First pick
Parc de Loisirs de la Sablière
Park or garden
11 ha2.9 km of path
40 minto walk all 2.9 km of path
1.3 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Dileborn · CC BY-SA 4.010%woodland
Outdoors in Challans · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Challans is within 800 m of a park or wood
No protected area reaches Challans; the nearest, Marais Breton, baie de Bourgneuf, île de Noirmoutier et forêt de Monts (Natura 2000), is 1.9 km from the town center. 58 km of footpaths cross Challans (0.9 km per km²). Mapped woodland covers 10% of Challans. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
0.9%
of the commune’s land
Nearest: Marais Breton, baie de Bourgneuf, île de Noirmoutier et forêt de Monts, 1.9 km
Woodland
10%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
58 km
0.9 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
7
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc de Loisirs de la Sablière
The sea
15 km
from the town center to the coast
Throughout this page, the Vendée 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 Challans 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 areas0.9%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
56out of 100
Woodland10%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
42out of 100
Footpaths0.9 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
29out 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
Challans has the 3rd fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (21,996 to 23,843 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Torcy (11 km per km²) to Chemillé-en-Anjou (0.4 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Torcy Seine-et-Marne | 11 | 17% | 0% | 163 km |
| 2 | Sèvres Hauts-de-Seine | 8.9 | 24% | 0% | 147 km |
| 3 | Arcueil Val-de-Marne | 8.8 | 3.2% | 0% | 153 km |
| 4 | Fontaine Isère | 8.1 | 37% | 39% | 204 km |
| 5 | Gif-sur-Yvette Essonne | 7.8 | 28% | 60% | 153 km |
| 6 | Vélizy-Villacoublay Yvelines | 7.6 | 33% | 0% | 150 km |
| 7 | Hérouville-Saint-Clair Calvados | 7 | 4.9% | 0% | 11 km |
| 8 | Montigny-lès-Cormeilles Val-d'Oise | 7 | 17% | 0% | 130 km |
| 9 | Les Lilas Seine-Saint-Denis | 6.6 | 4.4% | 0% | 150 km |
| 10 | Longjumeau Essonne | 5.9 | 4.2% | 0% | 163 km |
| 11 | Roissy-en-Brie Seine-et-Marne | 5.9 | 46% | 0% | 168 km |
| 12 | Lanester Morbihan | 5.2 | 13% | 0.1% | On it |
| 13 | Loos Nord | 5 | 4.6% | 0% | 63 km |
| 14 | Saint-Jean-de-Braye Loiret | 5 | 16% | 4.3% | 207 km |
| 15 | Deuil-la-Barre Val-d'Oise | 4.6 | 6.1% | 0% | 138 km |
| 16 | Combs-la-Ville Seine-et-Marne | 4.4 | 14% | 0% | 176 km |
| 17 | Achères Yvelines | 3.7 | 3.4% | 0% | 129 km |
| 18 | Rochefort Charente-Maritime | 3.5 | 1.4% | 38% | On it |
| 19 | La Valette-du-Var Var | 3.4 | 23% | 32% | 3.7 km |
| 20 | Le Petit-Quevilly Seine-Maritime | 3.3 | 0% | 0% | 51 km |
| 21 | Tassin-la-Demi-Lune Rhône | 3.2 | 18% | 0% | 250 km |
| 22 | Saint-Louis Haut-Rhin | 2.9 | 8.5% | 18% | 423 km |
| 23 | Dammarie-les-Lys Seine-et-Marne | 2.7 | 35% | 26% | 192 km |
| 24 | Maisons-Laffitte Yvelines | 2.6 | 6.5% | 0% | 133 km |
| 25 | Olivet Loiret | 2.5 | 23% | 0% | 208 km |
| 26 | Dax Landes | 2.5 | 21% | 37% | 30 km |
| 27 | Mantes-la-Ville Yvelines | 2.5 | 7.2% | 0% | 111 km |
| 28 | Dole Jura | 2.5 | 36% | 37% | 400 km |
| 29 | Oyonnax Ain | 2.4 | 59% | 0% | 312 km |
| 30 | Les Pennes-Mirabeau Bouches-du-Rhône | 2.4 | 11% | 0% | 4.3 km |
| 31 | Manosque Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 2.2 | 26% | 100% | 64 km |
| 32 | Montereau-Fault-Yonne Seine-et-Marne | 2.2 | 4.3% | 8.8% | 217 km |
| 33 | Saint-Dizier Haute-Marne | 2.1 | 47% | 0% | 293 km |
| 34 | Millau Aveyron | 2 | 35% | 100% | 91 km |
| 35 | Épernay Marne | 1.7 | 44% | 7.2% | 208 km |
| 36 | Auch Gers | 1.6 | 18% | 0% | 161 km |
| 37 | Gujan-Mestras Gironde | 1.4 | 48% | 0.3% | On it |
| 38 | Abbeville Somme | 1.3 | 11% | 100% | 14 km |
| 39 | Challans Vendée | 0.9 | 10% | 0.9% | 15 km |
| 40 | Villeneuve-sur-Lot Lot-et-Garonne | 0.5 | 11% | 0.9% | 123 km |
| 41 | Chemillé-en-Anjou Maine-et-Loire | 0.4 | 4.3% | 0% | 98 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 Challans
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc de Loisirs de la Sablière leads, at 11 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Le bois du Breuil
Park or garden
3 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
1.1 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Juisière
Park or garden
2.5 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
1.7 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Mélière
Park or garden
0.9 ha0.5 km of path
0.8 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Coursaudière
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.2 km of path
0.9 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Marais Breton, baie de Bourgneuf, île de Noirmoutier et forêt de Monts is the nearest protected area, 1.9 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
Marais Breton, baie de Bourgneuf, île de Noirmoutier et forêt de Monts
0.9% of the commune1.9 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Marais Breton, baie de Bourgneuf, île de Noirmoutier et forêt de Monts
0.9% of the commune1.9 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area0.9%
Natura 2000 site0.9%
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
58 km of footpaths cross Challans
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
58 km
0.9 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 km
waymarked: 0 km per km²
Woodland
10%
about 6.8 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
ChallansVendée medianFrance median
Footpaths0.9
Hiking routes0
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ChallansVendée medianFrance median
Woodland10%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 71% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 58% 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 Challans is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Challans: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Le Perrier, 9.6 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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°C) | 10 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 80 | 62 | 51 | 56 | 52 | 43 | 37 | 44 | 63 | 92 | 92 | 89 |
July is the driest month (37 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 24 °C). 92 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 26 nights a year. The climate in Challans →
Neighbors
Next to Challans
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
SoullansSallertaineLa GarnacheSaint-Christophe-du-LigneronCommequiersSaint-GervaisChallans
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Challans | 0.9% | 10% | 0.9 | 15 km |
| Soullans 4,654 · 4.9 km | 51% | 5.9% | 0.2 | 11 km |
| Sallertaine 3,518 · 5.3 km | 44% | 3.4% | 0.2 | 13 km |
| La Garnache 5,515 · 6.7 km | 0% | 9.8% | 0.2 | 18 km |
| Saint-Christophe-du-Ligneron 2,727 · 9.3 km | 0% | 6.1% | 0.1 | 20 km |
| Commequiers 3,735 · 9.3 km | 0.2% | 4.6% | 0.1 | 11 km |
| Saint-Gervais 2,781 · 12 km | 49% | 7.6% | 0.1 | 6.9 km |
Soullans, Sallertaine and Saint-Gervais have 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 Challans
Is Challans in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Marais Breton, baie de Bourgneuf, île de Noirmoutier et forêt de Monts, 1.9 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Challans?
OpenStreetMap maps 58 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 0.9 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²).
How much of Challans is woodland?
10% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Challans near the sea?
No: the coast is 15 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Challans?
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.