Chamoux offers a variety of reasons to visit: dinosaurs and prehistoric animals take centre stage at Cardoland, while forest activities and a described valley and wetland landscape provide other points of interest. A church is also named as a landscape landmark. When planning your trip, you can therefore decide whether to focus more on exhibitions and reconstructions, active experiences or nature.
Cardoland: Sculptures, Museum and Hands-on Activities
Cardoland covers 10 hectares and features more than 90 sculptures of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals. It also includes a palaeontology museum and a detailed, reconstructed cave. The museum explains the development of life on Earth through documents, fossils and reproductions. You can visit it independently; guided tours for groups are available by reservation.
For children, Cardoland offers workshops and activities such as excavation sites. Alongside the sculptures, there are therefore several ways to explore prehistory: a museum visit featuring documents and fossils, the reconstructed cave or a hands-on activity. You can take these themes into account when planning your stay.
Forest Activities and Games
Shooting Forest offers laser tag in a woodland setting. At Fun Archery, safe arrows are shot at opposing players; Gelly Ball uses gelled, biodegradable water beads. The three activities differ mainly in how they are played. This gives you a clear choice between laser tag, Fun Archery and Gelly Ball, without treating the activities as interchangeable.
Ranch des Coyotes also offers family-friendly games such as wheelbarrow races, a catapult, pedal karting and trampolining. These games are available seasonally, so check what is on offer before your visit. This will help you distinguish between the games listed here and the activities at Shooting Forest when planning your trip.
Les Anes d'Héléna offers another way to spend time in the forest: walks with a donkey. You can rent donkeys there for an hour or a day. The two rental periods give you a clear choice between a shorter outing and a full day. The address is 28 Rue Principale, 89660 Chamoux.
A Valley, Wet Meadows and a Rare Orchid Discovery
In the Type 1 ZNIEFF “Vallon et coteaux entre Chamoux et Chatel-Censoir,” Chamoux is listed as one of three communes in the Yonne department. The ecological description dated 7 January 2025 mentions a narrow valley crossed by the Ruisseau de Chamoux, as well as wet meadows, floodable woodland, ponds and some land used for agriculture. This description offers a different perspective on the area from the leisure activities: it focuses on the features of a varied valley landscape.
The monkey orchid (Orchis simia) has also been recorded in the ZNIEFF. This legally protected orchid is described as very rare in Burgundy. The discovery forms part of the area's nature description and is a specific indication of the plant life recorded there.
A Landscape Landmark and Practical Information
The church of Chamoux is also depicted as a landscape landmark in the landscape assessment by the Communauté de communes Avallon-Vézelay-Morvan. Thus, alongside the natural features, a building is identified as part of the landscape described.
Ranch des Coyotes / Shooting Forest can be reached in Chamoux via the RD 951 and Rue Principale. Les Anes d'Héléna is located at 28 Rue Principale. Check the directions for each destination before setting off; for the seasonal games, it is also worth checking what is currently available.
Discover more destinations: Marmeaux, Lixy, Malay-Le-Petit, Courlon-sur-Yonne, Pisy, Thury, Crain, Toucy.
For the broader travel overview: Yonne.
