Forêt d'Écouves, Forest in the Orne department, France

The Forêt d'Écouves is a woodland massif in the Orne, north of Alençon between Carrouges and Sées, covering about 15,000 hectares, of which nearly 8,200 hectares are state forest. It rises from 100 m to 417 m at the Signal d'Écouves, the highest point in Normandy, on the rocky ridges of the Armorican Massif. Sessile oak (24%) and beech (22%) dominate, with fir and Scots pine on the heights.

The forest is attested in a medieval Latin text of 1126 as foresta quae dicitur Escoves. Wolves were common there: from 1790 to 1798, 26 were killed in Écouves, and the last recorded capture dates from 1882. On 26 December 1999, the Lothar storm struck with gusts of 166 km/h, felling 838 hectares and 180,000 m3 of woodland; the Office national des forêts then replanted the damaged stands.

The forest's name appears in a Latin text of 1126 as foresta quae dicitur Escoves. The road network, largely laid out between the 17th and 18th centuries, meets at named junctions such as la Croix-Madame, le Chêne-au-Verdier and Médavy. Since 1990 the Trans Écouves mountain-bike event has been held on the first Sunday of September, usually starting from Radon.

The forest is crossed by three departmental roads (Alençon–Carrouges, Carrouges–Sées, Alençon–Mortrée) and many forest tracks, largely following the network laid out between the 17th and 18th centuries. The terrain is steep in places, ranging from about 100 to 417 m, so allow for climbs. The Trans Écouves mountain-bike event starts from Radon on the first Sunday of September.

The forest's name appears in a Latin text of 1126 as foresta quae dicitur Escoves. The Tourbière des Petits Riaux, in the Lande-de-Goult, holds round-leaved sundew, a carnivorous plant growing in wet ground. In August 1944, at Le Gateys on the only road, a Sherman tank was hit and Colonel Rémy's eighteen-year-old son Roger was killed; a memorial and a cemetery of 19 soldiers of the 2nd French Armoured Division stand nearby.