First pick
Forêt d'Écault
Wood or forest
715 ha27.7 km of path
6 h 10 minto walk all 27.7 km of path
3.4 km south-eastfrom the center
Sentier de l'Enclos des Moutons
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Mélanie Huguet · CC BY-SA 3.0100%of the land protected
Outdoors in Équihen-Plage · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Équihen-Plage lies inside Caps et Marais d’Opale Regional Nature Park
Protected areas cover 100% of Équihen-Plage’s land. Équihen-Plage has 6 km of waymarked hiking routes. 11 km of footpaths cross Équihen-Plage (2.7 km per km²). 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
3.8%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
11 km
2.7 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
6.1 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
2
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Forêt d'Écault
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 0.5 km from its center
Throughout this page, the Pas-de-Calais 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 Équihen-Plage?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
Inside Caps et Marais d’Opale Regional Nature Park100% of the commune is in the regional nature park.On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 0.5 km from its center.On waymarked routes6 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.Little mapped woodland3.8% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Équihen-Plage apart: the regional nature park around it, then the sea. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Équihen-Plage 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
93out of 100
Woodland3.8%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
18out of 100
Footpaths2.7 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
69out of 100
Hiking routes1.5 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
92out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Équihen-Plage has the 2nd most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (2,593 to 2,641 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Couzon-au-Mont-d'Or (7.2 km per km²) to Hilsenheim (0 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Couzon-au-Mont-d'Or Rhône | 7.2 | 42% | 0% | 261 km |
| 2 | Équihen-Plage Pas-de-Calais | 2.7 | 3.8% | 100% | On it |
| 3 | Gometz-le-Châtel Essonne | 2.5 | 24% | 0.2% | 155 km |
| 4 | Champlan Essonne | 2.2 | 14% | 0% | 161 km |
| 5 | Dorlisheim Bas-Rhin | 2.1 | 12% | 0% | 442 km |
| 6 | Tourville-la-Rivière Seine-Maritime | 2 | 15% | 15% | 55 km |
| 7 | Wahagnies Nord | 1.9 | 30% | 0% | 76 km |
| 8 | Coquelles Pas-de-Calais | 1.8 | 1.7% | 0.7% | 2.8 km |
| 9 | Le Bourg-d'Oisans Isère | 1.7 | 33% | 100% | 180 km |
| 10 | Hardricourt Yvelines | 1.6 | 15% | 0.4% | 118 km |
| 11 | Bourguébus Calvados | 1.5 | 1.1% | 0% | 18 km |
| 12 | Le Palais Morbihan | 1.5 | 5% | 26% | On it |
| 13 | Saint-Yorre Allier | 1.4 | 23% | 15% | 283 km |
| 14 | Longeville-sur-Mer Vendée | 1.3 | 18% | 100% | On it |
| 15 | Bessèges Gard | 1.3 | 66% | 100% | 81 km |
| 16 | Villenauxe-la-Grande Aube | 1.3 | 13% | 0% | 223 km |
| 17 | Foug Meurthe-et-Moselle | 1.3 | 73% | 1.2% | 342 km |
| 18 | Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais Eure-et-Loir | 1.2 | 57% | 62% | 115 km |
| 19 | Taden Côtes-d'Armor | 1.1 | 19% | 100% | 3.6 km |
| 20 | La Broque Bas-Rhin | 1.1 | 79% | 8% | 432 km |
| 21 | Vendres Hérault | 1 | 1.9% | 60% | On it |
| 22 | Ivry-la-Bataille Eure | 0.8 | 2.6% | 3.2% | 101 km |
| 23 | Villeneuve-Saint-Germain Aisne | 0.8 | 11% | 0% | 150 km |
| 24 | Grâces Côtes-d'Armor | 0.8 | 12% | 0% | 17 km |
| 25 | Villages du Lac de Paladru Isère | 0.8 | 21% | 0% | 230 km |
| 26 | La Calmette Gard | 0.7 | 29% | 0% | 43 km |
| 27 | Frelinghien Nord | 0.7 | 1% | 0% | 51 km |
| 28 | Soual Tarn | 0.6 | 1.4% | 0% | 95 km |
| 29 | Le Thoronet Var | 0.6 | 49% | 31% | 29 km |
| 30 | La Châtaigneraie Vendée | 0.6 | 4.5% | 0% | 48 km |
| 31 | Rieux-Volvestre Haute-Garonne | 0.6 | 6.6% | 7% | 154 km |
| 32 | Trélon Nord | 0.6 | 78% | 100% | 156 km |
| 33 | Toury Eure-et-Loir | 0.5 | 0.8% | 0% | 180 km |
| 34 | Beychac-et-Caillau Gironde | 0.4 | 16% | 4.7% | 22 km |
| 35 | Baldersheim Haut-Rhin | 0.4 | 63% | 60% | 446 km |
| 36 | Noyers-sur-Cher Loir-et-Cher | 0.3 | 34% | 0.6% | 221 km |
| 37 | Charly-sur-Marne Aisne | 0.3 | 21% | 0% | 177 km |
| 38 | Clairac Lot-et-Garonne | 0.3 | 7.7% | 0% | 105 km |
| 39 | Haspres Nord | 0.2 | 1.8% | 0% | 111 km |
| 40 | Cauchy-à-la-Tour Pas-de-Calais | 0.1 | 0.4% | 0% | 54 km |
| 41 | Hilsenheim Bas-Rhin | 0 | 28% | 18% | 465 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 Équihen-Plage
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Forêt d'Écault leads, at 715 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc des Hures
Park or garden
9.8 ha1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
Centralin the middle of Équihen-Plage
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 Équihen-Plage
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
100% of the commune
Natura 2000 site
Estuaire de la Canche, dunes picardes plaquées sur l’ancienne falaise, forêt d’Hardelot et falaise d’Equihen
1.3 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area100%
Regional nature park100%
Natura 2000 site0.3%
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 Équihen-Plage’s land is protected, more than in 93% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Pas-de-Calais has 0%. 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
11 km of footpaths and 6 km of hiking routes cross Équihen-Plage
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
11 km
2.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
6.1 km
waymarked: 1.5 km per km²
Woodland
3.8%
about 0.1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Équihen-PlagePas-de-Calais medianFrance median
Footpaths2.7
Hiking routes1.5
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Équihen-PlagePas-de-Calais medianFrance median
Woodland3.8%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 69% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 82% 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 Équihen-Plage is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
6 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 12011 km
GR 1213.9 km
Ceinture de Boulogne11 km
Parcours Sentier du Littoral et Musée Radiomaritime4.1 km
Parcours Centre-Ville2.4 km
Parcours Parc de la Falaise & Fort de Couppes1.9 km
2 GR routes pass within 2 km of Équihen-Plage: GR 120 and GR 121.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Équihen-Plage: May to August
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Boulogne-Sem, 6.4 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 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 77 | 56 | 48 | 48 | 55 | 48 | 54 | 63 | 70 | 96 | 107 | 103 |
March is the driest month (48 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 21 °C). 107 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 19 nights a year. The climate in Équihen-Plage →
Neighbors
Next to Équihen-Plage
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
OutreauSaint-Étienne-au-MontLe PortelSaint-LéonardBoulogne-sur-MerNeufchâtel-HardelotÉquihen-Plage
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Équihen-Plage | 100% | 3.8% | 2.7 | On it |
| Outreau 13,138 · 3.2 km | 0% | 4.8% | 2.6 | 1.7 km |
| Saint-Étienne-au-Mont 5,029 · 3.2 km | 100% | 35% | 2.8 | On it |
| Le Portel 8,768 · 3.7 km | 6.7% | 3.3% | 5.5 | On it |
| Saint-Léonard 3,353 · 4.2 km | 0.2% | 7.5% | 0.9 | 4 km |
| Boulogne-sur-Mer 40,539 · 5.8 km | 0% | 1.3% | 5.8 | On it |
| Neufchâtel-Hardelot 4,115 · 6.5 km | 100% | 27% | 2.5 | On it |
Saint-Étienne-au-Mont and Neufchâtel-Hardelot 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 Équihen-Plage
Is Équihen-Plage in a national or regional nature park?
Yes: Équihen-Plage lies in Caps et Marais d’Opale Regional Nature Park (100% of the commune).
Are there good walks in Équihen-Plage?
OpenStreetMap maps 11 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 2.7 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 6 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Équihen-Plage is woodland?
3.8% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Équihen-Plage near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 0.5 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Équihen-Plage?
May to August: 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.