Domaine du Houssay

The Domaine du Houssay is in Spay, a few hundred metres from the village centre and ten minutes from Le Mans. It is a 40-hectare municipal leisure park, bought in 2002 by the local authority from Renault’s former works council, and it is organised around three lakes of about ten hectares each. The municipal campsite, rated 3 stars and holder of the Camping Qualité, Qualité Tourisme and Qualidog labels, occupies a 40-hectare estate.

The main site has 68 pitches, along with five canvas bungalows, four unusual lodgings (yurt, pod, small cabins) and five chalets for 5 to 7 people, including a 32 m² model adapted for guests with reduced mobility. A separate campsite is reserved for groups.

The opening rule is clear: the campsite’s pitches and accommodation welcome guests from 15 April to 30 September, while the chalets can be rented all year round. The website says these chalets can be enjoyed in summer and winter alike, with a view over the lake. They therefore suit weekends and short breaks in the off-season, and weekly stays in July and August. The manager does state, however, that it is not possible to live on the campsite all year or to stay for long periods.

The estate stays open to the public in winter: maintained trails, an orienteering course, the skate park and fishing are accessible all year round.

Fishing open all year (except pike from the end of January to the end of April), trails, orienteering and skate park accessible in winter.

Campers have free access to washrooms and showers, including facilities adapted for guests with reduced mobility, as well as electric hook-ups, free wifi covering the washroom block and the TV room, washing machines and baby equipment. There is a motorhome service point, barbecues are allowed and a compost bin is provided. The bakery and shops are 300 metres away.

The chalets are equipped with a kitchen, a shower room, a television, sun loungers and a terrace; the 5 to 7-person models also have a dishwasher. Pets are allowed in the chalets and on the estate, provided they are kept on a lead, but they are banned from the beach. Bikes can be hired for €10 a day or €60 a week, and fishing is free during the day on the campsite’s lake for guests.

As for swimming, bathing is supervised and allowed only in July and August, from 1:30pm to 7pm, on a landscaped beach that is accessible to guests with reduced mobility thanks to the tiralo. There is no swimming pool or water slide on the estate: you swim in the lake. Entry to the park costs €2.50 for non-residents of Spay in summer, but it is free for campsite guests. A food truck, the “Houssay Beach”, serves drinks, ice creams, salads, paninis and burgers from 12pm to 8pm in July and August. Out of season, no food service is advertised on site.

The estate offers a wide range of sports for families and groups: mini golf, disc golf with 25 baskets (the largest course in the Sarthe according to the website), beach soccer, beach volleyball, a basketball court, outdoor laser tag, two boules pitches of over 300 m², a fitness trail and a fitness area. Children will find swings, slides, a zip line and spring riders.

On the water, canoes, paddleboards (from age 12), pedalos, paddlers and a tiralo, a launching device for guests with reduced mobility, are available for hire in summer. On land, rosalies (up to four people), electric skateboards and bikes let you explore the tracks.

Fishing is the other great speciality: black bass, carp, sturgeon, pike, grass carp, zander and roach live in the three lakes, on a catch-and-release basis. Carp anglers can fish at night with 24 to 72-hour passes, and an annual permit is available. Fishing stays open all year round, except for pike, which is prohibited from the end of January to the end of April.

Off-season, the trails of one to five kilometres around the lakes, the more than 50 checkpoints of the orienteering course and the skate park remain usable, and the whole site is presented as a leisure park open in summer and winter alike.