Route:

Technical Characteristics

Level of difficulty:  Medium.  +/- 5 hours per day; Maximal difference of level: +770 m. It is important to have good physical condition and to be in good health.

Total distance: 119 km

Travel Season:  Daily departures from April 1 to October 7, 2023
Season 1: April 1 – June 2 and September 30 – October 7
Season 2: June 3 – September 29

Accommodation:

2* and 3* hotels

Alsace is a land of castles. From the north to the south of the Vosges Massif, a hundred stone sentinels watch over the plain. So many witnesses of a thousand year old history that we suggest you discover thanks to our hiking trip. This escapade in the Vosges du Nord Regional Nature Park, classified as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, will give you a range of new sensations. At the bend of shaded paths, you will discover ancient churches, castles, military remains of the Maginot Line, sandstone peaks covered with magnificent forests of fir, beech or pine, and charming little villages, with their crystal artisans or stonecutters. It is in this harmonious landscape that the spire of the Strasbourg cathedral can be seen in the distance. Highlights include the cities of Wissembourg and Saverne and the numerous castles, beautiful villages and landscapes of the regional Park of the North.

Itineraries

Day 1

Arrival in Wissembourg

Arrival in Wissembourg, installation at the hotel and free time to explore the city. As the gateway to the country and to the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park, Wissembourg will surprise you with its historical and architectural wealth, which bears witness to a flourishing past. Its Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul abbey church is the second most important Gothic building in Alsace, after the cathedral of Strasbourg.

Day 2

Wissembourg – Lembach 23 km + 749 m – 714 m

Departure to the Col du Pigeonnier and the Pfaffenschlick; ascent of the Soultzerkopf before arriving in Lembach, a small village with a great history. You can visit the four à chaux, a large work of the Maginot Line dug into a limestone hill. Its galleries, which go down thirty meters underground, housed up to 600 men and 24 officers in 1939.

Day 3

Lembach – Obersteinbach 18 km + 621 m - 571 m

On the program today: the Loewenstein, the Hohenbourg, the Fleckenstein and the Froensbourg, four imposing castles that have been camped since the 12th and 13th centuries on the strategic position of the Schlossberg. The Fleckenstein is undoubtedly the most impressive: largely troglodytic, this fortress is embedded in a rock of spectacular dimensions. From the top of this powerful witness of the history of the Holy Germanic Empire in Lower Alsace, you will enjoy an exceptional view of the Northern Vosges and the Palatinate. This evening, you will stop in Obersteinbach, a small rural village nestled in the heart of the forest.

Day 4

Obersteinbach – Niederbronn-les-Bains 16 km + 606 m - 657 m

You will go up the Steinbach valley, pass by the Schoeneck castle and climb to the Grand Wintersberg, the highest point of the Northern Vosges at 581 meters. The tower built on the top offers a panoramic view of the Northern Vosges, the Black Forest Mountains and the Palatinate. On a clear day, you can even see the spire of the Strasbourg cathedral. You will reach the thermal town of Niederbronn-les-Bains via the Dittenthal and the Camp Celtique

Day 5

Niederbronn-les-Bains – Ingwiller 21 km + 733 m - 729 m

After climbing to the Wasenbourg castle overlooking Niederbronn-les-Bains, you will cross the pretty villages of Oberbronn, Offwiller and Rothbach, until you reach Ingwiller.

Day 6

Ingwiller – La Petite Pierre 19 km + 589 m - 423 m

You will hike through beautiful forests and the Meisenbach valley to the top of the Englischberg, the "English mountain". A magnificent panoramic view opens up on the Northern Vosges. This is where the English mercenaries entrenched themselves in 1365 during the Hundred Years' War. From this summit, dotted with impressive sandstone rocks of astonishing shapes, you will follow the GR itinerary to La Petite-Pierre

Day 7

La Petite Pierre – Saverne 22 km + 659 m – 808 m

You will reach the neo-Roman Castle of Hunebourg and the ruins of the Daubenschlagfels. You will go down to Saint-Jean-lès-Saverne, before arriving in Saverne, the pretty capital of the Northern Vosges.

Day 8

Departure of Extension of Stay

Included:

• 7 nights’ accommodation
• Breakfast
• Luggage transfer between hotels
• Detailed travel documents 1 per room (route maps, route description, local attractions, important telephone numbers)
• GPS data is available
• Service hotline

Not Included:

• Meals not mentioned in itinerary
• Personal expenses
• Visitors taxes, payable locally