First pick
Bois des Jarries
Wood or forest · 70 m outside the commune
130 ha3.8 km of path
50 minto walk all 3.8 km of path
2.8 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Gilles Guillamot · CC BY-SA 3.06.6%woodland
Outdoors in Les Epesses · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Les Epesses is within 800 m of a park or wood
Waymarked hiking routes add up to 35 km in Les Epesses. No protected area reaches Les Epesses; the nearest, Vallée de l’Argenton (Natura 2000), is 33 km from the town center. 6.6% of Les Epesses 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: Vallée de l’Argenton, 33 km
Woodland
6.6%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
53 km
1.7 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
35 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: Bois des Jarries
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 Les Epesses 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
Woodland6.6%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
29out of 100
Footpaths1.7 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
50out of 100
Hiking routes1.1 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
86out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Les Epesses has the 10th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (2,951 to 3,016 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Lezennes (8.6 km per km²) to Sancoins (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lezennes Nord | 8.6 | 3.6% | 0% | 66 km |
| 2 | Margency Val-d'Oise | 7.4 | 0.9% | 0% | 134 km |
| 3 | Gorcy Meurthe-et-Moselle | 3.6 | 37% | 0% | 269 km |
| 4 | Saint-Nazaire-les-Eymes Isère | 3 | 37% | 30% | 206 km |
| 5 | Pont-à-Marcq Nord | 2.6 | 1% | 0% | 75 km |
| 6 | Soues Hautes-Pyrénées | 2.4 | 7.2% | 5.9% | 134 km |
| 7 | Drumettaz-Clarafond Savoie | 2.1 | 42% | 5% | 243 km |
| 8 | Courcelles-Chaussy Moselle | 1.9 | 37% | 0% | 340 km |
| 9 | Aniane Hérault | 1.7 | 43% | 14% | 31 km |
| 10 | Les Epesses Vendée | 1.7 | 6.6% | 0% | 66 km |
| 11 | Belleville-sur-Meuse Meuse | 1.6 | 42% | 39% | 288 km |
| 12 | Tourrettes Var | 1.5 | 64% | 1.8% | 21 km |
| 13 | Quillan Aude | 1.4 | 49% | 100% | 70 km |
| 14 | Gruchet-le-Valasse Seine-Maritime | 1.4 | 53% | 0% | 16 km |
| 15 | Retournac Haute-Loire | 1.3 | 55% | 85% | 184 km |
| 16 | Boën-sur-Lignon Loire | 1.2 | 12% | 4.3% | 243 km |
| 17 | Hésingue Haut-Rhin | 1.2 | 17% | 0% | 421 km |
| 18 | Mauléon-Licharre Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 1.1 | 35% | 2.8% | 62 km |
| 19 | Ottange Moselle | 1 | 53% | 0% | 294 km |
| 20 | Zonza Corse-du-Sud | 1 | 40% | 75% | On it |
| 21 | Vimoutiers Orne | 0.9 | 2.2% | 0% | 46 km |
| 22 | Bias Lot-et-Garonne | 0.9 | 2.5% | 0% | 121 km |
| 23 | Saint-Venant Pas-de-Calais | 0.8 | 2.5% | 0% | 48 km |
| 24 | Tourouvre au Perche Orne | 0.8 | 43% | 98% | 93 km |
| 25 | Venerque Haute-Garonne | 0.7 | 13% | 1.4% | 139 km |
| 26 | Montmeyran Drôme | 0.7 | 5.3% | 0% | 154 km |
| 27 | Saint-Laurent-des-Arbres Gard | 0.6 | 28% | 0% | 68 km |
| 28 | Ailly-sur-Somme Somme | 0.6 | 26% | 0% | 46 km |
| 29 | Iteuil Vienne | 0.5 | 23% | 0% | 112 km |
| 30 | Murviel-lès-Béziers Hérault | 0.5 | 5.9% | 0% | 25 km |
| 31 | Boisseuil Haute-Vienne | 0.5 | 21% | 0% | 166 km |
| 32 | Mortain-Bocage Manche | 0.5 | 15% | 54% | 31 km |
| 33 | Lorris Loiret | 0.4 | 54% | 31% | 234 km |
| 34 | Saint-Lyé Aube | 0.3 | 13% | 0% | 264 km |
| 35 | Dompierre-sur-Besbre Allier | 0.3 | 13% | 46% | 330 km |
| 36 | Cintegabelle Haute-Garonne | 0.2 | 8.9% | 1.4% | 128 km |
| 37 | Barjols Var | 0.2 | 69% | 18% | 49 km |
| 38 | Frontenay-Rohan-Rohan Deux-Sèvres | 0.2 | 2.1% | 100% | 45 km |
| 39 | Rue Somme | 0.2 | 7.7% | 100% | 5.7 km |
| 40 | Dangé-Saint-Romain Vienne | 0.1 | 20% | 0% | 150 km |
| 41 | Sancoins Cher | 0.1 | 11% | 0% | 315 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 Les Epesses
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois des Jarries leads, at 130 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Forêt du Puy du Fou
Wood or forest
11 ha4.1 km of path
55 minto walk all 4.1 km of path
2.4 km westfrom the center
Allée des Volières
Directionsto a point inside
Bois de la Gatière
Wood or forest · 300 m outside the commune
23 ha
5.7 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Le Val de la Marienne
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.3 km of path
2.3 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Vallée de l’Argenton is the nearest protected area, 33 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
Vallée de l’Argenton
33 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
53 km of footpaths and 35 km of hiking routes cross Les Epesses
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
53 km
1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
35 km
waymarked: 1.1 km per km²
Woodland
6.6%
about 2.1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Les EpessesVendée medianFrance median
Footpaths1.7
Hiking routes1.1
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Les EpessesVendée medianFrance median
Woodland6.6%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 50% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 71% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. 98% of Les Epesses’ residents live within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, close to the typical town.
5 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
Boucle du Bocage17 km
Boucle des Collines16 km
Sentier de la Sèvre nantaise14 km
Circuit pedestre de Chambretaud5.1 km
Sentier des fourmis4.6 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Les Epesses: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Cholet, 22 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 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 83 | 62 | 58 | 57 | 64 | 40 | 49 | 46 | 62 | 80 | 85 | 86 |
June is the driest month (40 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 25 °C). 86 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 34 nights a year. The climate in Les Epesses →
Neighbors
Next to Les Epesses
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
SèvremontSaint-Laurent-sur-SèvreLes HerbiersChanverrieLe BoupèreMauléonLes Epesses
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Les Epesses | 0% | 6.6% | 1.7 |
| Sèvremont 6,385 · 6.4 km | 0% | 5.3% | 0.3 |
| Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre 3,550 · 8.2 km | 0% | 6.1% | 2 |
| Les Herbiers 16,521 · 9 km | 0% | 6.5% | 1.1 |
| Chanverrie 5,653 · 10 km | 0% | 5.5% | 0.7 |
| Le Boupère 3,151 · 10 km | 0% | 5.6% | 0.2 |
| Mauléon 8,573 · 12 km | 0% | 6.8% | 0.4 |
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 Les Epesses
Is Les Epesses in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Vallée de l’Argenton, 33 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Les Epesses?
OpenStreetMap maps 53 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1.7 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 35 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Les Epesses is woodland?
6.6% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Les Epesses near the sea?
No: the coast is 66 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Les Epesses?
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.