Camping Municipal du Bac

Camping du Bac is on rue du Port in Ménil, a village in the south of the Mayenne, on the left bank of the river and right on the towpath. Château-Gontier and its shops are about 5 km away, Laval 38 km and Angers about sixty kilometres. The site is run by the commune and takes its name from the nearby ferry, the last on the Mayenne still worked by hand, which links Ménil to Daon and Coudray.

Rated 2 stars and awarded the Home Vélo label, the site offers 33 shaded pitches, one of them adapted for people with reduced mobility, five chalets of 35 m² for 2 to 6 people (one of them wheelchair accessible), two bivouac tents for touring cyclists and a gîte set up in the former lock-keeper’s house, which sleeps up to 8 people with three bedrooms and a private garden. The Vélo Francette route, between Ouistreham and La Rochelle, passes in front of reception.

As for opening, the commune distinguishes two regimes. The chalets and the gîte can be booked all year round, with heating off-season, and nightly, weekend and weekly rates are published for the quiet periods. The pitch area, the bivouac, the guinguette and the ferry operate from April to September: in 2026, outdoor rates run from 10 April to 30 September. Off-season, the place is therefore mainly suited to short rental stays, cyclists passing through and weekends by the water.

Walks or bike rides on the Vélo Francette towpath, Thursday market in Château-Gontier, museums in Laval and Cossé-le-Vivien, Angers 1 hour away.

The pitches are shaded and have free wifi, and the 10-amp hook-up is charged as an extra. The basic rate covers two people and one vehicle; tents, caravans and motorhomes are accepted, as are pets for a small extra charge. The washrooms are accessible until 10pm, with hot showers, and the site states that booking must be made at least 48 hours in advance.

The five chalets have a fitted kitchen, two bedrooms, a covered terrace and a television. They remain available all year round and are heated off-season, which makes them usable for an autumn or winter weekend. The gîte in the former lock-keeper’s house, also open all year round, suits groups of 4 to 8 people. The two bivouac tents, with a bed, lighting and a socket, are reserved for cyclists and have no cooking equipment.

For cyclists, reception lends a repair kit, stamps route books and rents city bikes for adults and children by the day. A neighbouring guinguette, open from April to September, serves lunch and dinner on a terrace by the water. There is no swimming pool: leisure is enjoyed on the river, with pedalos, canoes and paddleboards for hire at reception, at about €8 an hour for the boats. Outside the season, only the rental accommodation and its facilities are open.

The river remains the main attraction. From the campsite you can hire a pedalo, a canoe or a paddleboard, fish from the banks and cross the Mayenne on the hand-operated ferry, from €1.50 for a pedestrian, cyclist or animal, but without a car. Crossings run from April to September, six a day in low season and seven in July and August, but the ferryman suspends the crossing in strong wind (over 40 km/h), flood or intense heat.

The flat, car-free towpath lets you reach Château-Gontier on foot or by bike. The blue-stone town holds its market on Thursday; 5 km away, the Refuge de l’Arche takes in wild and domestic animals and is a good family visit. Further afield, Craon castle, 27 km away, the Robert Tatin museum in Cossé-le-Vivien and Sainte-Suzanne, a village listed among the most beautiful in France 45 minutes away, can each be visited in half a day.

An hour’s drive away, Angers offers its castle and the Apocalypse Tapestry, while Terra Botanica, a park devoted to plants, is 35 minutes away. Laval is home to the Museum of Naïve Art and the Perrine gardens. These outings also suit the off-season, when the rental accommodation is the only accommodation open. In summer, the guinguette and the V and B Fest’ festival in Château-Gontier round out the programme.