The Rambouillet forest has beautiful treasures to discover. During your hikes in the forest, locate the remarkable trees that are hidden there.
The interest shown in remarkable trees is not recent since the first inventory in the national forest was carried out in 1911. Age, shape, dimensions, botanical curiosity, rarity of the species, customs or associated legends... Several criteria determine the exceptional character of a tree. Discover those in the Rambouillet forest
The Chêne du Grand Veneur is located in a small point on the northern edge. The huntsman in question seems to be, according to the historian Pierre de Janti, the Count of Toulouse, legitimized son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. This tree is already mentioned in 1783, again according to de Janti. Originally, the Chêne du Grand Veneur was given for 24m in height, and a circumference of 4,17m (1,30m in diameter). Its trunk was short, and it was worth rather by the width of its crown. It is probably a Pedunculate Oak. Today it survives only by a small number of still green branches, the rest of the crown being completely dead. The trunk itself is almost completely stripped of its bark. The Chêne du Grand Veneur is living its last years, even its last months. Its access is easy from the parking lot at the Carrefour des Voleurs.
Chêne Salvat is directly accessible from the Etang de Vitry forest road. Imposing, it is 4,35m in circumference (1,35m in diameter) and just over 30m in height. It was dedicated, on June 21, 1945, to the Inspector General of Waters and Forests Salvat.
Le Chêne Géneau is on the other side of the road from Saint-Léger to Montfort. Its access is easy by the road of the Pond of Vitry, in the prolongation of the Chêne Salvat. It is also dedicated to “a forester” according to Pierre de Janti. Slightly set back, it is hardly noticeable. Its dimensions are 5,25m around (1,67m in diameter) for 30m high.
The Chêne Baudet, located in Saint-Léger-en-Yvelines is certainly the dean of the forest, and the largest since the disappearance of the Chêne de la Voûte. The original list gave it for 5,90m in circumference (1,87m in diameter), and 20m in height. Its age is estimated at more than 500 years. It is located on the Goron road, opposite the former Chêne Baudet forestry post. Unfortunately, its sanitary condition is very poor, its trunk is hollow, and the breakage of large branches, or even the trunk, is to be feared in the near future.
The Chêne Lécuyer, in plot 26, is visible from the Parc d'en Haut forest road, at the Monnereau crossroads. It is also dedicated to a forester. Again, he did not benefit from the new signage. It is 4,33m in circumference (1,37m in diameter) and 25m high.
Le Chêne Leddet was named in honor of a forest engineer, relative of Alexandre Dumas, and author of a very good map of the forest in his time. Located in the middle of a regeneration from which its top barely emerges, it has been dead for about ten years, and its access is very difficult. The original list gave it 5,06m in circumference (1,60m in diameter) for 25m in height. Even reduced to the state of a skeleton, he still looks great.
The Chêne de la Tête d'Alouette is an imposing sessile oak. It is still in excellent condition. Its access is easy from the Tête d'Alouette crossroads.
Nearby, there is a very beautiful emblazoned terminal. A regeneration cut in the plot cleared this oak, and it can now be observed and photographed with sufficient distance. The original list gave it 5,26m in circumference (1,67m in diameter) for 25m in height.
The Oak of the Queue du Pré is typically a corner foot, that is to say a tree serving as a boundary marker. It occupies a position on the edge of plot 16, on the edge of the meadows of Basses Masures, a position from which it takes its name, on the road from Poigny to Bréviaires. This Pedunculate Oak suffered serious damage following episodes of ice storms in 1978, so its condition is poor. The original dimensions are 5,49m in circumference (1,74m in diameter) for 26m in height. It would be, with the Chêne Baudet, the second oldest tree in the forest of Rambouillet.
The Chêne du Champ des Épines located along the eponymous road, at the Hauteville crossroads, is a sessile oak 4,20m in circumference (1,33m in diameter) and 26m high. Here too, we regret that it is not yet highlighted, the sign screwed to its trunk would benefit from being replaced by the signs put in place in recent years for other remarkable oaks. It is in poor condition, having had to suffer the vagaries of the weather, particularly the 1978 ice storm.
The Oak of the Duchess of Uzès pays tribute to the indefatigable horsewoman and huntress, Marie Adrienne Anne Clémentine de Crussol d'Uzès, born Rochechouart de Mortemart, Dowager Duchess of La Celle-les-Bordes (1847-1933). Let us add to these titles that she was the first woman to hold a driving license in 1897, the first PV for speeding for 15km/h instead of the 12 authorized!), and that she was also the first female Lieutenant of Louveterie.
The President's Oak, at the corner of the Parc des Chasses along the road from Gazeran to Poigny-la-Forêt, is not in excellent condition. It's beginning to feel the weight of the years, and some branches have had to be guyed. It honors Émile Loubet who was President of the Republic from 1899 to 1906, and liked to go for a walk towards this tree. Its dimensions are 4,85m around (1,54m in diameter) for 25m in height.
The Chêne de la Pocqueterie is a little more difficult to find, on the edge of the GR1 path which makes a detour to go alongside it. It is a sessile oak in very good condition, 4,62 m in circumference (1,47 m in diameter) for 22 m in height.
Named thus because it was “inaugurated” during this feast, the Oak of the Ascension stands out in the middle of a plantation of American red oaks. With its 26 m height and 5,15 m circumference, it is one of the largest trees in the Rambouillet forest. It is located between the towns of Gambaiseuil and Saint-Léger-en-Yvelines.
While the vast majority are oaks, this beech is an exception. It is neither the biggest nor the most "beautiful", but its dimensions are still very interesting: more than 25m in height, and 4,40m in circumference (1,32m in diameter). The shape of its trunk, its bearing, its satisfactory sanitary condition, are all criteria that guided our choice. In addition, the puffy shape of the trunk gives this tree a poor economic value. Its easy access, 300m from a road and on the edge of a long-distance hiking trail, makes its development feasible.
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