Meudon Forest

August in the greater Paris area is wonderful. Taking care to avoid the main tourist attractions like the Eiffel Tower or Versailles, one will find the rest of the metropolis  transformed. Many of the local denizens head out of town for summer holidays and some of the restaurants and smaller shops close for their annual break. The folks who stay behind seem be calmer and less aggressive. Perhaps there is less stress when the boss is away in Provence for a few weeks? In any event, it is a great time to hike and bike, taking advantage of local green space like the Meudon Forest.

Located just 20 minutes by train (RER C) from the Eiffel Tower, Meudon Forest can easily be reached on foot from the Chaville-Velizy train station. The existence of the forest is an amazing feat of planning, given the various economic and social pressures. In the 1600s, royals cobbled together land that had been hardscrabble farms and replanted it as a hunting reserve. The forest survived the revolution and the dense urbanisation of the surrounding area in modern times. The forest service has even improved the land in some ways to make it more friendly to people (e.g., by developing a network of trails throughout) and wildlife (e.g, by replanting native species in some areas). Wild boar, foxes, weasels and various other creatures roam freely: the two halves of Meudon forest are connected via a short tunnel under a busy road and the habitat is connected to a big, neighboring forest via a wildlife bridge across a large highway.

Meudon Forest now extends for 1100 hectares (2700 acres) and it remains a producing woodland. Occasionally, we see selective logging operations underway, though the forest managers take care to avoid clearcuts and preserve a continuous woodland. Hard to believe that timber, pulpwood and firewood are being harvested just a few miles from the heart of the densely built-up Paris metropolitan area!

During the summer, the contrast between the forest and the build up areas is striking. When I head out for a hike, run or off-road bike adventure, the city can be quite hot, but once I’m into the trails of the forest, the temperature is several degrees cooler. The soil is rich in organic material and absorbs the pounding of feet or wheels. In the quite of August, the birds are quite active and one hears woodpeckers overhead in the old oak trees that the loggers have bypassed. There are woodland smells in the air and wildflowers wherever there is a sunny border.

And, there are occasional wonders to be found. There are two pre-historic monoliths from a people gone thousands of years and whose history is lost to us. (One of my jogging routes passes by one of these monolith rocks; I sometimes stop to place my hands on it to pay my respects and reconnect with the past.) There are also neolithic tomb rocks relocated from Brittany in the 1800s, strangely, by a group of Christian missionaries from that region. There are ponds with various water foul, nutria rodents, and an annual toad migration (a key forest road is closed during the season to protect them). There are foundations of an old chapel and other structures. There are rocky outcrops offering hikers splendid views of Versailles. On occasion, there is a fellow who sits near the edge and plays bongos on a lazy summer evening.

When Fall arrives, the bountiful chestnuts will attract many folks who come out from Paris to reap a harvest, off-road cyclists will reclaim some trails, and horse riders from the local stables will reclaim some others. The occasional loggers will turn up. But, for now, there is peace in Meudon Forest.

View of l’Etang de l’Ursine with Velizy-Villacoublay in the background

Map of Chaville showing Meudon Forest (problems viewing? Click here)

(If you receive this via e-mail, you’ll need to go to the Q4TK web site to see the map.)