 0.2% | 304 km |
| 23 | Gond-Pontouvre Charente | 1.4 | 15% | 16% | 77 km |
| 24 | Lannemezan Hautes-Pyrénées | 1.2 | 26% | 0% | 160 km |
| 25 | Kembs Haut-Rhin | 1.1 | 50% | 63% | 431 km |
| 26 | Saint-Just-en-Chaussée Oise | 0.8 | 7.8% | 0% | 92 km |
| 27 | Roye Somme | 0.8 | 3.5% | 0% | 96 km |
| 28 | Saint-Martin-lez-Tatinghem Pas-de-Calais | 0.7 | 0.3% | 100% | 27 km |
| 29 | Viry Haute-Savoie | 0.7 | 30% | 0% | 284 km |
| 30 | Saint-Galmier Loire | 0.7 | 13% | 0% | 227 km |
| 31 | Bessan Hérault | 0.6 | 3.4% | 39% | 8.1 km |
| 32 | Mouroux Seine-et-Marne | 0.6 | 21% | 0% | 180 km |
| 33 | Le Poinçonnet Indre | 0.5 | 66% | 0% | 224 km |
| 34 | Briec Finistère | 0.5 | 6.1% | 0% | 14 km |
| 35 | Saint-Laurent-de-Mure Rhône | 0.4 | 3.2% | 0% | 248 km |
| 36 | Montmorillon Vienne | 0.4 | 11% | 28% | 152 km |
| 37 | Fismes Marne | 0.4 | 21% | 0% | 174 km |
| 38 | Sarrians Vaucluse | 0.4 | 5.2% | 2.5% | 71 km |
| 39 | Le Barp Gironde | 0.2 | 67% | 100% | 21 km |
| 40 | Montpon-Ménestérol Dordogne | 0.2 | 37% | 12% | 59 km |
| 41 | Rabastens Tarn | 0.2 | 4.3% | 0.1% | 139 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-Galmier
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois Barou leads, at 18 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc Municipal
Park or garden
2.3 ha1.3 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Saint-Galmier
Directionsto a point inside
Bois de la Fonfort
Park or garden
0.8 ha
0.7 km southfrom the center
Chemin de Vervalet
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Close to home
9 in 10 residents of Saint-Galmier live within 800 m of a park or wood
Each square is 1 resident in 100: in green, those within 800 m, as the crow flies, of a mapped park, garden or woodland edge (INSEE’s 200 m population grid against OpenStreetMap).
93% within 800 m6.5% further
Residents within 800 m of green space · share of residents
Saint-GalmierLoire medianFrance median
Within 800 m93%
0%50%100%
About 400 residents live further away. The distance is a straight line to the edge of a mapped park or wood, not a walk to a gate, and a wood can be private.
Protected areas
Plaine du Forez is the nearest protected area, 4.7 km away
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 site
Plaine du Forez
4.7 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area0%
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.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
13 km of footpaths and 6 km of hiking routes cross Saint-Galmier
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
13 km
0.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
6.3 km
waymarked: 0.3 km per km²
Woodland
13%
about 2.6 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Saint-GalmierLoire medianFrance median
Footpaths0.7
Hiking routes0.3
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Saint-GalmierLoire medianFrance median
Woodland13%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 80% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 51% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them.
A named hiking route within 2 km
Other named walk
Via Lugdunum, Lyon to Le Puy-en-Velay14 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Saint-Galmier: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at St Etienne-Boutheon, 5.8 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-Galmier →
Neighbors
Next to Saint-Galmier
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
VeaucheChazelles-sur-LyonMontrond-les-BainsAndrézieux-BouthéonSaint-HéandLa FouillouseSaint-Galmier
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Galmier | 0% | 13% | 0.7 |
| Veauche 8,975 · 4.1 km | 3.3% | 1.5% | 0.9 |
| Chazelles-sur-Lyon 5,543 · 7.4 km | 0% | 13% | 0.6 |
| Montrond-les-Bains 5,652 · 8 km | 17% | 3.1% | 1.2 |
| Andrézieux-Bouthéon 10,425 · 8.2 km | 7.1% | 3.5% | 1.4 |
| Saint-Héand 3,665 · 8.5 km | 0% | 14% | 1.3 |
| La Fouillouse 4,630 · 10 km | 0% | 26% | 1.3 |
Montrond-les-Bains has at least twice as much protected land. La Fouillouse 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 Saint-Galmier
Is Saint-Galmier in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Plaine du Forez, 4.7 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Saint-Galmier?
OpenStreetMap maps 13 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 0.7 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 6 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Saint-Galmier is woodland?
13% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Saint-Galmier near the sea?
No: the coast is 227 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Saint-Galmier?
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.