First pick
Bois du Varquez
Wood or forest
160 ha2.4 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.4 km of path
6.1 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 3.02.5%of the land protected
Outdoors in Carnac · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Carnac is on the coast
Waymarked hiking routes add up to 37 km in Carnac. 25% of Carnac is mapped woodland. Protected areas cover 2.5% of Carnac’s land. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
2.5%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
25%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
59 km
1.7 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
37 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
6
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Bois du Varquez
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 1.6 km from its center
Throughout this page, the Morbihan 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 Carnac?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 1.6 km from its center.On waymarked routes37 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.
What sets Carnac apart: the sea, then its hiking routes.
Against French towns
How Carnac 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 areas2.5%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
60out of 100
Woodland25%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
70out of 100
Footpaths1.7 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
52out of 100
Hiking routes1.1 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
86out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Carnac has the 14th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (4,165 to 4,223 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Le Pouliguen (4.4 km per km²) to Redessan (0.2 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Pouliguen Loire-Atlantique | 4.4 | 1.6% | 5.1% | On it |
| 2 | Herserange Meurthe-et-Moselle | 3.9 | 47% | 0% | 276 km |
| 3 | Corenc Isère | 3.8 | 50% | 45% | 206 km |
| 4 | Bray-Dunes Nord | 3.6 | 0% | 41% | On it |
| 5 | Thumeries Nord | 3.3 | 37% | 12% | 77 km |
| 6 | Montarnaud Hérault | 3 | 47% | 17% | 22 km |
| 7 | Escautpont Nord | 2.6 | 41% | 99% | 100 km |
| 8 | Salouël Somme | 2.6 | 2% | 0% | 54 km |
| 9 | Le Neubourg Eure | 2.3 | 19% | 0% | 51 km |
| 10 | Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny Savoie | 2.2 | 50% | 100% | 225 km |
| 11 | Yvré-l'Évêque Sarthe | 2.2 | 26% | 0% | 138 km |
| 12 | Tourrettes-sur-Loup Alpes-Maritimes | 2.1 | 40% | 100% | 11 km |
| 13 | Marlenheim Bas-Rhin | 2 | 9.8% | 0% | 435 km |
| 14 | Carnac Morbihan | 1.7 | 25% | 2.5% | On it |
| 15 | Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier Ille-et-Vilaine | 1.7 | 36% | 2.7% | 41 km |
| 16 | Pont-du-Casse Lot-et-Garonne | 1.7 | 8.3% | 0% | 132 km |
| 17 | Pomponne Seine-et-Marne | 1.6 | 48% | 4% | 161 km |
| 18 | Valgelon-La Rochette Savoie | 1.6 | 31% | 0.6% | 216 km |
| 19 | Wolfisheim Bas-Rhin | 1.6 | 7.5% | 0% | 446 km |
| 20 | Saint-Donat-sur-l'Herbasse Drôme | 1.1 | 26% | 0% | 186 km |
| 21 | Pluguffan Finistère | 1.1 | 14% | 0% | 4.3 km |
| 22 | Bartenheim Haut-Rhin | 1.1 | 30% | 29% | 428 km |
| 23 | Grisolles Tarn-et-Garonne | 1 | 13% | 19% | 168 km |
| 24 | Rians Var | 0.9 | 70% | 70% | 45 km |
| 25 | Hérin Nord | 0.9 | 1% | 99% | 103 km |
| 26 | Athis-Val de Rouvre Orne | 0.8 | 11% | 2.9% | 56 km |
| 27 | Noues de Sienne Calvados | 0.7 | 20% | 0% | 32 km |
| 28 | Gourdon Lot | 0.7 | 42% | 0% | 158 km |
| 29 | Brionne Eure | 0.6 | 38% | 14% | 38 km |
| 30 | Nailloux Haute-Garonne | 0.6 | 5.1% | 0% | 123 km |
| 31 | Le Châtelet-en-Brie Seine-et-Marne | 0.6 | 18% | 0% | 200 km |
| 32 | Anneyron Drôme | 0.6 | 14% | 0% | 201 km |
| 33 | Selles-sur-Cher Loir-et-Cher | 0.6 | 20% | 7.9% | 232 km |
| 34 | Porte des Pierres Dorées Rhône | 0.6 | 9.4% | 0% | 271 km |
| 35 | Breteuil Oise | 0.4 | 15% | 0% | 75 km |
| 36 | Jouarre Seine-et-Marne | 0.3 | 28% | 0% | 175 km |
| 37 | Sées Orne | 0.3 | 5.5% | 100% | 79 km |
| 38 | Guignen Ille-et-Vilaine | 0.3 | 11% | 1.2% | 61 km |
| 39 | Bollwiller Haut-Rhin | 0.3 | 26% | 0% | 453 km |
| 40 | Courpière Puy-de-Dôme | 0.2 | 36% | 100% | 248 km |
| 41 | Redessan Gard | 0.2 | 0% | 66% | 41 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 Carnac
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois du Varquez leads, at 160 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
bois de Kerderff
Wood or forest
73 ha1.8 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.8 km of path
1.4 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Forêt départementale du Bois de Carnac
Wood or forest
19 ha2.1 km of path
25 minto walk all 2.1 km of path
2.3 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Le Jardin de Césarine
Park or garden
2.3 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
1.3 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
2.5% of Carnac 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
Golfe du Morbihan Regional Nature Park
4 km from the town center
Natura 2000 site
Massif dunaire Gâvres-Quiberon et zones humides associées
2.5% of the commune1.6 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Baie de Quiberon
1.7 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area2.5%
Natura 2000 site2.5%
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.
2.5% of Carnac’s land is protected, more than in 60% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Morbihan has 4.4%. 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
59 km of footpaths and 37 km of hiking routes cross Carnac
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
59 km
1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
37 km
waymarked: 1.1 km per km²
Woodland
25%
about 8.4 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
CarnacMorbihan medianFrance median
Footpaths1.7
Hiking routes1.1
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CarnacMorbihan medianFrance median
Woodland25%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 52% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 70% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. 99% of Carnac’s residents live within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, close to the typical town.
8 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
Chemin des Douaniers, Le Magouëro - Baden32 km
4 - Carnac15 km
2 - Carnac9.5 km
Circuit des Abbayes7.4 km
Circuit des Marais6 km
Balade Fleurie4.3 km
Sentier des Mégalithes3.5 km
Circuit des Alignements d'Erdeven0.6 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Carnac: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Auray, 11 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) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 16.0 | 15.6 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°C) | 10 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 13 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 110 | 83 | 68 | 70 | 64 | 54 | 51 | 55 | 72 | 107 | 115 | 122 |
July is the driest month (51 mm) and the warmest (highs of 24 °C). 122 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 22 nights a year. The climate in Carnac →
Neighbors
Next to Carnac
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
CrachPloemelErdevenAurayLe BonoBelzCarnac
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
Crach, Erdeven and Auray have 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 Carnac
Is Carnac in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 2.5% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Carnac?
OpenStreetMap maps 59 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1.7 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 37 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Carnac is woodland?
25% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Carnac near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 1.6 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Carnac?
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.