Haute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Natural Park

Logo of the park

Location of the park

The Regional Nature Park Upper Chevreuse Valley ( fr. Parc naturel régional de la Haute Vallée de Chevreuse ) is located in the French departments of Yvelines and Essonne in the region of Ile-de-France .

The park extends roughly between the places

Plaisir in the north,
Bures-sur-Yvette in the east,
Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines and Rambouillet to the south as well
Houdan to the west.

Park management

Entrance to the Maison du Parc in Chevreuse

The nature park was founded on December 11, 1985 and today covers an area of around 63,000 hectares. The park administration with the "Maison du Parc" is based in the Château de la Madeleine in Chevreuse ( 48 ° 42 ′ 38 " N , 2 ° 2 ′ 31" E, coordinates: 48 ° 42 ′ 38 " N , 2 ° 2 ′ 31 ″ O ). 51 municipalities (as of January 1, 2018) with a catchment area of around 115,000 inhabitants form the park, other municipalities outside of the park are associated with the nature park as "access points". 48.710555555556 2.0419444444444

Larger places in the park

In the Yvelines department

In the Essonne department

Gif-sur-Yvette

View of the town of Chevreuse
Town hall of Le Mesnil-Saint-Denis
Le Perray-en-Yvelines Town Hall
Town hall of Les Essarts-le-Roi

Magny-les-Hameaux town hall
Rambouillet Castle
Vaugien Castle in Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse
Church square in Gif-sur-Yvette

landscape

The territory of the natural park is endowed with a remarkable historical , architectural and ecological heritage. Churches , abbeys , castles , mansions , forests , parks and gardens offer a wide variety of experiences for visitors. Fields and forest areas surround the villages and create a contrasting landscape. The valleys cut deep by the rivers alternate with the agricultural plains and the wooded hills. The preservation of this park and its fragile infrastructure is hampered by its relative smallness and the location within the catchment area of Paris . The dominant objective is therefore to reconcile advancing urbanization with the preservation of the environment and the rural population.

Largest forest area

Forêt du Rambouillet (approx.20,000 ha )

River valleys

Catchment area of the Seine , to the north and east, with the tributaries
- Remarde ,
- Yvette and
- Mauldre .
Catchment area of the Eure , in the south and west, with the tributaries
- Drouette and
- Vesgre .