First pick
Terril de Roeulx (169)
Park or garden
26 ha4 km of path
55 minto walk all 4 km of path
2.9 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 3.018%woodland
Outdoors in Bouchain · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Bouchain is within 800 m of a park or wood
Bouchain has 17 km of waymarked hiking routes. No protected area reaches Bouchain; the nearest, Scarpe-Escaut Regional Nature Park, is 6.6 km from the town center. Mapped woodland covers 18% of Bouchain. 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: Scarpe-Escaut Regional Nature Park, 6.6 km
Woodland
18%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
22 km
1.8 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
17 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
4
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Terril de Roeulx (169)
Throughout this page, the Nord 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 Bouchain?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On waymarked routes17 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.Protected land nearbyScarpe-Escaut Regional Nature Park is 6.6 km from the town center.
What sets Bouchain apart: its hiking routes, then protected land close by.
Against French towns
How Bouchain 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
Woodland18%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
59out of 100
Footpaths1.8 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
52out of 100
Hiking routes1.4 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
91out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Bouchain has the 11th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (4,079 to 4,146 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Longeville-lès-Metz (7.3 km per km²) to Benet (0.2 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Longeville-lès-Metz Moselle | 7.3 | 9.3% | 0% | 327 km |
| 2 | Chanteloup-en-Brie Seine-et-Marne | 6.5 | 24% | 0% | 166 km |
| 3 | Montferrier-sur-Lez Hérault | 5.3 | 33% | 8.3% | 16 km |
| 4 | Mareil-Marly Yvelines | 3.8 | 24% | 0% | 136 km |
| 5 | Bouxières-aux-Dames Meurthe-et-Moselle | 3.5 | 30% | 0% | 359 km |
| 6 | Turckheim Haut-Rhin | 2.7 | 56% | 7.9% | 469 km |
| 7 | Neufchâtel-Hardelot Pas-de-Calais | 2.5 | 27% | 100% | On it |
| 8 | Aramon Gard | 2.4 | 2.4% | 15% | 51 km |
| 9 | Aulnat Puy-de-Dôme | 2.1 | 0.1% | 0% | 258 km |
| 10 | Monéteau Yonne | 1.9 | 37% | 0% | 293 km |
| 11 | Bouchain Nord | 1.8 | 18% | 0% | 105 km |
| 12 | Le Houlme Seine-Maritime | 1.7 | 37% | 0% | 44 km |
| 13 | Abscon Nord | 1.6 | 6.4% | 0% | 100 km |
| 14 | Baccarat Meurthe-et-Moselle | 1.6 | 39% | 17% | 412 km |
| 15 | Brie Charente | 1.5 | 35% | 19% | 86 km |
| 16 | Veigy-Foncenex Haute-Savoie | 1.5 | 38% | 0.3% | 293 km |
| 17 | Saint-Romain-le-Puy Loire | 1.4 | 16% | 17% | 222 km |
| 18 | Val d'Oingt Rhône | 1.3 | 20% | 0% | 266 km |
| 19 | Ghyvelde Nord | 1.3 | 0.2% | 6.9% | 3.7 km |
| 20 | Pont-de-l'Arche Eure | 1.2 | 72% | 1.4% | 59 km |
| 21 | Sainte-Menehould Marne | 1.2 | 70% | 35% | 263 km |
| 22 | Nissan-lez-Enserune Hérault | 1.1 | 4.6% | 38% | 12 km |
| 23 | Survilliers Val-d'Oise | 1.1 | 23% | 71% | 135 km |
| 24 | Chaingy Loiret | 1 | 21% | 2.3% | 202 km |
| 25 | La Destrousse Bouches-du-Rhône | 0.9 | 11% | 6.2% | 19 km |
| 26 | Condé-sur-Vire Manche | 0.9 | 3.4% | 0% | 33 km |
| 27 | Domfront en Poiraie Orne | 0.9 | 13% | 100% | 52 km |
| 28 | Caissargues Gard | 0.9 | 10% | 1.7% | 34 km |
| 29 | Arsac Gironde | 0.9 | 59% | 100% | 6.4 km |
| 30 | Neuilly-en-Thelle Oise | 0.8 | 7.9% | 0% | 114 km |
| 31 | Saint-Lubin-des-Joncherets Eure-et-Loir | 0.7 | 19% | 0% | 97 km |
| 32 | Eauze Gers | 0.6 | 24% | 9.8% | 117 km |
| 33 | Pusignan Rhône | 0.6 | 2.9% | 0% | 256 km |
| 34 | Pézilla-la-Rivière Pyrénées-Orientales | 0.5 | 1.8% | 0% | 22 km |
| 35 | Allassac Corrèze | 0.4 | 21% | 2.2% | 164 km |
| 36 | Cuxac-d'Aude Aude | 0.4 | 4.6% | 14% | 17 km |
| 37 | Les Mées Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 0.4 | 49% | 17% | 91 km |
| 38 | Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine Indre-et-Loire | 0.3 | 9.9% | 0% | 161 km |
| 39 | Solesmes Nord | 0.3 | 0.7% | 0% | 121 km |
| 40 | Saint-Joachim Loire-Atlantique | 0.2 | 0.1% | 100% | 8.8 km |
| 41 | Benet Vendée | 0.2 | 0.7% | 100% | 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 Bouchain
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Terril de Roeulx (169) leads, at 26 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Jardin Public
Park or garden · 240 m outside the commune
2.6 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
3.6 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc du club de voile du Bassin-Rond
Park or garden
0.7 ha
3.4 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Scarpe-Escaut Regional Nature Park is the nearest protected area, 6.6 km away
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Regional nature park
Scarpe-Escaut Regional Nature Park
6.6 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
22 km of footpaths and 17 km of hiking routes cross Bouchain
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
22 km
1.8 km per km²
Hiking routes
17 km
waymarked: 1.4 km per km²
Woodland
18%
about 2.2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BouchainNord medianFrance median
Footpaths1.8
Hiking routes1.4
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BouchainNord medianFrance median
Woodland18%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 52% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 59% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. 99% of Bouchain’s residents live within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, close to the typical town.
4 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 121C10 km
Circuit de l'Escaut7.8 km
Via Septemtriones Templi5.6 km
Hordain - Saint-Quentin3 km
GR 121C passes within 2 km of Bouchain.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Bouchain: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Valenciennes, 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) | 8.5 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.4 | 16.4 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 54 | 47 | 51 | 42 | 58 | 63 | 66 | 68 | 52 | 60 | 64 | 69 |
April is the driest month (42 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 24 °C). 69 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 46 nights a year. The climate in Bouchain →
Neighbors
Next to Bouchain
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Neuville-sur-EscautRœulxLourchesIwuyAbsconDouchy-les-MinesBouchain
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bouchain | 0% | 18% | 1.8 |
| Neuville-sur-Escaut 2,901 · 3.1 km | 0% | 0.8% | 0.4 |
| Rœulx 3,743 · 3.2 km | 0% | 0.4% | 1.2 |
| Lourches 3,734 · 4.5 km | 0% | 5.6% | 2.5 |
| Iwuy 3,403 · 5.6 km | 0% | 4.4% | 0.2 |
| Abscon 4,108 · 5.6 km | 0% | 6.4% | 1.6 |
| Douchy-les-Mines 10,109 · 5.8 km | 0% | 11% | 1 |
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 Bouchain
Is Bouchain in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Scarpe-Escaut Regional Nature Park, 6.6 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Bouchain?
OpenStreetMap maps 22 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1.8 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 17 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Bouchain is woodland?
18% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Bouchain near the sea?
No: the coast is 105 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Bouchain?
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.