From Haute-Marne to Haute-Saône – discover France’s Forêts National Park

France has 11 national parks: the Vanoise and Port-Cros were the first, created in 1963. Then came the Pyrenees in 1967, the Cevennes in 1970, the Ecrins in 1973, the Mercantour in 1979, Guadeloupe in 1989, Reunion Island and Guyana in 2007, the Calanques in 2012 and finally the Forêts National Park .

In this Collection, I take you to the newest. Over seven stages and 400 kilometres (248.5 mi), you explore the Forêts National Park, the only national park north of the Loire River.

Located between the Seine and the Rhone rivers, the Forêts National Park encompasses the north-eastern part of the Côte d'Or department and a large part of the Haute-Marne department. You visit the cities of Châtillon-sur-Seine, Arc-en-Barrois, Châteauvillain, and Auberive, situated within the national park’s immense forest.

The emblem of the park, a black stork, calls the deep forests home, nesting in large trees near wetlands. There are about a hundred tufa swamps, characterised by springs that form limestone concretions. The park is incredibly diverse, with forest cats and the biggest orchid in France, the Venus hoof. Its flowers' big yellow labellum evokes the shape of a shoe, after which it’s named. It is very rare and nationally protected.

On the first four stages of this adventure, I invite you to discover this little-known park. The last three stages reveal the Haute-Saône, a department that is rarely visited. During this week of exploration, you cycle through remote areas, ride along beautiful paths and small deserted roads and discover amazing places such as the Vix treasure in Châtillonnais Museum or the beautiful cities of Langres and Luxeuil-les-bains.

This itinerary is perfect for bikepackers and gravel enthusiasts as you ride along forest roads. The route is not particularly difficult: some days have hardly any climbing and the distances are not too long so you have plenty of time to observe the natural sights and architecture along the way.

I recommend discovering this beautiful national park and these off-the-beaten-track departments from late spring to autumn. Don't forget your waterproof gear either – we are in the north of France after all.

I made sure that each stage ends in a small town, so you won’t have a problem finding accommodation, except for stage 2 when you have to camp.

I chose the city of Montbard as the starting point as it’s well served by public transport.
The GPS route ends at stage 7 at the SNCF station of Lure, which is located on the doorstep of the Vorges and the Jura Mountains. You can easily continue your adventure and discover these wild regions of France or return to your starting point by train.