Top Tips For A Family Trip To Fontainebleau

WRITTEN by RICHARD COLE

We first met Richard Cole in July 1999, when he came on our Single Pitch Award assessment course (and passed!). Last week he spent a day with Chris in the Scottish mountains. He responded to our appeal last year for guest writers, and sent us this great post.

Over the years I have had many a good trip to the boulders of the Fontainebleau Forest which is around 50km south of Paris. Over recent years I have been over to climb there with my children and have found it is a great place for all abilities. My kids have particularly enjoyed the bouldering circuits, which involve a series of bouldering problems of a similar grade linked together with arrows and dots of coloured paint. This style of bouldering circuits started in the mid 20th century and I have found that the White Children’s Circuit has been a great place to start.

Our trips out have followed a familiar pattern: loading up the car with camping kit, bikes and climbing gear; an overnight stop on the way down; the short crossing between Dover and Calais; and heading down to Campsite Les Courtilles du Lido, near Veneux-les-Sablons. The long car journey has been made easier for us by listening to audio books which I know is popular with lots of people who do long journeys, I’m sure Chris has his favourites from his long journeys to the Alps. We have really enjoyed working our way through Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons series, although now my son really wants to do some more sailing, so be warned: there are some side effects of this.

Fontainebleau has several campsites and I know several people that stay at La Musardière near the ever popular Les Trois Pignons. Even though Campsite Les Courtilles du Lido is not quite so close to some of the more popular climbing areas, it is not too much further to drive and we have really enjoyed the campsite's proximity to some lovely family friendly cycling along the Canal du Loing and river Seine. The campsite is also about a fifteen-minute walk from the train station, where there is a direct train to Paris Gare de Lyon, making a day trip to Paris an easy option by train for a rest day from climbing.

Around the forest there are a wide choice of places to climb. Our favourite places are mainly based on exploring the areas listed in a slightly hidden part of the Fontainebleau Climbs: The Finest Bouldering and Circuits by Jo Montchausse, Francoise Montchausse & Jacky Godoffe. I have the 1999 edition. At the back of the book is a couple of pages on ‘Les Circuits Enfants’ with a good little map showing some of the areas with children’s white circuits.  These include the following favourites from the ‘highly recommended’ bouldering circuits:

Beavais – Rocher du Duc

Car parking here.

This is probably our favourite, the boulders are not too high, and the start is close to the carpark. It is in a lovely part of the forest, with a lovely atmosphere.

Feuillardière

Car parking here.

Here there are a lovely group of circuits in a small area, with multiple children’s circuits for different ages. To find the boulders from the carpark, just head south along the track until you arrive at the crossing, the children’s bouldering is straight across here in the forest. This area uses the lovely slightly different symbols to follow for the different age groups.

Franchard Ermitage

Car parking here.

This is a shady area of the forest with a good children’s circuit not too far from the chapel. On our last visit when climbing stopped due to rain we sheltered at the Centre d'écotourisme de Franchard close to the car park.

The above three venues were our favourites and top of the list for when we next go back. Others that have stood out, some because they were just great places to hike to, included the following:

Le Cul de Chien

An impressive boulder shaped like a dog’s head in a valley full of sand; which itself does not have a white children’s circuit, although there is one nearby at La Roche aux Sabots.

L’Éléphant

Another place that was popular with my kids was the Children’s White Circuit at L’Éléphant. We found finding our way between the boulder problems a little harder than some of the other circuits, although part of the fun is hunting for the next dot of paint to follow. It’s worth being aware that some of the problems are quite high here. That said, it is a lovely part of the forest and what is not to like about a boulder that looks like an elephant!

Our focus has been hunting out circuits of boulders and following the routes through the forest, trying to get the whole way around the circuit. The kids really enjoy these and for me this is something that is special about Fontainebleau. That said, there is no reason why you can’t just work on finding individual bouldering problems and working these with large piles of bouldering mats below them.

Alternatives to bouldering

It’s worth thinking about ways of keeping it interesting for the kids. Whatever the outdoor activity we are doing as a family, we find the days are more enjoyable for everyone if there are activities to keep everyone happy. Some of our favourites are identifying flowers and animal spotting with a wildlife tick list.

When the children’s motivation drops and is not easily fixed with a quick snack or spotting flowers, then we either have our picnic or do the rest of the circuit another day. For me the most important part of these trips is keeping it fun and celebrating what they achieve.

So, for all but the most dedicated climber at some point, either due to fatigue or the weather, there might be the need for non-climbing activities. For us these have involved fun days out on the bikes, particularly along the river and canal.

A sightseeing trip to Paris on the regular train service is another option. There are several train stations in the area which take you directly to Paris. Other people we spoke to at the campsite had also been to see some of the tourist sites in Paris by train.

A trip to the Fontainebleau Chateaux gardens made for a nice restful afternoon exploring. Failing everything else we had the odd lazy afternoon at the campsite by the swimming pool.

About the author

Richard Cole is an all-round outdoor enthusiast. He holds the Single Pitch Award and is a Mountain Leader, and he has completed the Winter Mountain Leader training. He has spent most of the last decade out on adventures with his kids, ranging from introducing them to wild camping and cycle camping to a 14 day trek along Langtang and Helembu treks as part of a longer trip to Nepal as a family. He is a member of the Chris Ensoll Mountain Mentor community. You can read more about his adventures on his blog.

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