Saint-Jean-De-Monts: Discover the Beach, Forest and Trails

Discover Saint-Jean-De-Monts through its distinctive coastal features, forest and trails, each offering a different focus. For planning your trip, notable places and activities provide clear points of reference: a 400-metre-long wooden pier over the water, water activities, a viewpoint and a route that brings together several landscapes. You can decide whether you would rather explore the area through its distinctive Estacade, its forest and dune trails, or the combination of beach, forest and marshland.

Beach, Water and the Estacade

The Estacade de Saint-Jean-de-Monts is a 400-metre-long wooden pier over the water and a landmark of the town. Its length, material and location make it a striking structure, distinct from the natural landscapes of beach, dunes and forest. If you are interested in a destination’s notable structures, the Estacade offers a specific point of reference alongside the landscape routes.

Visitors to Saint-Jean-de-Monts can sail, kitesurf and kayak. These activities give your stay a direct connection to the water, while the trails offer other landscape-focused experiences. Providers and conditions may change; if a particular activity is important to your plans, check the specific options in advance.

Forest and Trails

Saint-Jean-de-Monts has 750 hectares of state forest. Visitors can hike and go trail running on dune trails. The Sentier d'Eole runs through the Pays de Monts state forest to the Buzelière viewpoint, where the forest and beach can be seen together. Along the Sentier d'Eole, the trail offers families with children aged six to twelve numerous challenges. The viewpoint and the family activities for this age group give this trail its own distinctive features.

The Sentier de la dune au marais offers a different experience. The five-kilometre route passes through the municipalities of Notre-Dame-de-Monts and Saint-Jean-de-Monts. Along the way, visitors experience the beach with the Pont d’Yeu, the dune belt with its delicate flora, the state forest and the vast Marais Breton Vendéen. While the Buzelière viewpoint on the Sentier d'Eole brings forest and beach together, this route covers several landscape areas over a specified distance.

Another option is the Boucle coquillages et pommes de pin. It starts at the Espace des Oiseaux and connects the fine-sand beach with the Pays de Monts state forest. The loop is accessible year-round and provides access to the Pays de Saint Jean de Monts cycling trails. Its starting point, year-round accessibility and access to cycling trails add further features to the beach-and-forest route. If you would also like to consider cycling trails when choosing a route, this access is a useful point of reference.

Discover more destinations: Mouzeuil-Saint-Martin, Fougeré, Bournezeau, L'Orbrie, Mortagne-Sur-Sèvre, Grues, L'aiguillon-Sur-Mer, Le Givre.

View the broader travel overview: Vendée.