The Yon river, the green lung of the Valley!
Enjoy an excursion along the water. The Yon River offers you an incredible green break in the heart of the Vendée. So, follow the meanders of the Yon, through the department, starting by heading north. The Yon has its source in the Vendée bocage. The river runs through the department, outlines picturesque natural sites, and flows into the Lay.
Our journey begins at the Moulin Papon dam. The immense body of water is an ideal place for sports or for a walk. Downstream, the Yon crosses La Roche-sur-Yon. It is also a rocky promontory overlooking the river that gave its name to the city. The Yon passes through beautiful panoramas formed by the imperial architecture and the natural spaces of this flower-filled city.
The Moulin de Rambourg
The river continues its journey south. It crosses the town of Nesmy, and allowed the Rambourg mill, the only visitable water mill in the Valley, to be irrigated since its construction, and until 1981, when its activity definitively stopped.
The river continues its course towards the town of Rives de l'Yon, and descends to Piquet. Carved into the granite rock by water, the natural site offers a breathtaking spectacle to visitors in search of adventure. Indeed, the water has drawn, in an incredible granite chaos, the famous Gargantua Pots. The path that borders the river allows you to let yourself go in the heart of a natural parenthesis.
Finally, still to the south, the Yon joins the coastal river, the Lay, to flow into the Atlantic Ocean at the Baie de l'Aiguillon.
Did you know?
The Yon river measures 55,7 km long from its source, at the limit of the municipalities of Ferrière and Saint Martin des Noyers, to the Lay in which it flows.