Discover Chandelles

Around Chandelles, you’ll find two different perspectives on trails and landscapes: the GRP Vallée de l’Eure long-distance route and the walk around the Étang de Chandelles. The GRP is officially accredited by the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre. Its 123 kilometres run from Dreux to La Loupe; through Coulombs, the route continues to the Route de Chandelles. The walk around the Étang goes around one of the fishponds in the hamlet of Chandelles, which belongs to the municipality of Coulombs-Nogent-le-Roi. Several ponds offer different possible routes there.

Hiking around Chandelles

Dreux and La Loupe are the named endpoints of the 123-kilometre route. The GRP passes through Coulombs and then reaches the Route de Chandelles. This places the route in a broader context described through several place references. When planning your hike, this is a different starting point from a walk around the pond: here, you follow the long-distance route as a whole, its endpoints and its stated course. Its official accreditation by the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre clearly identifies the route.

At the Étang de Chandelles, the walk goes around one of the fishponds in the hamlet. As there are several ponds, several possible routes are described. Unlike the GRP, the focus here is not a long-distance route between Dreux and La Loupe, but the path around a single pond; the different ponds offer alternatives when choosing a route. The route description for the walk was updated on 16 May 2026. As the route details are user-generated, check them again before your hike.

The Moulin de l’Ecluse and its history

The Moulin de l’Ecluse took on its present form in 1823. It stood beside an old navigable canal that ran parallel to the Eure and passed the site of the ruined Chandelles lock. These details connect the building to the waterway and the former lock site. The year 1823 refers to the mill’s present form; the site’s history goes back further.

At the site of the Moulin de l’Ecluse in the municipality of Coulombs, monks from Coulombs Abbey established a fishery and a lock in the 10th century. Later, during the canalisation of the Eure, the lock helped facilitate the delivery of building materials for the Maintenon Aqueduct. The lock is therefore associated with two distinct phases: first, the fishery at the site; later, support for transporting materials during the aqueduct’s construction. For those interested in history, this sequence reveals the lock’s different uses: initially in connection with the fishery, and later for the delivery of building materials.

Discover more destinations: Vaupillon, Fessanvilliers-Mattanvilliers, Beauche, Boncourt, Le Tronchet, Dreux, Cherisy, Sainville

For the regional travel overview: Eure-Et-Loir.