Above La Vancelle

The starting point is at the edge of the forest. On arriving in La Vancelle from Châtenois, head up towards La Vancelle. After the ‘entering built-up area’ sign, take the first street on the right, Rue Himmelsleiter, which climbs quite steeply to a car park in the woods with around ten spaces.

(S/E) Take the Blue Ring marked trail and, about 350 m further on, turn off onto the Red Saltire marked trail towards the Col du Frankenbourg, a major junction of paths and trails. There is a shelter. (It is possible to make a return trip to the beautiful Château du Frankenbourg, currently closed to the public by municipal order.)

(1) Turn left onto the path marked with a Blue Cross towards the Rocher du Coucou. The path continues to climb through the forest, sometimes winding. You will reach a fork.

(2) Turn right and continue to the Rocher du Coucou. Enjoy the view of Frankenbourg Castle, and further afield the castles of Scherwiller (Ortenbourg and Ramstein), Haut-Koenigsbourg, the Alsace plain...

(3) Retrace your steps to the fork, continue along the path marked with the Red Ring and Yellow Cross and arrive at the magnificent Rocher des Partisans.

(4) Continue straight on to reach a viewpoint.

(5) Turn right, heading due north, still following the Red Ring markings, then turn left to reach a junction.

(6) Turn right towards the north-west, following the Green Ring markings to reach Roches Rondes, a superb viewpoint over the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines valley.

(7) At Roches Rondes, continue along the GR® Yellow Rectangle trail to reach La Roche des Fées.

(8) Continue along the path which is circular and carry on until you reach a cross-path.

(9) Turn left and follow the path which joins a track.

(10) Cross this track and arrive at a crossroads.

(11) Before the climb to the Col du Petit Haut, you can turn right to take a detour to La Salière (the last imposing rock) and back, or climb directly via the Blue Ring/Yellow Ring/Red Saltire marked trail.

(12) At the pass, follow the Blue Triangle markings towards Chalmont, Frankenbourg and La Vancelle.

(13) Leave the descent towards Le Chalmont (unless you want to go and see the viewpoint!) and take a sharp left-hand bend, following the Blue Cross markings towards La Vancelle. Cut across the Chalmont Forest Road and join the Old Hintereck Forest Road, marked with a Red Ring.

(14) Follow it to the car park on the edge of the forest (S/E).

A lovely shelter at the Col du Frankenbourg. The shelter at the Col du Haut is in a sorry state and should only be used in an emergency.

Most of the waypoints are interesting and well worth a longer stop.