Green Lane and Trail Riding
Green Lane and Trail Riding in France
We are often asked what the legal situation is for green lane & trail riding in France – here is an outline of the rules and regulations and some information on how to explore the trails in our area.
“With the exception of the 7 national parks (Zone Centrale) you can ride any lane or track, wide enough for a car, that does not display a no entry sign”
Codever is the organisation which protects the interests of all users of green lanes, apart from ramblers and hunters who have their own organisations. If you join Codever http://www.codever.fr they will send you a useful booklet which explains where you can legally ride.
The Codever booklet shows the various conforming signs – the homemade sign nailed to a tree or fencepost isn’t legal. Riding off-piste, ie. where there are no tracks, is strictly forbidden. Codever advises that the track should be wide enough for a car, but this is not a hard and fast rule.
Which maps to use:
In most parts of rural France there are many tracks running off most roads but these often turn out to be dead ends. You can use the IGN bleu Carte de Randonnee 1:25000 maps below which fan out from RidersRest. These maps are compatible with GPS. These maps include all ground details from major routes to the smallest pathways, even barns, woods and isolated trees, rivers and springs. Every part of France is covered by the series.
These are the maps local to RidersRest:
2132 E – Chamberet
2133 E – Treignac
2232 O – Bugeat
2233 O – Correze