The Park's tourism strategy which was established in 2018 integrates the development of a network of sites in an impressive and meaningful way for family customers. The development of the geosites aims to unveil the mountain-like character of the territory, unusual for the region and an unexpected surprise for the visitors.
The blue lagoon, future fashionable destination?
The blue lagoon in the Sillé forest, is a development project being studied by the Park: an old quarry named "the blue lagoon". Today too dangerous to visit, access to the sites is prohibited to the public. It is currently property of the state managed by the National Forestry Office but the site will be purchased by the Department of Sarthe (during a procedure of 12 to 18 months in length) and is being considered for development, a study of which is currently underway.
In November 2020, under the chairmanship of Laurent Marting and in the presence of elected officials and technicians, the 1st Steering Committee took place to present the main orientations of this project proposed by the Park and the tourism engineering company Atemia. The planned developments will allow the lagoon to be circumnavigated via a floating platform and a Himalayan footbridge. Along the way, there will be agility games and heritage discovery stops. A relaxation area will invite the visitor to take a coffee break and the little ones to have a bit of play-time.
As an option, an art-nature course and a “via ferrata” (protected climbing route) with a zip line crossing the lagoon is also planned. The thinking behind the development also focuses on the connection of the Blue Lagoon to its close environment (Sillé beach, the Saut du Cerf in the forest, the town of Sillé) by developing the existing routes and creating a new cycle and pedestrian route.
The project, which is currently under construction, will need to move forward through consultation with the upcoming establishment of working groups. The management of the site will be studied in detail to limit the operating costs that could fall on the communities.