First pick
Parc du boulard
Wood or forest
48 ha5.4 km of path
1 h 10 minto walk all 5.4 km of path
1.1 km south-eastfrom the center
Chemin de la Merdarie
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: CHABERT Louis · CC BY-SA 4.012%woodland
Outdoors in Chaponost · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Chaponost is within 800 m of a park or wood
Waymarked hiking routes add up to 15 km in Chaponost. No protected area reaches Chaponost; the nearest, Mine du Verdy nature reserve, is 9.7 km from the town center. 12% of Chaponost 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: Mine du Verdy nature reserve, 9.7 km
Woodland
12%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
25 km
1.5 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
15 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
6
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc du boulard
Throughout this page, the Rhône 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 Chaponost?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On waymarked routes15 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.Protected land nearbyMine du Verdy nature reserve is 9.7 km from the town center.
What sets Chaponost apart: its hiking routes, then protected land close by.
Against French towns
How Chaponost 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
Woodland12%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
46out of 100
Footpaths1.5 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
47out of 100
Hiking routes0.9 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
81out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Chaponost has the 15th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (9,226 to 9,537 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Ville-la-Grand (6 km per km²) to Tonneins (0.2 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ville-la-Grand Haute-Savoie | 6 | 14% | 0% | 287 km |
| 2 | La Ravoire Savoie | 5.3 | 14% | 0% | 231 km |
| 3 | Le Crès Hérault | 5.2 | 9.9% | 0% | 12 km |
| 4 | Poisy Haute-Savoie | 5 | 33% | 0% | 263 km |
| 5 | Évian-les-Bains Haute-Savoie | 4.8 | 11% | 0% | 299 km |
| 6 | Jarville-la-Malgrange Meurthe-et-Moselle | 4.6 | 2.7% | 0% | 369 km |
| 7 | Magny-les-Hameaux Yvelines | 4.1 | 29% | 100% | 149 km |
| 8 | Carqueiranne Var | 3.9 | 28% | 0.1% | On it |
| 9 | Vert-Saint-Denis Seine-et-Marne | 3.9 | 23% | 0% | 187 km |
| 10 | Condé-sur-l'Escaut Nord | 3.5 | 44% | 99% | 98 km |
| 11 | Fontaine-lès-Dijon Côte-d'Or | 3.4 | 2.6% | 0% | 400 km |
| 12 | Liffré Ille-et-Vilaine | 3.4 | 61% | 20% | 45 km |
| 13 | Arques Pas-de-Calais | 3.3 | 37% | 76% | 31 km |
| 14 | Rombas Moselle | 3.3 | 53% | 0% | 314 km |
| 15 | Le Passage Lot-et-Garonne | 3.2 | 7.8% | 9% | 131 km |
| 16 | Hagondange Moselle | 3.1 | 11% | 0% | 317 km |
| 17 | Mont-Saint-Martin Meurthe-et-Moselle | 2.9 | 18% | 0% | 274 km |
| 18 | Quincy-sous-Sénart Essonne | 2.8 | 57% | 0% | 174 km |
| 19 | Landivisiau Finistère | 2.8 | 12% | 0.8% | 14 km |
| 20 | Leers Nord | 2.6 | 1.6% | 0% | 64 km |
| 21 | Molsheim Bas-Rhin | 2.5 | 8.8% | 0% | 441 km |
| 22 | Sallaumines Pas-de-Calais | 2.4 | 8.1% | 0% | 77 km |
| 23 | Clermont-l'Hérault Hérault | 2 | 22% | 46% | 32 km |
| 24 | Les Sorinières Loire-Atlantique | 2 | 9.8% | 0% | 37 km |
| 25 | Guichen Ille-et-Vilaine | 1.8 | 11% | 0% | 60 km |
| 26 | Lescar Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 1.6 | 6.6% | 20% | 89 km |
| 27 | Chaponost Rhône | 1.5 | 12% | 0% | 245 km |
| 28 | Belley Ain | 1.4 | 19% | 0% | 261 km |
| 29 | Paray-le-Monial Saône-et-Loire | 1.3 | 20% | 0% | 321 km |
| 30 | Dombasle-sur-Meurthe Meurthe-et-Moselle | 1 | 17% | 0% | 380 km |
| 31 | Luçon Vendée | 0.9 | 1.1% | 100% | 16 km |
| 32 | Nogent-le-Rotrou Eure-et-Loir | 0.8 | 7.9% | 100% | 127 km |
| 33 | Elne Pyrénées-Orientales | 0.8 | 0.2% | 3% | On it |
| 34 | Livron-sur-Drôme Drôme | 0.8 | 11% | 4.3% | 147 km |
| 35 | Albert Somme | 0.8 | 1.1% | 0% | 72 km |
| 36 | L'Isle-Jourdain Gers | 0.7 | 7% | 0% | 173 km |
| 37 | Vallet Loire-Atlantique | 0.6 | 7.8% | 0% | 56 km |
| 38 | Rivesaltes Pyrénées-Orientales | 0.5 | 0.2% | 0% | 13 km |
| 39 | Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu Loire-Atlantique | 0.4 | 4.5% | 44% | 26 km |
| 40 | Petit-Caux Seine-Maritime | 0.3 | 4.6% | 1.1% | On it |
| 41 | Tonneins Lot-et-Garonne | 0.2 | 2.8% | 3.5% | 99 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 Chaponost
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc du boulard leads, at 48 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc des Cartières
Park or garden
15 ha2 km of path
25 minto walk all 2 km of path
1.9 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Naturel de l'Yzeron
Park or garden · 160 m outside the commune
7.9 ha2.5 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.5 km of path
3.4 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Le Bois de Taffignon
Wood or forest · 190 m outside the commune
12 ha2.5 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.5 km of path
3.1 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de Rochilly
Park or garden · 200 m outside the commune
2.6 ha
2.8 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Pré des Castors
Park or garden · 30 m outside the commune
0.9 ha
2.8 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Mine du Verdy nature reserve is the nearest protected area, 9.7 km away
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Nature reserve
Mine du Verdy nature reserve
9.7 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
25 km of footpaths and 15 km of hiking routes cross Chaponost
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
25 km
1.5 km per km²
Hiking routes
15 km
waymarked: 0.9 km per km²
Woodland
12%
about 1.9 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
ChaponostRhône medianFrance median
Footpaths1.5
Hiking routes0.9
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ChaponostRhône medianFrance median
Woodland12%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 53% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 54% 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 Chaponost is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
6 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
Tour de Lyon, d'Yvours au Fort de Bruissin27 km
Via Lugdunum, Lyon to Le Puy-en-Velay14 km
Chemin de Montaigne de Lyon à Brussieu12 km
De Champonost à Mornant7.3 km
De Sain-Bel à Chaponost5.1 km
Tour de Lyon, du Fort du Bruissin au Fort du Paillet4.5 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Chaponost: April to August
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at St-Genis-Laval, 3.2 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 23 | 17 | 11 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 48 | 37 | 47 | 68 | 75 | 68 | 65 | 63 | 80 | 95 | 90 | 49 |
February is the driest month (37 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 28 °C). 95 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 44 nights a year. The climate in Chaponost →
Neighbors
Next to Chaponost
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
FranchevilleBrindasBrignaisSaint-Genis-LavalCraponneOullins-Pierre-BéniteChaponost
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chaponost | 0% | 12% | 1.5 |
| Francheville 15,604 · 3.5 km | 0% | 29% | 4.6 |
| Brindas 6,775 · 3.9 km | 0% | 8.6% | 1.2 |
| Brignais 12,503 · 4 km | 0% | 14% | 2 |
| Saint-Genis-Laval 21,212 · 4 km | 0% | 6% | 2.6 |
| Craponne 12,084 · 4.3 km | 0% | 12% | 2.7 |
| Oullins-Pierre-Bénite 38,168 · 4.8 km | 0% | 2.3% | 4.2 |
Francheville is 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 Chaponost
Is Chaponost in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Mine du Verdy nature reserve, 9.7 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Chaponost?
OpenStreetMap maps 25 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1.5 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 15 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Chaponost is woodland?
12% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Chaponost near the sea?
No: the coast is 245 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Chaponost?
April 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.