First pick
Les Grandes Prairies
Park or garden · 360 m outside the commune
21 ha4.2 km of path
55 minto walk all 4.2 km of path
1.9 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Pierre André Leclercq · CC BY-SA 4.02.8%woodland
Outdoors in Saint-Nicolas · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Saint-Nicolas has more footpaths per km² than 8 in 10 French towns
15 km of footpaths cross Saint-Nicolas (4.8 km per km²). 2.8% of Saint-Nicolas is mapped woodland. No protected area reaches Saint-Nicolas; the nearest, Pelouses métallicoles de la plaine de la Scarpe (Natura 2000), is 21 km from the town center. 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: Pelouses métallicoles de la plaine de la Scarpe, 21 km
Woodland
2.8%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
15 km
4.8 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 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: Les Grandes Prairies
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 Saint-Nicolas?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths4.8 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.Little mapped woodland2.8% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Saint-Nicolas apart: its footpaths. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Saint-Nicolas 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
Woodland2.8%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
14out of 100
Footpaths4.8 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
89out of 100
Hiking routes0 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
12out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Saint-Nicolas has the 3rd most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (4,464 to 4,524 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Cap-d'Ail (10.8 km per km²) to Marans (0.2 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cap-d'Ail Alpes-Maritimes | 10.8 | 7.8% | 0.2% | On it |
| 2 | Jacob-Bellecombette Savoie | 7.4 | 26% | 45% | 232 km |
| 3 | Saint-Nicolas Pas-de-Calais | 4.8 | 2.8% | 0% | 79 km |
| 4 | Royat Puy-de-Dôme | 4.2 | 63% | 0.2% | 257 km |
| 5 | Nozay Essonne | 3.2 | 5.7% | 0% | 162 km |
| 6 | Bretteville-sur-Odon Calvados | 3.2 | 4.3% | 0% | 17 km |
| 7 | La Chaussée-Saint-Victor Loir-et-Cher | 3 | 11% | 8.1% | 215 km |
| 8 | Montrabé Haute-Garonne | 3 | 6.6% | 0% | 142 km |
| 9 | Montigny-en-Ostrevent Nord | 2.8 | 13% | 0.4% | 92 km |
| 10 | Écrouves Meurthe-et-Moselle | 2.6 | 23% | 100% | 346 km |
| 11 | Saint-Laurent-du-Pont Isère | 2.3 | 67% | 100% | 224 km |
| 12 | Villeneuve-de-la-Raho Pyrénées-Orientales | 2.2 | 0.2% | 0% | 9.8 km |
| 13 | Vinon-sur-Verdon Var | 2.1 | 34% | 100% | 57 km |
| 14 | Notre-Dame-d'Oé Indre-et-Loire | 1.9 | 2.7% | 0% | 189 km |
| 15 | Saint-Marcel Eure | 1.8 | 24% | 0% | 88 km |
| 16 | Noirmoutier-en-l'Île Vendée | 1.7 | 4% | 38% | On it |
| 17 | Maintenon Eure-et-Loir | 1.6 | 28% | 0.5% | 130 km |
| 18 | Guise Aisne | 1.5 | 4.9% | 0% | 143 km |
| 19 | Plougonvelin Finistère | 1.4 | 4.3% | 0.9% | On it |
| 20 | Marchiennes Nord | 1.4 | 38% | 100% | 91 km |
| 21 | Banyuls-sur-Mer Pyrénées-Orientales | 1.3 | 6.4% | 78% | On it |
| 22 | Plobsheim Bas-Rhin | 1.1 | 10% | 31% | 459 km |
| 23 | Saint-Pair-sur-Mer Manche | 0.9 | 2.5% | 4.5% | 0.9 km |
| 24 | Beaussais-sur-Mer Côtes-d'Armor | 0.9 | 12% | 100% | On it |
| 25 | Hergnies Nord | 0.9 | 8.5% | 100% | 94 km |
| 26 | Hesdin-la-Forêt Pas-de-Calais | 0.9 | 51% | 0% | 28 km |
| 27 | Castelmaurou Haute-Garonne | 0.8 | 20% | 0% | 143 km |
| 28 | Chancelade Dordogne | 0.7 | 48% | 0% | 100 km |
| 29 | Lamotte-Beuvron Loir-et-Cher | 0.7 | 52% | 100% | 239 km |
| 30 | Sainte-Marie-aux-Chênes Moselle | 0.6 | 2.2% | 0% | 314 km |
| 31 | Villeneuve-lès-Béziers Hérault | 0.6 | 1.8% | 30% | 7.4 km |
| 32 | Mesnil-Roc'h Ille-et-Vilaine | 0.6 | 36% | 100% | 8.2 km |
| 33 | Montagnac Hérault | 0.6 | 11% | 14% | 17 km |
| 34 | Lunel-Viel Hérault | 0.6 | 4.6% | 0% | 13 km |
| 35 | La Réole Gironde | 0.5 | 7.2% | 6.5% | 64 km |
| 36 | Pineuilh Gironde | 0.5 | 8.5% | 2.2% | 67 km |
| 37 | Jarnac Charente | 0.5 | 6.2% | 23% | 53 km |
| 38 | Gonfaron Var | 0.4 | 42% | 23% | 21 km |
| 39 | Freneuse Yvelines | 0.4 | 34% | 51% | 100 km |
| 40 | Charmes Vosges | 0.4 | 60% | 8% | 391 km |
| 41 | Marans Charente-Maritime | 0.2 | 0.3% | 100% | 11 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 Saint-Nicolas
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Les Grandes Prairies leads, at 21 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc du Val de Scarpe
Park or garden · 10 m outside the commune
6.7 ha1.8 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.8 km of path
0.8 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardins du Val de Scarpe
Park or garden
3.2 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
0.7 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin Minelle
Park or garden · 390 m outside the commune
1.7 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
1.5 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
Pelouses métallicoles de la plaine de la Scarpe is the nearest protected area, 21 km away
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 site
Pelouses métallicoles de la plaine de la Scarpe
21 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
Footpaths and woods in Saint-Nicolas
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
15 km
4.8 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 km
waymarked: 0 km per km²
Woodland
2.8%
about 0.1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Saint-NicolasPas-de-Calais medianFrance median
Footpaths4.8
Hiking routes0
036 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Saint-NicolasPas-de-Calais medianFrance median
Woodland2.8%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 89% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 86% 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 Saint-Nicolas is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
5 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 12111 km
GR 1451.5 km
Loué - Arras5.3 km
Via Francigena France 01, Calais - Arras3.7 km
Arras - Bavincourt2 km
2 GR routes pass within 2 km of Saint-Nicolas: GR 121 and GR 145.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Saint-Nicolas: May to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Arras, 8.2 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 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 57 | 49 | 50 | 43 | 61 | 61 | 65 | 63 | 58 | 65 | 64 | 76 |
April is the driest month (43 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 24 °C). 76 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 43 nights a year. The climate in Saint-Nicolas →
Neighbors
Next to Saint-Nicolas
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Saint-Laurent-BlangySainte-CatherineArrasAnzin-Saint-AubinAchicourtBeaurainsSaint-Nicolas
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Nicolas | 0% | 2.8% | 4.8 |
| Saint-Laurent-Blangy 6,459 · 1.3 km | 0% | 7.9% | 3.8 |
| Sainte-Catherine 3,471 · 1.6 km | 0% | 6.1% | 3.3 |
| Arras 42,875 · 2.1 km | 0% | 3.4% | 6.5 |
| Anzin-Saint-Aubin 2,833 · 3.1 km | 0% | 6.2% | 1.7 |
| Achicourt 7,873 · 3.9 km | 0% | 4% | 3.6 |
| Beaurains 5,559 · 4.6 km | 0% | 1.1% | 2.5 |
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 Saint-Nicolas
Is Saint-Nicolas in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Pelouses métallicoles de la plaine de la Scarpe, 21 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Saint-Nicolas?
OpenStreetMap maps 15 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 4.8 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²).
How much of Saint-Nicolas is woodland?
2.8% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Saint-Nicolas near the sea?
No: the coast is 79 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Saint-Nicolas?
May 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.