La Saucelle: Hiking Trails, Nature and History

La Saucelle combines hiking trails with a range of themes: they explore historical subjects, water features and the landscape along the edge of the forest. There is also the Église Sainte-Anne and an annual summer event. If you are looking for a hotel for your stay, it may help to consider how you would like to spend your time here: enjoying the landscape and getting active, exploring architectural history or attending an event.

Hiking Trails with Distinct Themes

The Circuit des Templiers is a hiking trail that takes you to places in La Saucelle where traces of the Knights Templar have been preserved. It combines exercise with a historical perspective on these sites. The Circuit de la Résistance has a different focus: this hiking trail commemorates wartime actions, hiding places, parachute drops and nighttime supply operations in the La Saucelle area. The themes are clearly distinct—here, the surviving traces of the Templars; there, the memory of wartime events.

The Circuit Bois & Forêt focuses on La Saucelle’s location along the edge of the forest, between the forests of the Perche and an agricultural plateau. The route invites you to experience the landscape at walking pace and practice forest bathing. If you are more interested in water in the landscape, the Circuit de l’eau offers a different thematic perspective. The trail passes ponds and pools, a network of ditches leading to the rivers, a traditional Mariette and hand pumps.

The drainage network along the forest edge is also one of the landscape’s defining features: it still exists today and was created to drain cleared land. This helps explain not only the natural surroundings, but also how they have been used. The trails offer different points of interest; their names and themes can help you decide in advance which aspects interest you most.

Church, Architectural History and Summer Event

The Église Sainte-Anne offers a glimpse of several building phases. Work on its Romanesque section began between the 11th and 12th centuries; the north aisle was added to the nave in the 16th century. These dates provide a timeframe for the building’s development. Thanks to its exceptional acoustics, the church can host cultural events and concerts featuring local and national ensembles. The programs may vary.

Held every summer, the Fête des étoiles combines a themed hike with evening astronomical observation. This brings exercise and stargazing together in a single event. Exact dates may vary. If you would like to plan your stay around the Fête des étoiles, check the dates for the year in question.

Getting There and Planning Your Visit

La Saucelle is about 20 minutes from the train stations in Dreux, Verneuil-sur-Avre and La Loupe; all three are accessible from Paris-Montparnasse. This time is a guide and may vary depending on the route. Regular Rémi bus services operate to La Saucelle. Rémi+ is an on-demand shuttle that picks you up and drops you off at your home. As transport services and coverage areas may change, check the latest information before planning your trip.

A cycling loop also passes through La Saucelle: Sur les traces des Templiers – Boucle n°12. It is marked with green-and-white signs and a green marker bearing the number 12. If route conditions change, check the signage on site. Together with the different hiking themes, the loop offers another way to tailor your travel plans to your interests, without assuming a particular duration or route condition.

Discover more destinations: Donnemain-Saint-Mamès, Chapelle-Guillaume, Havelu, Bérou-La-Mulotière, Margon, Marchéville, Frazé, Boncourt.

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