First pick
Jardin du Mont des Récollets
Park or garden
1 ha
1.1 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
9.2%woodland
Outdoors in Cassel · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Cassel is within 800 m of a park or wood
Waymarked hiking routes add up to 30 km in Cassel. No protected area reaches Cassel; the nearest, Caps et Marais d’Opale Regional Nature Park, is 5.3 km from the town center. 9.2% of Cassel is mapped woodland. 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: Caps et Marais d’Opale Regional Nature Park, 5.3 km
Woodland
9.2%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
24 km
1.8 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
30 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
1
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Jardin du Mont des Récollets
The sea
28 km
from the town center to the coast
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 Cassel?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On waymarked routes30 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.Protected land nearbyCaps et Marais d’Opale Regional Nature Park is 5.3 km from the town center.
What sets Cassel apart: its hiking routes, then protected land close by.
Against French towns
How Cassel 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
Woodland9.2%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
38out of 100
Footpaths1.8 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
53out of 100
Hiking routes2.3 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
98out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Cassel has the 9th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (2,198 to 2,582 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From École-Valentin (3.9 km per km²) to Bouligny (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | École-Valentin Doubs | 3.9 | 16% | 0% | 405 km |
| 2 | Sainte-Foy-la-Grande Gironde | 3.7 | 0% | 8.7% | 66 km |
| 3 | Mers-les-Bains Somme | 3.5 | 10% | 100% | On it |
| 4 | Villejust Essonne | 2.4 | 4.4% | 0% | 160 km |
| 5 | Sainte-Feyre Creuse | 2.1 | 30% | 0% | 222 km |
| 6 | Camiers Pas-de-Calais | 2 | 30% | 32% | On it |
| 7 | Sain-Bel Rhône | 1.9 | 12% | 0% | 253 km |
| 8 | La Rivière-Saint-Sauveur Calvados | 1.8 | 14% | 29% | On it |
| 9 | Cassel Nord | 1.8 | 9.2% | 0% | 28 km |
| 10 | Fareins Ain | 1.8 | 8.8% | 0.1% | 279 km |
| 11 | Entzheim Bas-Rhin | 1.7 | 1.5% | 0% | 449 km |
| 12 | Mornas Vaucluse | 1.5 | 35% | 5% | 84 km |
| 13 | Watten Nord | 1.4 | 24% | 100% | 18 km |
| 14 | Rantigny Oise | 1.4 | 18% | 0% | 109 km |
| 15 | Beautor Aisne | 1.3 | 3.6% | 40% | 133 km |
| 16 | Conques-sur-Orbiel Aude | 1.3 | 8.1% | 0% | 60 km |
| 17 | Barcelonnette Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 1.3 | 46% | 100% | 91 km |
| 18 | Granges-Aumontzey Vosges | 1.1 | 70% | 90% | 436 km |
| 19 | Cattenom Moselle | 1.1 | 37% | 0% | 308 km |
| 20 | Prayssac Lot | 1 | 42% | 0% | 151 km |
| 21 | Chatte Isère | 0.7 | 24% | 0% | 190 km |
| 22 | Arelaune-en-Seine Seine-Maritime | 0.7 | 69% | 100% | 29 km |
| 23 | La Croix-en-Touraine Indre-et-Loire | 0.7 | 24% | 0% | 199 km |
| 24 | Criel-sur-Mer Seine-Maritime | 0.7 | 4.9% | 7% | On it |
| 25 | Lusignan Vienne | 0.7 | 17% | 0% | 97 km |
| 26 | Avelin Nord | 0.6 | 6.1% | 0% | 72 km |
| 27 | Civray Vienne | 0.5 | 19% | 0% | 101 km |
| 28 | Le Cailar Gard | 0.4 | 2% | 68% | 17 km |
| 29 | Vervins Aisne | 0.4 | 1.1% | 0% | 164 km |
| 30 | Port-Sainte-Foy-et-Ponchapt Dordogne | 0.4 | 13% | 2.1% | 65 km |
| 31 | Frans Ain | 0.4 | 4% | 0% | 275 km |
| 32 | Toucy Yonne | 0.4 | 24% | 0% | 288 km |
| 33 | Auxi-le-Château Pas-de-Calais | 0.3 | 25% | 1% | 31 km |
| 34 | Vivy Maine-et-Loire | 0.3 | 15% | 100% | 140 km |
| 35 | Nogent-sur-Vernisson Loiret | 0.2 | 46% | 0.3% | 249 km |
| 36 | Eymet Dordogne | 0.2 | 8.6% | 0.4% | 86 km |
| 37 | Athies-sous-Laon Aisne | 0.2 | 8.9% | 0% | 159 km |
| 38 | Val-de-Scie Seine-Maritime | 0.1 | 18% | 0% | 23 km |
| 39 | Noyen-sur-Sarthe Sarthe | 0.1 | 28% | 0% | 126 km |
| 40 | Chalamont Ain | 0.1 | 20% | 69% | 284 km |
| 41 | Bouligny Meuse | 0.1 | 8.4% | 0% | 293 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 Cassel
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Jardin du Mont des Récollets leads, at 1 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Caps et Marais d’Opale Regional Nature Park is the nearest protected area, 5.3 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
Caps et Marais d’Opale Regional Nature Park
5.3 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
24 km of footpaths and 30 km of hiking routes cross Cassel
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
24 km
1.8 km per km²
Hiking routes
30 km
waymarked: 2.3 km per km²
Woodland
9.2%
about 1.2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
CasselNord medianFrance median
Footpaths1.8
Hiking routes2.3
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CasselNord medianFrance median
Woodland9.2%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 53% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 62% 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 Cassel is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
2 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 12816 km
Au Cœur de la Flandre15 km
GR 128 passes within 2 km of Cassel.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Cassel: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Watten, 20 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) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 70 | 58 | 50 | 44 | 56 | 59 | 67 | 73 | 72 | 84 | 97 | 93 |
April is the driest month (44 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 24 °C). 97 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 41 nights a year. The climate in Cassel →
Gardens
A garden to visit in Cassel
Named gardens in the commune.
Jardin public du moulin de CasselIn Cassel
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata.
Neighbors
Next to Cassel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
SteenvoordeWormhoutHazebrouckMorbecqueArquesVieux-BerquinCassel
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cassel | 0% | 9.2% | 1.8 | 28 km |
| Steenvoorde 4,332 · 6.6 km | 0% | 1.9% | 1.8 | 29 km |
| Wormhout 5,584 · 9 km | 0% | 0.3% | 1.5 | 19 km |
| Hazebrouck 21,912 · 9.2 km | 0% | 0.7% | 1.7 | 37 km |
| Morbecque 2,573 · 13 km | 0% | 52% | 1.5 | 41 km |
| Arques 9,431 · 15 km | 76% | 37% | 3.3 | 31 km |
| Vieux-Berquin 2,628 · 15 km | 0% | 14% | 0.1 | 42 km |
Arques has at least twice as much protected land. Morbecque and Arques are 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 Cassel
Is Cassel in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Caps et Marais d’Opale Regional Nature Park, 5.3 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Cassel?
OpenStreetMap maps 24 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); 30 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Cassel is woodland?
9.2% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Cassel near the sea?
No: the coast is 28 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Cassel?
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.