Around the Eichelkopf, the Grand Rosskopf and the Wetzkopf

The starting point is on Route du Zollstock in La Hoube (D45), at the start of the Route Forestière du Zollstock, to the east of the village (N 48.646075°, E 7.280418°). There are a few parking spaces on a hard-packed earth area.

(S/E) Take the Route Forestière de Zollstock, marked with red-white-red Red Rectangles. After about thirty metres, leave the forest road and head up to the left (same markings). The path climbs through the fir forest and joins the GR®532 (Yellow Rectangles) coming from the right.

(1) Follow the GR® straight on to the Col du Himbeerfels, a junction of several paths.

(2) Turn left towards Obersteigen on the GR® (Yellow Rectangle, Red Diamond). After about 300 m, you’ll reach the start of a path on the left marked with a Yellow Cross. Climb left up to the Himbeerfels Rock. Enjoy the view of the Schneeberg massif.

(3) Descend via the same route to return to the Himbeerfels Pass. Optional (not shown on the route): just after the start of the Yellow Cross path, take the track on the right to climb up beneath the rocky outcrop. Circling it to the left, you’ll discover an unusual scene of garden gnomes at the foot of the rock.

(2) Back at the Col du Himbeerfels, take the path marked with red-white-red red rectangles and red diamonds (GR®534) to the left towards the Col de la Schleif. The path descends gently to a junction with a path on the right marked with a yellow ring.

(4) Leave this path to your right (this is the return route), continue straight on for about a hundred metres to the Col de la Schleif.

(5) Cross the wide open space of the pass and take the path marked with a Red Ring towards the Col de la Wetzlach via the Steinerne Maennel. On the ascent, after about 500 m, veer right to reach the Backofenfelsen. Enjoy a magnificent view of the Rocher de Dabo and its Chapelle-Saint-Léon.

(6) Return to the Red Ring path and leave the return path on your right; continue climbing the fairly gentle slope, keeping to the left. The path runs alongside a nursery on your left, then the slope levels off as you approach the summit of the Grand Rosskopf and reach a junction.

(7) Turn slightly to the right, still following the Red Ring, keep to the left and you’ll reach a small sign pointing to the Rocher du Rosskopf, 100 m away.

(8) Follow this path for a few dozen metres and enjoy a beautiful view of the Schneeberg massif. Return to the Red Ring marked path to begin the descent. Admire the Steinerne Maennel, a magnificent rock, on your right.

(9) Continue round a bend to the left then to the right and head south-west to the Col de la Wetzlach.

(10) Turn left onto the Red Ring trail towards Sandplatz due south and head towards a bend in the road.

(11) Head down the road on the left, still heading south. After a 180° bend on the D224, pass through the hamlet of Windsbourg; you can stop for a bite to eat at the restaurant on the left. After the last chalets and the sign marking the exit from Windsbourg, look out for the Blue Disc signposts on the left.

(12) Turn left onto this signposted path. The trail runs alongside the Mossig stream as far as Schneematt. Walk through the few houses in the hamlet, passing a wash house on the right. The last house on the right is the old school, which closed in 1966.

(13) Just after the small bridge, head down to the left to follow the Blue Disc route; then, about twenty metres further on, take the Red Cross signposted path to the left, crossing the wooden bridge over the Mossig. The path climbs into the forest, initially running alongside a scree slope on the left. Further on, the path crosses a nature reserve (the Grafenweiher Managed Biological Reserve), runs along the side of a fairly steep slope and then levels out. The path widens and heads westwards to a path junction on the left before a multi-way crossroads.

(14) Turn sharply left to climb for about thirty metres, then left again, and a little further on, turn sharply right. The Red Cross markings are clearly visible. Continue towards the Col de la Wetzlach.

(10) At the Col de la Wetzlach, turn right onto the forest road towards the Col de la Schleif, marked with a Red Ring. After about 1.5 km, look out for a flight of steps on the right.

(15) Climb these few steps. The path passes in front of the Rosskopf Cross (Hengster Sepp Cross), then immediately afterwards in front of the Grotte des Cads. It then runs flat and at a distance alongside the Backofenfelsen before descending towards the Col de la Schleif.

(5) Follow the Red Rectangle-marked path towards Himbeerfels, continuing to the junction you passed on the way there.

(4) Take the path on the left marked with a Yellow Ring towards the reservoir. When this meets the road, continue walking along it for about ten metres.

(16) Leave the road and take the Route Forestière du Zollstock on the right, marked with a Yellow Cross (towards Rocher des Framboisiers, Engenthal). When it branches off to the right towards Himbeerfels, a path leads off to the left.

(17) Leave the bend and continue straight ahead, staying on the sandy track and ignoring all the cross-cutting paths and tracks to reach the car park (S/E).

• Benches for taking a short break are provided along the route, on the rocks or at the passes.
• In addition to tables and benches, there are sheltered barbecues at the Col de la Schleif.
• There is a restaurant in Windsbourg, “Chez Dieda”, which is part of the Confrérie de la véritable Flammekueche (03 88 87 31 83)
• The Schneematt school, which catered for pupils from Windsbourg and Schneematt, operated from 1887 to 1966: just imagine that at the end of the^19th century and for much of^{the 20th,} the children of Windsbourg walked there (and back) on foot!