As you know, I am always delighted to help you discover the Ile-de-France region, and today I am taking you to the Saint-Germain Boucles de Seine area, which I mentioned in a previous article, to show you some outdoor activities to enjoy in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. On the agenda: a horseback ride, a hike in the Saint-Germain-en-Laye forest, and some treetop adventure fun!
This territory is called Saint-Germain Boucles de Seine because it is located in a bend of the Seine, 20 km northwest of Paris.
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Table of Contents
Horseback ride with Atem Rando Equestre
Since childhood, I have always loved horse riding. I am not exactly an expert rider, but I did several pony camps when I was little that made me appreciate the activity. So, whenever I have the chance to practice this sport, I am always delighted.
If I can also go horse riding in the surroundings of Paris and take a ride to discover a corner I don’t know too well, it’s even better!
ATEM Rando Equestre 4 Avenue Daumesnil, 78600 Maisons-Laffitte
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Go for a hike in the Saint-Germain Forest
The national forest of Saint-Germain, located in a bend of the Seine, now covers an area of 3,540 hectares. Very early on, it became a hunting ground highly prized by the Kings of France and later by the Emperors.
Today, as state property, this vast natural forest space is managed and maintained by the National Forestry Office (ONF). It is also available to everyone for walking or for practicing sporting activities (cycling, running, horseback riding as I mentioned above…).
To walk in the forest, you can pick up a free map guide at the Saint-Germain-en-Laye Tourist Office. This will help you find your way in the forest, plan your route, or follow one of the suggested hiking trails.
I highly recommend, for example, the Sentier des Oratoires (Oratory Trail), which allows you to discover the 4 crosses and 7 oratories housing statuettes, scattered throughout the forest over the centuries. For more information on these little monuments, I also advise you to pick up the Guide du Sentier des Oratoires (price €3) before your walk, which will give you more details on each oratory or cross.
What is particularly practical about this forest is that it is easily accessible on foot from the RER A Saint-Germain-en-Laye station. So you can come for a walk using public transport without needing a car.
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Treetop adventure with AccroCamp
This treetop adventure park, opened in 2019, is located in the Charmeraie forest park in the southern part of the Saint-Germain forest.
I must say that this afternoon at AccroCamp was a real discovery for the favorite photographer and myself because, before that, we had never done a treetop adventure! We did some pole-climbing in Rochefort last year, which is a great introduction. The difference with a treetop course is that you are truly in the trees, and we discovered (and loved!) the zipline.
More pragmatically, the site is organized into several courses that increase in difficulty (though there are some quite tricky segments in the “easy” sections, in my opinion), but more importantly, they are located at increasing heights in the trees.
The idea is to buy a pass depending on which courses you want to do. For example, if it’s your first time and you aren’t very comfortable (or even if you’re a bit afraid of heights), I recommend getting the green course pass (courses 1 to 3), which are not higher than 10 meters. This gives you a good idea of the activity and even includes two small ziplines.
Next, you have the blue courses (courses 2 to 4), where you get access to a specific course (number 4, which is 100% ziplines) in the slightly higher section (13 meters), and finally, the red courses (courses 4 to 7 + Quick Jump) for those who only want to do the higher sections without access to the “easier” ones.
In any case, I highly recommend doing course no. 4, the 100% zipline one, which is really super fun! Once you get past the apprehension of the first zipline, which you can test on courses 2 or 3, it becomes really enjoyable, and it also requires little physical energy or strength (which isn’t necessarily the case for the rest).
For our part, we had a pass to do all the courses, which allowed us to test everything! I just didn’t do the Quick Jump (where you jump into the void) because I admit I don’t like that at all. But Nico did it and handled it well. What I appreciated was that this activity is separate, so it didn’t stop me from doing a course.
Otherwise, in terms of how we felt after nearly half a day of testing all the courses (and some parts of the difficult ones are a bit physical, especially the logs), we were completely wiped out, the favorite photographer and I. Especially since we did them back-to-back, as we did the horseback ride the same day. And the next day, I won’t even mention the many sore muscles we had… But hey, we had so much fun that we would gladly do it again soon without hesitation!
AccroCamp Saint-Germain-en-Laye Parc Forestier de la Charmeraie 48, rue Albert Priolet 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye Rates : violet course €10 / green courses €17 / blue courses €21 / red courses €27 / access to all courses €29
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Thanks to the Intercommunal Tourist Office of Saint Germain Boucles de Seine for this invitation to discover these outdoor activities in the Yvelines.
I hope that with all this, I have made you want to discover the Saint Germain Boucles de Seine area and practice some outdoor activities in the Yvelines. If you also have your own favorite addresses and tips for this destination, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments below!
Photo credits: Nicolas Diolez Photos are not royalty-free; photographer authorization required before any use
