Sous Le Moulin

Sous le Moulin is a family campsite in Saint-Maurice-de-Gourdans, in the Ain department, about 30 minutes from Lyon via the A42 and 10 km from Meximieux-Pérouges station. Created in 1980 by the family that still runs it today, it covers 2.5 wooded hectares, a five-minute walk from the Ain river. It is rated 2 stars and aims for a calm, human-scale atmosphere, far from the big holiday villages.

The site offers pitches of about 200 m² for tents, vans, caravans and motorhomes, as well as mobile homes and a studio. The campsite distinguishes two types of guests: leisure accommodation for tourist stays and professional accommodation reserved for people travelling for work, ten minutes from the Plaine de l’Ain and the Bugey nuclear power plant.

As for opening, the campsite announces year-round welcome. Reception is open every day from 8am to 8pm in summer, then Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm in winter; guests are asked to give notice of their arrival for a weekend. The mobile homes and the studio are equipped with heating and air conditioning. Off-season, the campsite caters mainly to tradespeople, technicians and consultants on assignment, with sliding monthly rates, but also to holidaymakers passing through and motorhome travellers.

The guinguette opens only in summer, and year-round contracts for caravans or mobile homes remain a separate offer.

Markets in Meximieux and Montluel, Pérouges and Lyon 30 minutes away, bike rides on the ViaRhôna.

The campsite focuses on the essentials: washrooms, electricity on request at 10 A, water, parking included and free wifi on site. A shared laundry is accessible to all accommodation, barbecue areas are set up, and breakfast can be ordered at reception, with pastries from the village bakery and fresh bread. Pets are allowed, but only outside the rental units.

The accommodation ranges from the 13 m² Bilbao studio (one person or a couple, one 140 cm bed) to the 20 m² Bahia mobile home, then the 21 and 32 m² models that sleep up to four people in two bedrooms. All have an equipped kitchenette, a bathroom with separate toilet, a television and a terrace; electricity and water are charged by meter. For professionals, the price list offers weekly and monthly packages, with company invoicing, flexible arrivals and dedicated pitches for vans or converted vehicles.

In July and August, the campsite’s guinguette serves homemade Cambodian and Thai food (nems, samosas, loc lac, curry) as well as burgers and a snack bar from 6pm to 11pm, on site or to take away; it is open to non-guests. The campsite has no swimming pool: swimming is in the Ain river, a five-minute walk away, in season only.

At the campsite, social life revolves around a shaded pétanque court, freely accessible table tennis tables and a play area for the little ones. In summer, friendly evenings and shared meals are organised, with acoustic music at the guinguette.

The nearby Ain river is suitable for fishing and canoeing, and the ViaRhôna, an 815 km cycle route along the Rhône, makes it possible to set off by bike from the campsite. The Parc des Oiseaux in Villars-les-Dombes presents more than 250 species from the five continents; Pérouges, a medieval town ranked among the most beautiful villages of France, and the Cerdon caves complete the outings in the region. Lyon, about 30 minutes away, offers gastronomy and heritage with Vieux-Lyon and the Fourvière basilica.

The campsite also recommends local producers (farm, cheese dairy, pick-your-own vegetables) and three restaurants nearby: an inn-bar, a pizzeria and a crêperie. Markets take place on Sunday morning in Saint-Maurice-de-Gourdans, on Wednesday in Meximieux and on Friday in Montluel. Off-season, these markets, Pérouges, Lyon and the ViaRhôna remain the simplest outings for workers and holidaymakers alike.