Trails in Hauts-de-Seine

To the west of Paris, the Hauts-de-Seine play the contrast card. Nanterre, a lively prefecture, sets the tone for a department where the towers of La Défense rub shoulders with unsuspected woodland 🏙️. Boulogne-Billancourt, Courbevoie, Colombes, Asnières-sur-Seine: this urban quintet nestles in a loop of the Seine that structures the whole area. Seen from the Grande Arche, it looks like one continuous city; seen from a Meudon trail, you’d swear you were in the countryside. Here, no need to go far to get a breath of fresh air: every run in Hauts-de-Seine gets you off the asphalt in just a few strides, without ever losing sight of Paris.

The terrain often surprises newcomers, starting with Mont Valérien and its slopes that catch the calves of the least warmed-up runners. The paths then wind between residential streets and woods without ever losing their thread. Roots, packed dirt, neighborhood staircases: the ground changes with the rhythm of the streets you cross. In Issy-les-Moulineaux, Parc de l'Île Saint-Germain slips in a green interlude between two office buildings, proof that nature seeps in wherever you leave it a crack. That’s the whole spirit of the Hauts-de-Seine take on urban trail running, a practice where deer sometimes cross paths with suit-and-tie types, barely visible from the sidewalk across the street 🚇.

The Meudon Forest, extended by Fausses-Reposes, forms the area’s true green lung: broad forest lanes, wilder corners, and a few deer and foxes still finding refuge there 🌳. The Saint-Cloud National Estate adds its rolling ground and views over the capital, while Parc de Sceaux unfurls French formal avenues, more serene, designed for strolling as much as for effort. On the hillsides of Suresnes, a few rows of vines are a reminder that grapes were grown here long before the first office towers 🍇. Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health; consume in moderation. Lower down, Bas-Meudon and Île de Monsieur long hosted waterside dance halls and popular balls, before the Seine became once again a simple guiding thread between the wooded areas, to be followed along the landscaped riverbanks.

The climate stays mild year-round, shaped by an oceanic influence that softens the Île-de-France extremes. In summer, Meudon’s canopy filters the heat; in autumn, it covers the paths with slippery leaves, a real balance test for runners in a hurry 🍂. The area’s sporting memory goes back long before trail running arrived: Colombes’ Yves-du-Manoir Stadium saw Scotsman Eric Liddell win the 400 meters at the 1924 Olympic Games, a story later brought to the big screen 🏅. Another local figure, Jean-Paul Belmondo, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, was already cultivating that physical energy before turning it into movie stunts 🎬. The Château de Malmaison, in Rueil-Malmaison, completes this heritage picture with its park where Joséphine de Beauharnais grew roses and botanical curiosities—light-years away from the footfalls that now pound the neighboring trails.

The area has several key events that set the pace of the Île-de-France trail calendar. The Foulée Meudonnaise plots its route through the canopy of the forest of the same name, weaving between roots and tricky false flats. In Clamart, the CLAM TRAIL demands a tough start, with its edges of woodland and hidden relief behind the houses. Les Collines de Garches, for their part, don’t lie about their name, stringing together frank climbs for those who like to suffer a little 😅. Just next door, Yvelines and their Marly forests naturally extend the adventure for anyone still looking for more trails; farther afield, Brussels’ Sonian Forest cultivates the same spirit of nature right in the city 🌍. All that’s left is to choose your format: a short loop to ease into trail running in Hauts-de-Seine, or a spicier route if you want to head home with calves that are still talking the next day 😉.