Discover the Pays de Dabo: cave dwellings and the Roman fort

Discover the sights around the Rocher de Dabo, a historic site dating back to Celtic, Roman and medieval times. This walk takes you to two sites whose history (both ancient and more recent) is closely linked to their unusual geographical location.

Details

233171
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.79 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 318 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 310 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 442 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 246 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Access: Neustadtmuhle on the D45. Park in the car park opposite the Château restaurant. To the right of the Sainte-Odile Chapel.

(S/E) Head north on the Spenglerloch forest road for a few metres, then immediately take the hairpin bend to the right (marked with a yellow ring).

(1) Turn left to complete the loop around the village of Haselbourg.

(2) At the end of the loop, at the foot of the statue, take the small Rue des Faucons opposite, which leads to a path that forms a large S.

(3) At Falkenfels, leave the path and follow the signs to the right. Return to the path, then turn right or follow the cliff and take the small steep path and steps to reach the cave dwellings.

(4) From the cave dwellings, take the path below (yellow ring) and climb up to Rue de l'Ermite, then Rue du Falkenberg.

(5) Turn right (at the restaurant) onto Rue de Lasbach.

(6) At the intersection with Rue du Bélvédère, turn right. Then turn left onto the path. Pass the rocks known as the "mouillées" (wet rocks) and continue along the path until you reach the sign.

(7) At the second troglodyte site, enjoy the location and return the same way you came.

(8) Take the path on the left (yellow ring) towards Baerenloch. The path winds through a deep forest until you return to the car park.

(9) Continue right on the forest path, ignoring all paths that branch off to the right or left, to return to our starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 246 m - Car park opposite the castle restaurant - Close to the - Zorn (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 1.03 - alt. 400 m - Turn left for the Haselbourg loop
  3. 2 : km 1.83 - alt. 401 m - Opposite on the Chemin de Faucons
  4. 3 : km 2.98 - alt. 428 m - Falkenfels on the right
  5. 4 : km 3.17 - alt. 384 m - Houses built into the rock
  6. 5 : km 4.02 - alt. 442 m - On the right, Rue de Lasbach.
  7. 6 : km 4.94 - alt. 417 m - First street on the right
  8. 7 : km 6.38 - alt. 432 m - Troglodyte site
  9. 8 : km 7.71 - alt. 399 m - Take the path on the left
  10. 9 : km 9.74 - alt. 265 m - Turn right onto the path
  11. S/E : km 10.79 - alt. 246 m - Car park opposite the castle restaurant

Notes

Most of the trails used are maintained and marked by the Club Vosgien, which has 120 sections spread across departments 54-57-67-68-88-90. To support them, feel free to join one of the sections near you.
Village of Schaeferhof: grocery store
Food available at the restaurant opposite the car park.

Worth a visit

(S/E) Sainte-Odile Chapel: Jean-Jacques Bernauer, a miller in Neustadtmuhle, had the chapel built in 1740, the date engraved on the lintel above the entrance. The neighbouring villages were placed under the protection of Saint Odile, patron saint of Alsace.

(1) Haselbourg: circular street around the oppidum. This village could be described as "ring-shaped". The main street runs all the way around a hill called "Fort-romain". During the Hallstatt period (early Iron Age), this site was an important fortified settlement, probably the only one in the Sarrebourg region. In 52 BC, Haselbourg became a Roman camp. It was used to guard the Roman road through the Zorn valley. It remained a Roman castle for three centuries. In the 5th century, the Germanic invasion gave the country its language, a dialect still used today. Destroyed in 1523, the village was rebuilt by the Huguenots from 1528 onwards. After being sold by Charles III in 1595, the Protestants were forced to renounce their faith or leave the region. In 1632, during the Thirty Years' War, Haselbourg was completely destroyed during the Swedish invasion. In 1661, the village was annexed by France.

(3) The Falkenfels: Falcon Rock, offering a breathtaking view of Dabo Rock, Ballertstein and Schaeferhof.

(4) Cave dwellings: These date from well before the construction of the first houses in Hellert in 1789. Cave dwellings were common in our region until the mid-19th century. They were restored in 1993.

(5-6) Les Roches Mouillées: Spectacular cliffs.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 40 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.1 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
Suzanne67
Suzanne67

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We encountered difficulties getting going again after the first cave dwellings. There was a discrepancy between the route we were supposed to take and the circuit.
This is the first time we've had trouble on a Visorando route.
Thank you for the many routes, though.
Jgbilger@orange.fr

Machine-translated

Caroline67
Caroline67

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, shaded hike through the forest, discovering restored cave dwellings. However, point 2 no longer exists. To reach the cave dwellings, you must go via point 3. And to reach point 4, the path no longer exists, so you have to cross the forest. It is very useful to have a mobile phone with live geolocation to be able to find your way around (especially between points 3 and 4).

Machine-translated

gt16
gt16

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Good from the start at point 1 (steep!) to point 7 (much closer to the road than on the map):
beautiful shaded trails and pretty overhanging rocks despite a few sections on the road
From 8 to the finish, unfortunately not very interesting: track and forest path
Still a nice ride, suitable for mountain bikes and electric mountain bikes (no technical sections)

Machine-translated

DESSINGER
DESSINGER

thank you for your comments. I will go out and check the signage issue; however, could you please clarify the problem for me?

Machine-translated

Meumeu1955
Meumeu1955

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

After the first cave houses, we encountered significant signage issues that were no longer up to date.
We carried on as best we could thanks to Visorando.

Machine-translated

mach
mach

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

superb hike except for the route change before the cave houses.

Machine-translated

Yvette SCHLEGEL
Yvette SCHLEGEL

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Unclear explanations and maps for the start of the hike.

Machine-translated

nolive73
nolive73

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 16, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, done in mixed weather (sometimes very cloudy, sometimes with beautiful clear spells).
The view from the cliffs of the Falkenfels rock over the Schaeferhof valley – and Dabo in the distance – is magnificent.
No particular technical difficulties, apart from a steep climb at the start between (S/E) and (1).
However, it is not easy to find the cave dwellings at point (4), and I almost gave up: as specified below by yojimbo67, there is indeed a sign prohibiting access due to nesting at the crossroads (3).
You therefore need to continue for 100 metres, where a path descends to the right with a sign indicating the cave dwellings. Follow this path for approximately 200 metres until you reach a bench on a small viewing platform overlooking the cliff, then take the path that descends behind the bench and winds its way down to the houses located just below the platform..
Then return by the same route.
On the way back, you can stop for a drink (or a meal, depending on the time) at the Château restaurant.
Thanks to DESSINGER for sharing this information

Machine-translated

yojimbo67
yojimbo67

Thanks for the information, have a good weekend

Machine-translated

Magl_Irma
Magl_Irma

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike, very easy. No problem following the route, even if the map isn't exact, just follow the signs.

(4) - Once you reach the cave dwellings, continue down the path and turn left (yellow ring) towards Hellert.

(7) - The GPS route is longer; the second troglodyte site is located halfway.

(8) - The path is currently blocked by tree branches (forestry work) that prevent passage. Only a red ribbon indicates that the path is impassable, about 1 km below. We retraced our steps to Falkenberg and turned off a little before (4) onto the path marked with a red ring - Neustadtmuhle. We arrived at landmark (9) without any problems.

Machine-translated

yojimbo67
yojimbo67

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

the hike is interesting, but I had trouble finding my way around the cave dwellings. Just before reaching Falkenstein Rock, there was a sign prohibiting entry due to nesting. so I had to take the next path leading to the rock, then take the trail down to the houses and retrace my steps to the start of the path leading to the rock. From there, I continued straight on to the village of Falkenberg and continued the hike as planned. Luckily, I was able to get around the problem with my hiking GPS.

Machine-translated

Barabaste
Barabaste

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant hike. The light was perfect on this autumn day, with the trees beginning to lose their leaves. A beautiful view from the church car park

Machine-translated

DESSINGER
DESSINGER

From WP4, directions are given to reach Hellert, not Haselbourg. The path below the cave dwellings, marked with a yellow ring, takes you to the southern entrance of the village.
WP 7 indicates the second cave dwelling site, which is much less interesting than the first. From this site, retrace your steps to WP8 and do not continue along the yellow ring trail.

Machine-translated

jrieger
jrieger

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

two difficulties already reported:
- connection between 4 - troglodyte houses - and Haselbourg is unclear: we went down further to take a path on the left which brought us back to the hiking trail,
- the signpost for 7 - 2nd troglodyte site - is incorrect: the site indicated by a small plaque is located a few hundred metres before the signpost for the route; we continued for more than 1 km thinking we would find another one and arrived at the "blue cross", which allows you to return to Neustadtmuehle, but this route is even longer than the return route indicated on the map.
The second troglodyte site is less picturesque than the first, which also has a picnic table!

Machine-translated

vero57200
vero57200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

It was very difficult to get back on track after visiting the first cave house.
We tried several times over the course of an hour, but couldn't find a way to follow the original route. A couple of hikers with their dog, whom I greeted as we passed, were having the same difficulties as us.
The suggested route was impassable, so we made a 1 km loop to get back to Rue de Falkenberg

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.