The Landes de Gascogne is the largest planted forest in western Europe: millions of maritime pines stretching in every direction across flat sandy ground. The terrain is almost entirely level, the air smells of resin, and the network of forest tracks and dedicated cycling routes extends for hundreds of kilometres around Mont-de-Marsan.
Several signed circuits begin within a short ride of the town centre, ranging from easy ten-kilometre family loops to full-day rides of sixty kilometres or more. Bike hire is available in town. The forest is best in spring and early autumn — in July and August the heat under the canopy can be fierce, and fire risk sometimes closes tracks in dry periods. Pack water, as watering points are sparse once you are deep in the trees.