[fried]

Don't blame me if there's an accident and it takes all day!

[BrutusTheBear]

Heh Ged 
Been quite a few years since I’ve been and I am under the impression that I’d find the piles of  at the more popular areas depressing. However, pre kids etc... I went there a lot.  Always found if you were prepared to walk or drive away from the obvious spots you could avoid the hordes. Gros Sablons and Rocher Fin come to mind immediately as being quiet areas with class problems.

[lagerstarfish]

Easter is a busy time, but the crowds are definitely concentrated around specific areas

We went to Buthiers Canard right in the middle of the busy period at Easter last year and I had the crag to myself while the rest of the family did less scary stuff

[Ged]

Heh Ged 
Been quite a few years since I’ve been and I am under the impression that I’d find the piles of  at the more popular areas depressing. However, pre kids etc... I went there a lot.  Always found if you were prepared to walk or drive away from the obvious spots you could avoid the hordes. Gros Sablons and Rocher Fin come to mind immediately as being quiet areas with class problems.

Bloody hell, where were all you naysayers when I was asking where to go for my Easter holiday! 

[sdm]

Always found if you were prepared to walk or drive away from the obvious spots you could avoid the hordes. Gros Sablons and Rocher Fin come to mind immediately as being quiet areas with class problems.

The main sandy area of Rocher Fin is anything but quiet, especially after a shower. If it wasn't for the hoardes, it would be the perfect area with a young family: open, flat and sandy, with good easy circuits and a handful of decent harder things.

If you go down in to the trees, you can get away from the crowds but it might not be so family friendly.

[tomrainbow]

Hi Ged,

I'd second oiseux as a great off the beaten track yet reasonably accessible area. We also really liked Rocher de la Reine, some great problems, lovely ambiance and Hotline is there! Franchard Sablons is nice although slow to dry, the far end of Isatis (around Iceberg) is quiet with some great problems and JA Martin around L'Etrave is now very open and sunny as a lot of trees have been felled.

Hopefully Bonny isn't mobile yet. We lost Kit on the forest near Sabots when he was 1 or 2. It was only 5 minutes or so but felt like a lifetime. Now he's 14, it would be a blessing!

As you would probably guess with me, I much prefer the less well known, off the beaten track areas. Of the more frequented, Buthiers and Cuisiniere would be my pick.

[joel182]

I think Canche aux Merciers is a really great area for easier circuits - the boulders tend to be smaller with good landings, some decent boulders in the low 7s and very child friendly.

[Hugh]

Petit Bois was excellent for kids and generally dead quiet when we were there last summer. Nice and shady if it's a bit hot too.

[SA Chris]

I think Canche aux Merciers is a really great area for easier circuits - the boulders tend to be smaller with good landings, some decent boulders in the low 7s and very child friendly.

Sadly a bit too child friendly, when we went there there was a busload of school kids all over the place. If there are busses in the car park, might be best to head over the road to Bois Rond (I think it's just across from there?)

[fried]

Rocher de la reine can be quiet when Bois Rond and Canche aux merciers are heaving. Canche is also always busy on Wednesday afternoon as it's the local schoolkids sports day.

I like Rocher Fin but I wouldn't want to push a pushchair there.

After nearly 10 years in the forest the only  I've seen was under a slab at Buthiers Canard.....Lagers! Mind you I avoid anywhere busy at Easter.

[SA Chris]

Canche is also always busy on Wednesday afternoon as it's the local schoolkids sports day.

Could well have been then! We were the only people at Bois Rond when we went.

[Andy W]

Rocher de la reine can be quiet when Bois Rond and Canche aux merciers are heaving. Canche is also always busy on Wednesday afternoon as it's the local schoolkids sports day.

I like Rocher Fin but I wouldn't want to push a pushchair there.

After nearly 10 years in the forest the only  I've seen was under a slab at Buthiers Canard.....Lagers! Mind you I avoid anywhere busy at Easter.

I can't believe you have only seen one shit, my perception was that around Isatis if you walked out of the bouldering area, lots of boulders had turds and paper under them, this was last year, but really only reinforces what has been happening for years. I stayed on the Cuvier bivouac site the last night before I shut, the party was lets say quite good, but the shit around the site was not. I've stayed many time at the bivouac at Bourron-Marlotte and couldn't believe the people that wandered of into the woods with toilet paper even thought there was a toilet, admittedly a pit of horror, provided. My pessimistic view view is that the freedom of the forest will be curtailed in the future.

[Ged]

One more question. There seems to be dozens of guidebooks to choose from. Any suggestions?

[T_B]

7&8s + Jingo Wobbly Fun Bloc combo

[tommytwotone]

2 x Montchausse guides - the purple one and the "off piste" one.


A good close scale map of the area is useful too, helpful if you're trying to find parking areas and I guess trails for running.

[andy_e]

The géoportail app is useful for this.

[Bradders]

7&8s + Jingo Wobbly Fun Bloc combo

Going at Easter I'd advocate getting the Top Secret Jingo Wobbly over Fun Bloc; Top Secret (whilst by no means detailing areas that are actually secret in any way) will help you avoid the classic areas, which I'd think will be rammed.

[nai]

I went to Font at Easter with the family for about seven years until recently, we went to Sabot every year, sometimes more than once, and the only time it was ever really bad was on an Easter Monday.  Sure there's a number of folk there but mostly holidaying famillies in the same boat so it's a beach like vibe, lots of kids pottering around and a few locals just getting on with things and often dispensing good beta, although almost inevitable that a UK uni group will turn up.

We went to Cuvier and Isatis once each which was enough for both venues to be blackballed

JA Martin, Canche and Canon were all areas that suited everyone

Diplodocus and Potala are good family venues but with not much to do for the 7s climber but some nice low grade circuits.

Never got on with the Montchauuse guides, seem quite dated now.  The JW guides are great,  I have both but have mostly visited the areas in Fun Block.

[joel182]

7&8s + Jingo Wobbly Fun Bloc combo

Going at Easter I'd advocate getting the Top Secret Jingo Wobbly over Fun Bloc; Top Secret (whilst by no means detailing areas that are actually secret in any way) will help you avoid the classic areas, which I'd think will be rammed.

I'd probably go with Top Secret too. Should probably just be called Fun Bloc 2, since it includes some of the forest's most famous areas like Cuvier Rempart, Petit Bois and Dame Jouanne.

[BrutusTheBear]

Heh Ged 
Been quite a few years since I’ve been and I am under the impression that I’d find the piles of  at the more popular areas depressing. However, pre kids etc... I went there a lot.  Always found if you were prepared to walk or drive away from the obvious spots you could avoid the hordes. Gros Sablons and Rocher Fin come to mind immediately as being quiet areas with class problems.

. 

Bloody hell, where were all you naysayers when I was asking where to go for my Easter holiday! 

. Ha! I love Font can’t wait to get back there one day...  I think you’ll have a cracking time...  Sounds like Rocher Fin has gained popularity..  Gros sablons will still be quiet though I reckon.

[tim palmer]

Mont simonet is a nice smaller venue which is relatively easy to get to and has a few nice low 7s

[Ged]

Just back from the trip and HD a great time. Thanks for all the tips. If anyone is in a similar situation in the future, hope anybof this helps.

Over Easter weekend the place was pretty busy, but it was easy enough to escape the massive crowds. As long as you're OK with sharing the place with a few others, I don't think it was a problem. Sabots, 95.2, isatis and cuvier were the only properly busy places we found.

JA Martin was great, the orange cirvuit looked superb and enough 7s to keep me happy. Some of the better hard stuff is in the sun though.

Cuisiniere, whilst busy, felt OK.  Again, great oranges and the harder stuff there blew my mind.

Franchard hautes-plaines was a nice slightly more off the beaten track venue. Not loads of good 7's,but enough for a day. Wish I'd found the bloc.fr problem earlier in the day. I wandered over to isatis and it was absolutely rammed whilst we had hautes-plaines in peace and quiet.

On the last day we stumbled across restant de long rocher, just because it was the nearest venue to where we were staying. I had the Red circuit to myself, which is a really good circuit. A bunch of good looking 7's and good looking blue and orange circuit too

We will be back