small town with woods outside of Paris?

Fontainebleau chateau is set in woods and there are actually woods right near the train station. We brilliantly went to the town on the day the chateau was closed (misread the website) and ended up eating our lunch in the woods near the train station. The chateau grounds are a public park and free and surrounded by woods and it is a nice chateau visit if you like.

The estate at Chateau Rambouillet (the sort of 'camp David' for French Presidents) is set in a large English ramble. You can see what it is like here:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2011/07/02/rambouillet-summer-palace-for-the-president-of-france/
When we visited the chateau at Ecouen which is the French Renaissance Museum we approached it through the woods.
Our visit to Conflans Sainte Honorine involved walking along the river to the next town. Not woods but a nice rural ramble and there are similar nice strolls along the Marne.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2015/11/18/conflans-sainte-honorine-easy-day-trip-from-paris-with-big-payoff/

Right on the edge of Paris are the Albert Khan gardens with a beautiful Japanese garden, and a small "forest" to wander through.

Here's a link to my photo album from a recent visit. http://tinyurl.com/gp5chhy

Also the Bois de Vincennes and the Parc Floral are very close by.

I also liked St. Germain en Laye - which is a quick and easy trip on the RER A. It's nice and elegant small town, with a Chateau and gardens with a gorgeous view towards Paris.

Ahh good point both Bois de Bologne and Vincennes are right on the metro in Paris. And the Albert Kahn is a little visited charming place.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/monday-in-the-bois-with-ed/
There are also snapshots in the Paris section of the photo journal of the Albert Kahn gardens under 'secret gardens'.

Thanks so much to both of you. We've never been to the Bois de Vincennes or the Bois de Boulogne so we'll give them a try, in addition to St. Germain en Laye. Thank you!!

The Bois de Vincennes is quite extensive with lots of footpaths and riding paths, also a very pretty lake with swans and such. The nearby chateau is interesting and historic. My impression is that Vincennes is less crowded than Bois de Boulogne, but neither is exactly a wilderness. I doubt if you could find a true "small town" anywhere within an hour of Paris, especially on a rail line.

A place I really liked to walk around was the park around Abbeye des Vaux de Cernay east of Rambouillet. There is the Balodobus from Rambouillet (SNCF station) or St-Rémy-Lès-Chevreuse (RER B station), a kind of hoho-bus touring through the Chevreuse Valley, but only on Sundays and Holidays. Rambouillet is indeed nice, more easy to get to and certainly to consider, but the atmosphere of the abbey is to my opinion better, quieter, more restful and for that I think worth a try. Visted the place with the car a few years ago, so if interested see how much time you will need to get there with public transport. There is a restaurant, terraces for a drink and a hotel at the site. http://www.abbayedecernay.com/

Baladobus (from balade – walk) is a shuttle bus for strolls in places around Paris, unfortunately the website is only in French. http://www.parc-naturel-chevreuse.fr/destination-parc/panorama-se-deplacer-acces/baladobus

There are lots of small towns near Paris; here are a couple:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/crecy-la-chapelle-a-touch-of-venice-in-the-parisian-countryside/
Love Crecy but it is flooded at the moment
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/moret-sur-loing-for-charm-always-follow-the-impressionists/
There are lot of nice walks from one town to another often along the Marne or Seine or Oise.

A good source of information is Simms book 'An Hour from Paris' -- the directions are not always very good but the destinations have mostly been quite lovely.

Chantilly!!!