French national parks: the rules on dogs, bivouacking, fires and drones

A dog on a lead is allowed in the core of the Parc national des Cévennes [1], but banned from the core of the Parc national des Écrins, even on a lead [2]. The rules change from one national park to the next, and that is by design: each park has its own regulations, set by decree and tailored to its habitats [3]. So it pays to know them before you set off, park by park.

The core, where the rules apply

A French national park has two zones. In the core (cœur), on land or at sea, each park’s own regulations govern human activities, and everyone has to follow them: landowners, professionals and passing visitors alike. In the surrounding area (aire d’adhésion), unless a local decision says otherwise, no special environmental regulations apply: the communes (municipalities) there simply commit, through the park’s charter, to sustainable development [3].

In practice, you can tell where the core begins. In the Cévennes, for example, road signs reading ‘Parc national des Cévennes, zone de protection’ (protected zone) mark it on the roads, signs or waymarks mark it on the paths, and IGN maps, France’s official topographic maps, show it as a broad, continuous green band [4]. The parks’ rangers have the power to record offences [5].

Why do the rules differ? Each park adapts them to its local constraints. The Vanoise massif has a mountain hut roughly every three hours’ walk; the parks on the Mediterranean coast, by contrast, are very busy, rarely remote and surrounded by places to stay [5]. Hence bivouacking restricted to the surroundings of the huts in the first case, and banned in the second.

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Dogs: banned from the mountain cores

This is the rule that surprises visitors most. In the four high-mountain national parks, the dog stays at home, however small, friendly and well trained it may be: its presence risks disturbing the ecosystem, from destroyed clutches of eggs to transmitted germs, explains the Parc national de la Vanoise [6]. Elsewhere, dogs are allowed, with conditions.

Bivouacking: set hours and distances

Camping proper (camping sauvage) is strictly banned in national park cores, by day and by night. Bivouacking, on the other hand, is possible almost everywhere, but only in certain places and at certain times. To the parks, a bivouac means one night under the stars or in a compact tent too low to stand up in, pitched in the evening and taken down in the morning, with no vehicle, no table or awning, and no staying several nights in the same spot [5].

Outside the core, in the surrounding area, bivouacking is allowed, except in communes that have banned it [5]. For the rules that apply everywhere in France, from the coast to protected sites, see our article on what French law says about wild camping.

Fire: banned, stoves sometimes tolerated

On this point, the national parks portal is clear: fires are banned in national parks, and it advises bringing a stove [5]. Each park repeats the message in its own way. No fires in the Écrins, to prevent wildfires and damage to the soil [2]; in the Mercantour, fires are banned as a general rule [7]; in the Parc national de Port-Cros, no fires and no cigarettes in natural areas [11].

Stoves come under finer rules. In the Cévennes, the park’s decree bans lighting fires anywhere other than in dwellings, but people who bivouac may still use portable stoves, except in certain places and at certain times of year, because of the fire risk [1]. The Parc national de forêts, France’s newest national park, tolerates self-contained portable stoves when bivouacking, within the limits of prefectoral orders, the local fire rules issued by the prefect of each département [9], and the Parc national de La Réunion, on the French island in the Indian Ocean, only allows fire on permanent masonry hearths and on portable gas stoves [12].

Drones and overflights: generally, no

The Mercantour is the most explicit: flying drones is banned throughout its core, and only the park’s director can grant an exemption, exceptionally, for an authorised professional activity. Motorised aircraft are also banned from flying lower than 1,000 m above the ground there, rescue services excepted [7]. Same rule in the Écrins, where all motorised overflights below 1,000 m above the ground are banned [2].

In the Vanoise, the rules ban the use of any object, device or craft in the airspace for sport or leisure, leisure drones included; even unpowered flight, paragliding for instance, is only allowed below 1,000 m in set zones and periods [6]. Elsewhere, overflights need permission. In the Calanques, motorised overflights are among the activities that cannot take place without the park’s prior approval [10]. In the Pyrenees, permits for motorised overflights and for photography and filming are applied for online, but drones are excluded from this procedure: a drone pilot cannot use it [8].

Picking: flowers, mushrooms, minerals

• Vanoise: no picking or collecting of flowers, fruit, insects or minerals [6].
• Écrins: no picking or collecting of animals, plants, minerals or fossils; traditional activities, such as picking a few plants and fruits for family use, carry on [2].
• Mercantour: capturing, picking and gathering are banned, except for a limited list of plants for medicinal or culinary use, with set seasons and quantities [7].
• Pyrenees: no picking and no collecting [8].
• Cévennes: a list of sensitive species may not be picked, and the park’s board regulates the rest [1].
• Forêts: picking is allowed for household use; mushrooms up to 5 litres per day per person, for the listed species, such as ceps, chanterelles or morels [9].
• Calanques: taking anything from the natural environment requires the park’s permission [10].

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These rules do not close the parks; they shape how we enjoy them: you come on foot, by day, and leave the flowers where they grow. A well-packed rucksack, the dog left with friends if need be, and some of the finest paths in France are all yours.

Gallery: the eight parks of mainland France

One real photo for each of the eight national parks in mainland France, with the rule that stands out most there, published under free licences on Wikimedia Commons by their authors, who are credited under each image. Tap or click a photo to enlarge it.

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Nolwenn Bastide

Trail running, snow, water, nature and destinations

Nolwenn covers trail running, snow, water, nature and destinations for Outfarer. Curious about everything, from meteor showers to night-train timetables, she has a knack for unearthing the one detail that changes everything, and putting it in a single sentence.

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