| Pays-de-Monts National Forest | |
| Native Name: | Forêt dominale des Pays-de-Monts |
| Native Lang: | fr |
| Photo Width: | 250 |
| Map: | France |
| Map Width: | 250 |
| Relief: | yes |
| Coordinates: | 46.7308°N -1.9844°W |
| County: | Vendée |
| Region: | Pays de la Loire |
| Country: | France |
| Elevation: | 0–20 metres |
| Area: | 2280ha |
| Authority: | National Forests Office (France) |
| Forest Cover: | pine |
| Species: | Pinus pinaster Aiton |
The Pays-de-Monts national forest (French: Forêt domaniale des Pays-de-Monts), also known as the Monts forest (French: forêt de Monts), is a French national forest (French: forêt domaniale) stretching over the dunes of the northern Vendée coast.
25 km long between Fromentine (municipality of La Barre-de-Monts) to the north and Sion-sur-l'Océan (municipality of Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez) to the south, its width does not exceed 2.3km (01.4miles). It has a total area of 2280ha - La Barre-de-Monts alone totals 600ha hectares, making it the largest forest area on the Vendée coast. It also impacts on the town planning of coastal municipalities such as those of Saint-Jean-de-Monts and Notre-Dame-de-Monts by separating the waterfronts from their town centres with wooded avenues forming a "greenway" of a hundred meters width. Its altitude ranges from sea-level of the bordering coasts and marshes to a high point of 20m at the Pic de la Blet near La Barre-de-Monts.
The national forest of Pays-de-Monts was planted at the end of the 19th century under the Second Empire as part of a broader process of fixing the dunes and draining the marshes for cultivation.
The predominant tree species of the forest is the maritime pine which covers 75% of the forest but is however now experiencing a real decline. Other tree species include Stone pine, Corsican Black pine (Pinus nigra var. corsicana), Holm oak, and Montpellier maple.
According to Natura 2000, the forest is part of a larger geographical framework also encompassing the marshes of the Marais Breton, the Bay of Bourgneuf, and the island of Noirmoutier.[1]
This same geographical area was designated on February 2, 2017 as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.[2]