Bouldering camp in
Fontainebleau
France

Our camp in the Fontainebleau bouldering area is located on the edge of the small village of Noisy-Sur-Ecole. About 60 km south of Paris, the area is easily accessible by public transport or by car. The camp itself is in the middle of the forest and the first boulders are within walking distance.

You travel to the camp independently. We will be happy to put you in contact with other guests for a joint journey if you wish. Depending on where you are coming from and what you prefer, there are the following travel options:

The months of May, June and July are highly recommended for all pleasure boulderers and course climbers. Compared to the cold winter, the days are long in these months, the forest is bright and, above all, pleasantly warm and dry. Around Easter in particular, the forest is crowded, often rainy and still really cold in places. In our offer, however, we are not looking for the hardest boulders in the forest! We are looking for the interplay of physical challenge, mental strain and secluded nature in order to experience optimal relaxation and fantastic experiences. We don’t want to suffer on vacation 😉
Tension and relaxation, adrenaline and deceleration – that’s what this forest offers us in June and July.

The Fontainebleau area is one of the largest contiguous forest areas in Western Europe and a dreamlike place characterized by a mixed beech-pine forest, ferns and sandy and springy forest soil. The area with its numerous boulders on soft forest soil was formed millions of years ago from the primeval sea through sedimentation and erosion. Bouldering on the sandstone rocks of all shapes and colors is the origin of outdoor bouldering in Europe. Small forest paths lead from the parking lot into the forest and make it easy to access and discover this bouldering mecca.

You can go bouldering in Bleau all year round. However, as the summers in central France can also be very hot, the forest offers a cool retreat and numerous shady spots.

Besides bouldering, nature lovers will find plenty to enjoy in the forest of Fontainebleau – the area is also wonderful for hiking, cycling, horse riding, and simply unwinding. And if you’re in the mood for culture, there are beautiful, historically significant places to explore nearby, such as the Château de Fontainebleau or charming little villages with lots of character. On top of that, the city of Paris is, of course, a major draw – it’s easily reachable by public transport and offers countless attractions to discover.

Our concept is designed for complete beginners and newcomers just as much as for advanced boulderers and pros. The only requirements you need to bring along are a basic level of physical fitness and your own climbing or bouldering shoes. These should be individually fitted to your feet, which is why we’re unfortunately unable to provide shoes ourselves. If you need some buying advice before your holiday with us, feel free to get in touch—we’re happy to help!

So it really doesn’t matter whether you’ve never been bouldering before, already have some experience, or have been at it for years—you’re always welcome. Our goal is to pick out the right sectors and circuits for the group and make sure there’s plenty of variety. We want everyone to feel comfortable in their own zone while also being challenged just the right amount. The beauty of “Bleau” is that easy and hard problems are often right next to each other, just like in climbing gyms, so we can all climb together regardless of our individual levels. For us, this is what bouldering is all about: standing together in front of a problem, puzzling over it, and figuring out how each person can solve it in their own way. To us, bouldering is a group activity!

Generally speaking, climbing in “Bleau” tends to be quite technical. But then again, what does that even mean with 30,000 different problems out there? 😀 You’ll find absolutely everything here—overhangs, roofs, slabs, dynos, and so much more. Because of the sandstone, a lot is solved through friction—so you’ll inevitably learn, in a very natural way, how to stand well on your feet, properly weight your footholds, move with control, brace here, push there—ultimately applying everything in your climbing toolbox. The rock doesn’t always make it easy for you at first, so there’s plenty of collaborative puzzling over problems to crack them. Most of the time, you’ll find a solution in the end—and if not, our guides are sure to have a tip or two up their sleeves. Bouldering with Goodtimes is a team affair, and you’ll look back on your time together in the forest with great memories—so get ready for a fun-filled time out in nature!

The idea of our bouldering camp is to make it as easy as possible for you to practise and learn this sport. That’s why we have all the equipment you need for bouldering on site. If you prefer to use your own equipment, that is of course no problem at all. However, as we know how annoying it can be to travel by train or plane, for example, and lug a crashpad around with you, you are also welcome to use ours.

We have crash pads, chalkballs, brushes, floor mats, seating for the sectors, hammocks, tape, homemade topos and guidebooks, first aid kits and much more on site. If you have any questions, please contact us.

All you need to bring is your bouldering shoes and you can start bouldering together!

We chose 3 beautiful, cute little “gites” as accommodation for our bouldering camp in the forest of Fontainebleau. The 3 gites are located near Noisy-sur-Ecole, secluded and quiet on a plot of land in the middle of the forest.

The location of the gites offers access to more than 30,000 bouldering problems (routes) and around 250 courses (series of 30 to 80 bouldering problems of the same difficulty), accessible on foot, by bike or car. In addition to the gites, there are two glamping tents on the site.

6 bedrooms, 2 of which are in glamping tents, 4 bathrooms and a guest toilet, offer space for up to 15 people. There is open-air training equipment in the trees, hammocks and beanbags scattered around the property and plenty of equipment to pass the time after bouldering. Meals are almost always served in the garden or, in bad weather, in the main house.

Our aim was to be as close as possible to the bouldering spots and still find a nice, quiet spot. We can proudly say that we are the first and so far only bouldering camp of its kind in the Fontainebleau forest.

In the morning
Around 09:00, we serve our delicious breakfast buffet with baguettes and other French specialties. Sweet or savory, various spreads, cold cuts and a muesli bar offer everyone a balanced opportunity to get going in the morning and pack a lunch box for the day. From around 10:15 a.m., it’s off to a different bouldering sector in the Fontainebleau forest every day.

At lunchtime
As you have already filled your lunchbox at breakfast, you can decide for yourself during the day when to have lunch. At lunchtime we eat in the forest and try to extend the bouldering time by not having to return to the accommodation at lunchtime.
We spend the whole day in the bouldering area and either boulder through a course (parcour) or sections of it or work together on very specific and sometimes even famous bouldering routes and problems.

Afternoons
When our fingertips have turned a little pink or our muscles are starting to show signs of fatigue, we make our way back to camp. Now it’s time for you to unwind in a hammock, play some darts or foosball, read a book, or give our slackline a try. We also have games like Mölkky, Kubb, and plenty of board games available. So while we’re recovering from the day’s excitement and tension—or maybe mentally replaying a route or two—part of the group is already getting dinner ready, which we usually set up and enjoy together outside in front of the tiny houses.

In the evening
there is always a short briefing about the next day, area selection and weather forecast and then we end the day together or individually. Hereby in most week we will cook ourselves.  
For the first time ever, in weeks 2 and 3 of 2026, we’ll be offering a full-board package—so you won’t have to worry about a thing when it comes to meals! 
If that sounds like the perfect fit for you, you’ll find a little preview further down of what we’ll be serving up for you!

Our double rooms are available with either a large double bed or two separate twin beds. If you’re traveling solo but would still prefer a double room, that’s no problem at all—in that case, you’ll get to meet your roommate on site. We make sure that rooms are allocated same-gender unless you specifically request otherwise.

If you’d prefer to have a room all to yourself, you can book a single room for a surcharge. That way, you can always decide for yourself whether you want to join in with the other guests or simply retreat for some quiet time. Our single rooms come with either a large double bed or two twin beds—in the latter case, the second bed simply remains unoccupied.

If you would like to be accommodated together with others or are already traveling as a small group, then there is our shared room. Here we can accommodate up to 4 people. The shared room is actually a tiny house in its own right, which is then available to you. Like each of our houses, it is equipped with a bathroom and furnished by us so that you will want for nothing. You’ll sleep snugly in small elevated pods with a direct view of the greenery all around you… 

Our glamping tents are very spacious and offer room for two to three people. We have chosen the location of the tents so that you feel like you are “in the middle of nature” and yet remain part of the camp. The distances are therefore short. The bathrooms of the houses are also available to the glamping tents and since 2023 there is also an outdoor toilet and shower with a unique view of the countryside.

The glamping tents have a small terrace, chairs with coffee tables, shelves for your belongings and, of course, the tents are supplied with electricity.

In our bouldering camp, our team takes care of the daily breakfast buffet, where you can pack a lunch package for your bouldering trip each day. In the evenings, self-selected teams from the group cook for everyone else. So you’re on kitchen and dish duty about once a week—and can kick back and relax for the rest of it!
(EXCEPTION 2026: There are 2 weeks when we’ll be offering full-board catering, with an extended kitchen team on site. That means you can completely kick back and let yourself be served—live like a king in France, savior vivre! Get ready for a treat.)

In the morning, we will welcome you with a delicious breakfast buffet, including French baguettes and a muesli bar. So you don’t have to worry about a thing and just sit down at the table we’ve laid for you.

Around midday we have lunch directly on the rock. We pack our lunch boxes in the morning so that we can stay in the areas for a long time and everyone can decide for themselves when to eat.

Option
Self-Catering in W1 + W4–W8:
In the evenings, everyone cooks at least once a week as part of a rotating cooking team, taking turns preparing meals for the rest of the group.

We usually form teams on the very first evening, so that at least 2 people are always cooking for the rest of the group. If you can’t think of anything yourself, we always have recipes and cooking ideas ready. We also organize the shopping on site and weave it into the daily schedule. So in the end, you’re on cooking duty at least once a week—and presumably have the rest of the week off from it 😉 Enjoy your meal!
Option
Full board (NEW 2026):
We’ve picked out 2 weeks (W2+W3) to bring our tried-and-tested concept from Portugal, Croatia, and Spain over to France for the first time. That means 3-course dinner menus each evening—and you don’t have to worry about a thing, because we’re bringing in an extra team to the camp just for that. What will the food look like? You can get some inspiration from the gallery pictures above, or check out what we do in our other camps… because that’s exactly where we’re bringing the team over from 😉