First pick
Bois de Magny
Wood or forest
549 ha11.4 km of path
2 h 30 minto walk all 11.4 km of path
6.6 km southfrom the center
Sentier des Gorges
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Arnradigue · CC BY-SA 3.0100%of the land protected
Outdoors in La Ferté Macé · protected areas, woods and footpaths
La Ferté Macé lies inside Normandie-Maine Regional Nature Park
Protected areas cover 100% of La Ferté Macé’s land. 27% of La Ferté Macé is mapped woodland. La Ferté Macé has 22 km of waymarked hiking routes. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
100%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
27%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
44 km
1.4 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
22 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: Bois de Magny
Throughout this page, the Orne 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 La Ferté Macé 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 areas100%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
99out of 100
Woodland27%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
73out of 100
Footpaths1.4 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
43out of 100
Hiking routes0.7 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
72out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
La Ferté Macé has the 21st fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (5,022 to 5,122 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Giberville (5.1 km per km²) to Laventie (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giberville Calvados | 5.1 | 3.2% | 0% | 11 km |
| 2 | Pulnoy Meurthe-et-Moselle | 4.7 | 25% | 0% | 368 km |
| 3 | Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 4.3 | 45% | 17% | 95 km |
| 4 | Billy-Berclau Pas-de-Calais | 4 | 15% | 0% | 67 km |
| 5 | Bezannes Marne | 3.4 | 1.8% | 0.1% | 198 km |
| 6 | Ornex Ain | 3.2 | 22% | 0% | 299 km |
| 7 | Saint-Étienne-au-Mont Pas-de-Calais | 2.8 | 35% | 100% | On it |
| 8 | Sommières Gard | 2.8 | 21% | 1.3% | 25 km |
| 9 | Le Val d'Hazey Eure | 2.6 | 32% | 0.3% | 77 km |
| 10 | Châteaulin Finistère | 2.5 | 21% | 100% | On it |
| 11 | Dives-sur-Mer Calvados | 2.5 | 8.8% | 0% | 1.2 km |
| 12 | Gruissan Aude | 2.5 | 13% | 100% | On it |
| 13 | Haillicourt Pas-de-Calais | 2.5 | 0.2% | 0% | 63 km |
| 14 | Saint-Georges-de-Didonne Charente-Maritime | 2.3 | 19% | 37% | On it |
| 15 | La Mézière Ille-et-Vilaine | 2.1 | 7.5% | 0% | 36 km |
| 16 | Bonnières-sur-Seine Yvelines | 2.1 | 45% | 20% | 99 km |
| 17 | Hauts de Bienne Jura | 1.9 | 77% | 100% | 326 km |
| 18 | Champagne-sur-Oise Val-d'Oise | 1.8 | 33% | 54% | 119 km |
| 19 | Baden Morbihan | 1.8 | 15% | 100% | On it |
| 20 | Yffiniac Côtes-d'Armor | 1.5 | 4.4% | 0.1% | 1.8 km |
| 21 | La Ferté Macé Orne | 1.4 | 27% | 100% | 73 km |
| 22 | Petite-Forêt Nord | 1.3 | 1.8% | 1.4% | 102 km |
| 23 | Genlis Côte-d'Or | 1.3 | 0.4% | 0% | 418 km |
| 24 | Villefranche-de-Lauragais Haute-Garonne | 1.2 | 0.5% | 0% | 117 km |
| 25 | Cilaos Réunion | 1.1 | 43% | 100% | 18 km |
| 26 | Muzillac Morbihan | 1 | 4.9% | 7.8% | On it |
| 27 | Maen Roch Ille-et-Vilaine | 1 | 3.9% | 0% | 25 km |
| 28 | Faulquemont Moselle | 0.9 | 22% | 0% | 354 km |
| 29 | Saint-Marcellin-en-Forez Loire | 0.8 | 25% | 1.8% | 215 km |
| 30 | Luynes Indre-et-Loire | 0.8 | 39% | 3.5% | 176 km |
| 31 | Aÿ-Champagne Marne | 0.7 | 16% | 100% | 211 km |
| 32 | Blaye Gironde | 0.7 | 2.7% | 58% | On it |
| 33 | Habsheim Haut-Rhin | 0.7 | 49% | 50% | 438 km |
| 34 | Saint-Sever Landes | 0.6 | 17% | 4.2% | 67 km |
| 35 | Pacy-sur-Eure Eure | 0.6 | 45% | 3.1% | 88 km |
| 36 | Val-de-Moder Bas-Rhin | 0.5 | 5.9% | 0.1% | 424 km |
| 37 | Morcenx-la-Nouvelle Landes | 0.4 | 64% | 12% | 34 km |
| 38 | Villeneuve-en-Retz Loire-Atlantique | 0.2 | 7.1% | 36% | 5.1 km |
| 39 | Saint-Pantaléon-de-Larche Corrèze | 0.2 | 25% | 0.3% | 161 km |
| 40 | Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre Deux-Sèvres | 0.2 | 7% | 0% | 62 km |
| 41 | Laventie Pas-de-Calais | 0.1 | 0.7% | 0% | 54 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 La Ferté Macé
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois de Magny leads, at 549 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Forêt départementale du Grais
Wood or forest · 380 m outside the commune
209 ha8.2 km of path
1 h 50 minto walk all 8.2 km of path
4.6 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
La Fief
Wood or forest
85 ha1.8 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.8 km of path
5.5 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Barré Saint
Park or garden
0.9 ha0.5 km of path
Centralin the middle of La Ferté Macé
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Protected land in and around La Ferté Macé
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Regional nature park
Normandie-Maine Regional Nature Park
100% of the commune
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area100%
Regional nature park100%
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.
100% of La Ferté Macé’s land is protected, more than in 99% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Orne has 11%. 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
44 km of footpaths and 22 km of hiking routes cross La Ferté Macé
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
44 km
1.4 km per km²
Hiking routes
22 km
waymarked: 0.7 km per km²
Woodland
27%
about 8.8 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
La Ferté MacéOrne medianFrance median
Footpaths1.4
Hiking routes0.7
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
La Ferté MacéOrne medianFrance median
Woodland27%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 57% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 73% 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 La Ferté Macé is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
11 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 22C3.4 km
GR 22B2.9 km
de Verneuil à Bagnoles-de-l'Orne10 km
Les Bornes Cavalières9.1 km
Les gorges de Villiers7.3 km
Les Arbres remarquables de Bagnoles-de-l'Orne5.8 km
Circuit Vestiges de Guerre2.5 km
Circuit de Découverte2.2 km
Parcours d’interprétation de l’étang de la Lande-Forêt1.5 km
de Bagnoles-de-l'Orne à Saint-Pois1.5 km
Parcours Forestier1.4 km
2 GR routes pass within 2 km of La Ferté Macé: GR 22C and GR 22B.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in La Ferté Macé: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at St-Fraimbault, 27 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.1 | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.3 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 86 | 71 | 64 | 58 | 65 | 52 | 63 | 57 | 62 | 83 | 87 | 101 |
June is the driest month (52 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 24 °C). 101 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 40 nights a year. The climate in La Ferté Macé →
Neighbors
Next to La Ferté Macé
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Bagnoles de l'Orne NormandieRives d'AndaineDomfront en PoiraieFlersSaint-Georges-des-GroseillersAthis-Val de RouvreLa Ferté Macé
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Ferté Macé | 100% | 27% | 1.4 |
| Bagnoles de l'Orne Normandie 2,699 · 5.9 km | 100% | 39% | 3.3 |
| Rives d'Andaine 2,844 · 9.7 km | 100% | 7.2% | 0.6 |
| Domfront en Poiraie 4,113 · 21 km | 100% | 13% | 0.9 |
| Flers 14,432 · 23 km | 0% | 2.5% | 1.6 |
| Saint-Georges-des-Groseillers 3,173 · 25 km | 0% | 1.8% | 1.4 |
| Athis-Val de Rouvre 4,201 · 25 km | 2.9% | 11% | 0.8 |
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 La Ferté Macé
Is La Ferté Macé in a national or regional nature park?
Yes: La Ferté Macé lies in Normandie-Maine Regional Nature Park (100% of the commune).
Are there good walks in La Ferté Macé?
OpenStreetMap maps 44 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1.4 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 22 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of La Ferté Macé is woodland?
27% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is La Ferté Macé near the sea?
No: the coast is 73 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in La Ferté Macé?
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.