First pick
Base de Loisirs
Park or garden
12 ha2.7 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.7 km of path
0.6 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Anthony Levrot · CC BY-SA 4.040%of the land protected
Outdoors in Challes-les-Eaux · protected areas, woods and footpaths
40% of Challes-les-Eaux’s land is protected for nature
Waymarked hiking routes add up to 11 km in Challes-les-Eaux. 22 km of footpaths cross Challes-les-Eaux (3.9 km per km²). 32% of Challes-les-Eaux is mapped woodland. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
40%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
32%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
22 km
3.9 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
11 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
5
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Base de Loisirs
Throughout this page, the Savoie 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 Challes-les-Eaux?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
Protected countryside40% of the land lies in protected areas.On waymarked routes11 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.A place of footpaths3.9 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.A wooded commune32% mapped woodland, more than in 79% of compared French towns, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Challes-les-Eaux apart: its protected countryside, then its hiking routes.
Against French towns
How Challes-les-Eaux 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 areas40%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
85out of 100
Woodland32%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
79out of 100
Footpaths3.9 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
84out of 100
Hiking routes1.9 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
95out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Challes-les-Eaux has the 2nd most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (5,576 to 5,695 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Rungis (6.2 km per km²) to Ludon-Médoc (0.2 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rungis Val-de-Marne | 6.2 | 3.6% | 0% | 159 km |
| 2 | Challes-les-Eaux Savoie | 3.9 | 32% | 40% | 229 km |
| 3 | Saint-Martin-d'Uriage Isère | 3.8 | 65% | 9.9% | 197 km |
| 4 | Cancale Ille-et-Vilaine | 3.8 | 10% | 22% | On it |
| 5 | Mourenx Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 3.6 | 20% | 9.2% | 73 km |
| 6 | L'Isle-d'Espagnac Charente | 3.4 | 13% | 0% | 78 km |
| 7 | Santes Nord | 3 | 11% | 0% | 62 km |
| 8 | La Ville-aux-Dames Indre-et-Loire | 2.9 | 19% | 13% | 189 km |
| 9 | Lèves Eure-et-Loir | 2.7 | 24% | 0% | 135 km |
| 10 | Ternay Rhône | 2.7 | 18% | 0% | 234 km |
| 11 | Saint-Georges-d'Orques Hérault | 2.7 | 0.3% | 0% | 14 km |
| 12 | Liverdun Meurthe-et-Moselle | 2.6 | 72% | 0.1% | 355 km |
| 13 | Longueau Somme | 2.6 | 0.4% | 4% | 60 km |
| 14 | Parmain Val-d'Oise | 2.1 | 45% | 100% | 120 km |
| 15 | La Roquette-sur-Siagne Alpes-Maritimes | 2.1 | 22% | 0% | 4.6 km |
| 16 | Dainville Pas-de-Calais | 2 | 4.1% | 0% | 75 km |
| 17 | Delle Territoire de Belfort | 1.8 | 32% | 20% | 416 km |
| 18 | Rocbaron Var | 1.8 | 53% | 0% | 24 km |
| 19 | Saint-Gilles Ille-et-Vilaine | 1.7 | 6.4% | 0% | 40 km |
| 20 | Altkirch Haut-Rhin | 1.6 | 23% | 0% | 427 km |
| 21 | Wormhout Nord | 1.5 | 0.3% | 0% | 19 km |
| 22 | Sainghin-en-Weppes Nord | 1.5 | 4.8% | 0% | 64 km |
| 23 | Caumont-sur-Durance Vaucluse | 1.4 | 16% | 18% | 50 km |
| 24 | Genay Rhône | 1.2 | 9% | 0% | 266 km |
| 25 | Montrond-les-Bains Loire | 1.2 | 3.1% | 17% | 231 km |
| 26 | Pouzauges Vendée | 1.1 | 8.4% | 0% | 57 km |
| 27 | Sauvian Hérault | 1 | 0.4% | 0.3% | 6 km |
| 28 | Sausheim Haut-Rhin | 1 | 30% | 25% | 445 km |
| 29 | Montval-sur-Loir Sarthe | 1 | 5.9% | 0% | 168 km |
| 30 | Sigean Aude | 0.9 | 6.3% | 98% | 7.1 km |
| 31 | Saint-Xandre Charente-Maritime | 0.9 | 1.2% | 7.3% | 5.2 km |
| 32 | La Gorgue Nord | 0.8 | 0.8% | 0% | 51 km |
| 33 | Bohain-en-Vermandois Aisne | 0.8 | 12% | 0% | 129 km |
| 34 | Gannat Allier | 0.8 | 13% | 0% | 290 km |
| 35 | Wallers Nord | 0.8 | 28% | 99% | 99 km |
| 36 | La Crèche Deux-Sèvres | 0.6 | 3.7% | 0% | 63 km |
| 37 | Gan Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 0.5 | 38% | 4.7% | 97 km |
| 38 | Cloyes-les-Trois-Rivières Eure-et-Loir | 0.3 | 16% | 1.8% | 173 km |
| 39 | Bédarrides Vaucluse | 0.3 | 5.1% | 6.2% | 65 km |
| 40 | Rives-du-Loir-en-Anjou Maine-et-Loire | 0.3 | 17% | 26% | 131 km |
| 41 | Ludon-Médoc Gironde | 0.2 | 5.6% | 100% | 3.7 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 Challes-les-Eaux
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Base de Loisirs leads, at 12 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc Thermal
Park or garden
6.7 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
Centralin the middle of Challes-les-Eaux
Directionsto a point inside
Le Champ Clavier
Park or garden · 290 m outside the commune
2.6 ha0.5 km of path
1.7 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de Triviers
Park or garden
1.4 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
Centralin the middle of Challes-les-Eaux
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Municipal
Park or garden
1.3 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Challes-les-Eaux
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 Challes-les-Eaux
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Regional nature park
Massif des Bauges Regional Nature Park
37% of the commune0.4 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Rebord méridional du massif des Bauges
11% of the commune1 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Rebord méridional du Massif des Bauges
11% of the commune1 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Réseau de zones humides dans la Combe de Savoie et la moyenne vallée de l’Isère
3.7% of the commune0.9 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area40%
Regional nature park37%
Natura 2000 site15%
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.
40% of Challes-les-Eaux’s land is protected, more than in 85% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Savoie has 4.7%. 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
22 km of footpaths and 11 km of hiking routes cross Challes-les-Eaux
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
22 km
3.9 km per km²
Hiking routes
11 km
waymarked: 1.9 km per km²
Woodland
32%
about 1.8 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Challes-les-EauxSavoie medianFrance median
Footpaths3.9
Hiking routes1.9
02.55 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Challes-les-EauxSavoie medianFrance median
Woodland32%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 84% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 79% 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 Challes-les-Eaux is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
4 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 9651.5 km
Circuit de la Miat5.3 km
Boucle du Marais des Chassettes3.4 km
Tour de la Coche - n°370.3 km
GR 965 passes within 2 km of Challes-les-Eaux.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Challes-les-Eaux: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Challes les Eaux, 2.2 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 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 23 | 17 | 11 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 95 | 74 | 87 | 83 | 100 | 97 | 93 | 100 | 97 | 101 | 108 | 112 |
February is the driest month (74 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 28 °C). 112 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 80 nights a year. The climate in Challes-les-Eaux →
Neighbors
Next to Challes-les-Eaux
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
La RavoireBarbySaint-BaldophBarberazSaint-Alban-LeysseBassensChalles-les-Eaux
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Challes-les-Eaux | 40% | 32% | 3.9 |
| La Ravoire 9,332 · 2.3 km | 0% | 14% | 5.3 |
| Barby 3,772 · 2.6 km | 39% | 35% | 6.7 |
| Saint-Baldoph 2,949 · 3 km | 100% | 45% | 2.5 |
| Barberaz 5,306 · 3.5 km | 50% | 26% | 4.4 |
| Saint-Alban-Leysse 6,734 · 4 km | 75% | 44% | 4.2 |
| Bassens 5,175 · 4.7 km | 0.1% | 18% | 6.2 |
Saint-Baldoph has at least twice as much protected land.
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 Challes-les-Eaux
Is Challes-les-Eaux in a national or regional nature park?
Yes: Challes-les-Eaux lies in Massif des Bauges Regional Nature Park (37% of the commune).
Are there good walks in Challes-les-Eaux?
OpenStreetMap maps 22 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 3.9 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 11 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Challes-les-Eaux is woodland?
32% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Challes-les-Eaux near the sea?
No: the coast is 229 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Challes-les-Eaux?
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.