Easy hikes and walks in Hérault

This wooden footbridge or "Passerelle d'Ingril" allows you to cross part of the wetlands bordering the étang d'Ingril. The trail rises slightly above the marshy ground, offering direct contact with the different coastal environments of Aresquiers: lagoon, marsh, sansouïre, and pine forest. This landscape is closely linked to the history of the former salt pans of Frontignan, exploited for three centuries until 1968.

This wooden footbridge or "Passerelle d'Ingril" allows you to cross part of the wetlands bordering the Étang d’Ingril. The trail rises slightly above the marshy ground, offering direct contact with the different coastal environments of Les Aresquiers: lagoon, marsh, sansouïre, and pine forest. This landscape is closely linked to the history of the old salt pans of Frontignan, exploited for three centuries until 1968.

This wooden footbridge or "Passerelle d'Ingril" allows you to cross a part of the wetlands bordering the Étang d'Ingril. The path rises slightly above the marshy ground, offering direct contact with the different coastal environments of Aresquiers: lagoon, marsh, sansouïre, and pine forest. This landscape is closely linked to the history of the old salt pans of Frontignan, exploited for three centuries until 1968.

The Étang d'Ingril belongs to the vast complex of coastal lagoons of Frontignan. Between the Bois des Aresquiers, the old salt pans and the lido that separates it from the Mediterranean, it forms a landscape where lagoon environments, sansouïres (salt marshes) and pine forests mingle. This protected natural area hosts a rich diversity of birds and plants adapted to salty environments. In summer, the pond can also experience episodes of "malaïgue", a natural phenomenon linked to the proliferation of algae and heat, which can give the water a characteristic odor.

Between the ponds of Vic and Ingril, the Bois des Aresquiers forms an astonishing coastal pine forest of nearly 97 hectares. Its peculiarity lies in the immediate proximity between the forest and the lagoon environments: the pine forest succeeds the sansouires and salt marshes before reaching the banks of the ponds. Protected by the Conservatoire du littoral since 1980, the site also has an agricultural history. After belonging to a religious community, the estate was exploited for various agricultural activities, then for vines until the 1970s. Pine plantations and a period of non-management then contributed to forming the current woodland. This history has not prevented a remarkable plant diversity: about fifteen rare or threatened species have been recorded there, including Bupleurum glauccum, a protected species discovered on the site, and Ophrys cumbulifera, an endemic Mediterranean orchid.

At the entrance to the Bois des Aresquiers, a path begins that crosses a particularly original landscape of the Languedoc coast. Between the ponds of Vic and d’Ingril, the pine forest is interspersed between the lagoons and the salty environments, a proximity to the coast that makes this Mediterranean woodland rare. The site, protected by the Conservatoire du littoral since 1980, is home to remarkable flora: about fifteen rare or threatened species have been recorded there. Among them are Bupleurum glaucum, a protected species discovered on the site, and Ophrys des Corbières, an endemic Mediterranean orchid.

Please note that ... from June to August access is subject to a fee! (Only if you arrive via the main entrance). Whether you are on a bike or on foot, for a short trip to Ste Croix, you will have to pay 5 euros to pass ... (even if you don't swim, don't go to the "guinguette", etc ...). In short ... prefer another nearby passage, or come back off-season.

The west side of the Vézoles lake runs along the bank in a peaceful forest atmosphere, with several openings onto the reservoir's waters and the surrounding reliefs.