Ermenonville Forest

The national forest includes eight communes: Mont-L'Évêque [fr], Borest, Fontaine-Chaalis, Montlognon, Baron, Ermenonville, Ver-sur-Launette, and Mortefontaine.

[1][5] The forest occupies hills ranging from 70 to 120 metres (230 to 390 ft) in altitude, and includes occasional shallow ponds and rivers.

Some such formations have names: the Pierre Sorcière (Witch Rocks), the Bruyères de Frais Vent (Fresh Air Heath), and the Grès Sainte-Marguerite (St. Margaret Sandstone).

No railway lines serve the forest itself; the Plessis-Belleville station is only 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Ermenonville, but no foot-accessible routes connect it to the town.

[7] Several bus lines serve localities on the forest outskirts, including Senlis, Othis-Beapré, Beaumarchais, Plailly, and Pontarmé.

In the course of various royal land grants to various abbeys in the medieval period, the kings of France always reserved hunting rights, especially for large game.

The princes of Condé, who held this captaincy from 1674, built a dense star-shaped route network, defined in the letters patent of 25 January 1718 and 30 November 1721.

The previous March, a tornado had caused more significant damage, as did large-scale sampling for military use during World War II.

[1]: 4-5 On 3 March 1974, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operating Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashed in the Ermenonville Forest after its rear baggage door opened in mid-flight, explosively decompressing the aircraft and killing all 346 passengers and crew.

[1]: 6-7 Due to its dry sandy soils, heather undergrowth, and pine needle litter, the Ermenonville Forest is subject to frequent wildfires.

To limit fire spread, the forest roads have been laid out for accessibility to emergency vehicles and are wide enough to serve as firebreaks; red oaks have been planted along the edges of resinous conifer plots; and the ONF actively removes fire-carrying undergrowth.