Hiking across the High Vosges

Meet with your guide during breakfast.

Leaving Turckheim, we follow the Fecht, a river that rises in the steep slopes above Metzeral. Then we enter the forest and climb to higher ground via a pleasant path that leads us to the summit of Hohnack (982 m), overlooked by the ruins of a medieval castle where we can enjoy our picnic lunch.

Then we descended through meadows and alpine pastures to reach Orbey.

One of the most beautiful stages of the Vosges crossing, passing by three magnificent glacial lakes and along the ridge trail (GR5), offering splendid panoramas of the Alsatian and Vosges valleys and, in the distance, the Black Forest and the Alps. We'll cross the Schlucht Pass before reaching our mountain chalet hotel located at an altitude of 1100m.

A long stage of ridges and summits, all at altitude, between 1200 and 1316 m, with successive viewpoints over the entire Vosges Massif: sublime!

Along the way, we climbed the Hohneck (1363 m) from where we overlooked the prestigious glacial cirque of Frankenthal, a national nature reserve which contains an exceptional wet and acidic peat bog and a strange pond, with almost black waters...

The route resembles a large comma on the ridge of the Grand Ballon which takes us close to the two highest peaks of the Vosges massif: The Storckenkopf 1393 m and the Grand Ballon, culminating at 1424 m.

The summit is visible from the start, through the stubble fields, and the scenery varies between panoramic views and the forest atmosphere of the biological reserve.

Having arrived at the Grand Ballon for the lunch break, we can visually retrace our route for the week before plunging into the famous Alsatian valley of Guebwiller to return to our accommodation.

A short transfer to Osenbach (10 minutes). We are in the Florival, the "valley of flowers," and at the gateway to the Noble Valley, the most prized terroir for Alsatian wine lovers. It's a dead end for cars, but not for hikers! We'll be traversing a few small mountain passes towards Hollandsbourg Castle, a promontory overlooking Colmar and a stronghold of the Habsburg family. It is the only one of the 70 castles in Alsace to be partially renovated; only Haut-Koenigsbourg has been completely rebuilt. Since the Belle Époque, these easily accessible valleys and peaks have been a draw for local Alsatians seeking relaxation and hiking.