First pick
Bois de Flamanville
Wood or forest
56 ha7.6 km of path
1 h 40 minto walk all 7.6 km of path
3.3 km north-westfrom the center
Chemin de la Vielle Forge
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Daniel Jolivet · CC BY 2.02.6%woodland
Outdoors in Les Pieux · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Les Pieux is on the coast
Mapped woodland covers 2.6% of Les Pieux. No protected area reaches Les Pieux; the nearest, Littoral ouest du Cotentin de Saint-Germain-sur-Ay au Rozel (Natura 2000), is 4 km from the town center. Waymarked hiking routes add up to 9 km in Les Pieux. 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: Littoral ouest du Cotentin de Saint-Germain-sur-Ay au Rozel, 4 km
Woodland
2.6%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
16 km
1 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
9.3 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Green space nearby
87%
of residents within 800 m of a park or wood
Compared town: 100%
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 2.6 km from its center
Throughout this page, the Manche 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 Les Pieux?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 2.6 km from its center.Protected land nearbyLittoral ouest du Cotentin de Saint-Germain-sur-Ay au Rozel (Natura 2000) is 4 km from the town center.Little mapped woodland2.6% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Les Pieux apart: the sea, then protected land close by. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Les Pieux 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
Woodland2.6%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
13out of 100
Footpaths1 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
32out of 100
Hiking routes0.6 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
67out of 100
Green space nearby87%Share of residents within 800 m of a mapped park or wood
6out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Les Pieux has the 18th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (3,222 to 3,275 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Saint-Quay-Portrieux (4.1 km per km²) to Albias (0 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Quay-Portrieux Côtes-d'Armor | 4.1 | 0% | 0% | On it |
| 2 | L'Île-Rousse Haute-Corse | 3.6 | 0% | 0% | On it |
| 3 | Amfreville-la-Mi-Voie Seine-Maritime | 3.2 | 24% | 3.5% | 56 km |
| 4 | Volx Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 3.1 | 37% | 100% | 71 km |
| 5 | Les Noës-près-Troyes Aube | 3.1 | 0% | 0% | 270 km |
| 6 | Luc-sur-Mer Calvados | 3 | 1.1% | 0% | On it |
| 7 | Lespinasse Haute-Garonne | 2.8 | 1.6% | 0% | 156 km |
| 8 | Bousse Moselle | 2.6 | 33% | 0% | 316 km |
| 9 | Carantec Finistère | 2.2 | 3.6% | 14% | On it |
| 10 | Jard-sur-Mer Vendée | 2.1 | 21% | 43% | On it |
| 11 | Ormoy Essonne | 2 | 25% | 0% | 180 km |
| 12 | Bonne Haute-Savoie | 1.7 | 34% | 3.3% | 281 km |
| 13 | Pontpoint Oise | 1.5 | 41% | 100% | 120 km |
| 14 | Montmorot Jura | 1.3 | 17% | 0% | 357 km |
| 15 | Saint-Geniès-de-Malgoirès Gard | 1.3 | 32% | 0% | 44 km |
| 16 | Saint-Parres-aux-Tertres Aube | 1.2 | 8.7% | 0.6% | 274 km |
| 17 | Romilly-sur-Andelle Eure | 1.1 | 39% | 5.8% | 66 km |
| 18 | Les Pieux Manche | 1 | 2.6% | 0% | On it |
| 19 | Magnac-sur-Touvre Charente | 1 | 22% | 3.1% | 82 km |
| 20 | Haveluy Nord | 0.8 | 4.2% | 99% | 101 km |
| 21 | Boves Somme | 0.8 | 24% | 8.8% | 63 km |
| 22 | Offranville Seine-Maritime | 0.8 | 4.5% | 0% | 5.3 km |
| 23 | Moussy-le-Neuf Seine-et-Marne | 0.8 | 26% | 0.2% | 141 km |
| 24 | Frévent Pas-de-Calais | 0.7 | 13% | 0% | 44 km |
| 25 | Anould Vosges | 0.6 | 49% | 0.1% | 443 km |
| 26 | Bram Aude | 0.6 | 3.5% | 0% | 81 km |
| 27 | Podensac Gironde | 0.5 | 14% | 4.6% | 44 km |
| 28 | Gouville-sur-Mer Manche | 0.5 | 2.6% | 0.4% | 2.9 km |
| 29 | Lansargues Hérault | 0.5 | 0.6% | 27% | 10 km |
| 30 | Carentoir Morbihan | 0.5 | 20% | 0% | 40 km |
| 31 | Bavay Nord | 0.4 | 4% | 100% | 121 km |
| 32 | La Tour-du-Crieu Ariège | 0.4 | 0% | 0% | 114 km |
| 33 | Montendre Charente-Maritime | 0.4 | 17% | 15% | 23 km |
| 34 | Azay-sur-Cher Indre-et-Loire | 0.3 | 15% | 0% | 189 km |
| 35 | Brou Eure-et-Loir | 0.3 | 2.2% | 0% | 149 km |
| 36 | Vonnas Ain | 0.3 | 9.9% | 0% | 304 km |
| 37 | Aix-Villemaur-Pâlis Aube | 0.3 | 26% | 0.9% | 263 km |
| 38 | Picauville Manche | 0.2 | 2.9% | 100% | 15 km |
| 39 | Verneuil-l'Étang Seine-et-Marne | 0.2 | 9.8% | 0% | 189 km |
| 40 | Argentonnay Deux-Sèvres | 0.1 | 5.2% | 4.8% | 91 km |
| 41 | Albias Tarn-et-Garonne | 0 | 4.8% | 1.4% | 173 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 Les Pieux
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois de Flamanville leads, at 56 ha. Directions go to 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 Les Pieux 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).
87% within 800 m13% further
Residents within 800 m of green space · share of residents
Les PieuxManche medianFrance median
Within 800 m87%
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
Littoral ouest du Cotentin de Saint-Germain-sur-Ay au Rozel is the nearest protected area, 4 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
Littoral ouest du Cotentin de Saint-Germain-sur-Ay au Rozel
4 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
16 km of footpaths and 9 km of hiking routes cross Les Pieux
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
16 km
1 km per km²
Hiking routes
9.3 km
waymarked: 0.6 km per km²
Woodland
2.6%
about 0.4 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Les PieuxManche medianFrance median
Footpaths1
Hiking routes0.6
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Les PieuxManche medianFrance median
Woodland2.6%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 68% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 87% 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
GR (long-distance)
GR 22312 km
GR 223 passes within 2 km of Les Pieux.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Les Pieux: May to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Cherbourg-Homet, 21 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) | 8.6 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.3 | 16.3 | 15.9 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.0 | 8.2 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 105 | 81 | 66 | 63 | 55 | 52 | 48 | 52 | 67 | 115 | 122 | 139 |
July is the driest month (48 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 21 °C). 139 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 5 nights a year. The climate in Les Pieux →
Neighbors
Next to Les Pieux
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Bricquebec-en-CotentinLa HagueCherbourg-en-CotentinPort-Bail-sur-MerValognesLes Pieux
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Pieux | 0% | 2.6% | 1 | On it |
| Bricquebec-en-Cotentin 5,893 · 13 km | 0% | 13% | 0.4 | 13 km |
| La Hague 11,484 · 16 km | 14% | 5.5% | 1 | On it |
| Cherbourg-en-Cotentin 78,258 · 19 km | 0% | 10% | 3.1 | On it |
| Port-Bail-sur-Mer 2,520 · 22 km | 5.8% | 0.3% | 0.8 | On it |
| Valognes 6,969 · 25 km | 0% | 4.7% | 0.5 | 12 km |
La Hague 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 Les Pieux
Is Les Pieux in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Littoral ouest du Cotentin de Saint-Germain-sur-Ay au Rozel, 4 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Les Pieux?
OpenStreetMap maps 16 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 9 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Les Pieux is woodland?
2.6% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Les Pieux near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 2.6 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Les Pieux?
May 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.