Around Lembach

This is a hike that takes place entirely in the forest on paths and trails. At the start, for 2½ hours, you’ll be walking along little-known and very quiet paths. A route with quite a bit of elevation gain and varied scenery.

Details

n°2366677

Creation:
04 Aug 2019

Last update:
16 Jul 2025

Last review:
09 Jun 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 27.77 km
Average duration: 10h 10
Difficulty: Very difficult
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 787 m
Descent: - 788 m
Highest point: 454 m
Lowest point: 190 m

Country: France
Area: Vosges du Nord
District: Lembach (67510)
Start/End: N 49.0036° / E 7.789826°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3814ET
Hour-by-hour weather

Avalanche risk assessment bulletin

Discover Visorando Premium

Downloads

Open in the mobile app

Download GPX GPX

Download PDF PDF

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park next to Lembach Town Hall.

(S/E) Set off due west following the^GR®®532, marked with Yellow Diamonds. Stay on this^GR®®, also known as the Maginot Line Trail. Climb up to Disteldorf.

(1) Stay on the^GR®® 532; after a wide bend, you’ll reach a crossroads.

(2) Continue along the^GR®® and then head due north along the path leading to the Col de la Hohwardt, a junction of two GR®®^trails.

(3) Stay on the^{GR®® 532}, now marked with a Yellow Rectangle. Descend to Niedersteinbach. Pass the Cheval Blanc hotel-restaurant, then come to another junction of paths.

(4) Head up to the right, heading due north, on the path marked with a Red Cross.

(5) At the three-way junction, turn left and you’ll reach a large junction near a car park and a picnic area.

(6) Turn right towards the Zigeunerfelsen (Gypsy Rock) on the path marked with a Red Rectangle; this is the^GR®® 53. Join a forest track and then the Hichtenbach Pass.

(7) Turn right, staying on the^GR®® 53 (do not go down the stony road), and pass in front of Froensbourg. The path climbs up a forest track and reaches a shelter.

(8) Turn left uphill onto a path marked with a Blue Rectangle. Leave the^GR®®53. Begin a descent and cross the main road (D925) at the border.

(9) Take the path opposite, running parallel to the border and marked with a Red Rectangle (White Rectangle) combination; climb up to Fleckenstein Castle and go round it to the right. Continue to the Fleckenstein Forest House.

(10) Reach the Gimberhof via the Charcoal Burners’ Trail

(11) Walk past the playground and follow the path marked with a Red Circle and a Blue Circle to the Litschhof Pass.

(12) Take the^second path, marked with a Red Cross, and follow a gentle climb to reach the Riegelsberg Pass.

(13) Turn right, following the Red Cross markings towards Lembach. Reach the Kelwenstall crossroads.

(14) Continue south-west, following the double Red Cross and Yellow Rectangle markings, to descend towards Lembach. Reach the Schuhfels crossroads.

(15) Continue in the same direction to reach the car park at the entrance to Lembach.

(16) Turn left, walk past the Club Vosgien chalet, then cross the village of Lembach to reach the town hall car park (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 191 m - Car park next to the town hall. Cross the - Sauer (rivière)
1 : km 4.37 - alt. 358 m - Düsseldorf
2 : km 5.16 - alt. 371 m - Path to the Hohwardt Pass
3 : km 6.74 - alt. 390 m - Hohwardt Pass
4 : km 9.83 - alt. 232 m - Trail junction
5 : km 11.06 - alt. 360 m - Three-way junction, to the left
6 : km 11.54 - alt. 401 m - Car park, picnic area
7 : km 13.41 - alt. 358 m - Hichtenbach Pass, Shelter
8 : km 16.25 - alt. 355 m - Shelter
9 : km 17.38 - alt. 205 m - Near the German border
10 : km 19.05 - alt. 339 m - Fleckenstein Forest House
11 : km 20.07 - alt. 343 m - Gimbelhof
12 : km 21.08 - alt. 339 m - Litschhof Pass
13 : km 23.11 - alt. 445 m - Riegelsberg Pass
14 : km 24.88 - alt. 429 m - Descent to Lembach
15 : km 25.84 - alt. 348 m - The Schuhfels
16 : km 26.79 - alt. 221 m - Club Vosgien chalet
S/E : km 27.77 - alt. 190 m - Car park next to Lembach Town Hall

Notes

If you set off at 9.30 am from Lembach, you can arrive in time for lunch at the Cheval Blanc in Niedersteinbach, where there is a dish of the day from Monday to Friday (about a 1-hour stop).
Near the Fleckentein Forest House, there is a refreshment stand.
Take 2 litres of water
Approximately 8 hours’ walking and 2 hours’ break. That’s my pace. For a keen walker, it may be a little shorter. If you take your own lunch, you can set off earlier
Given the length of the walk and the elevation gain, this hike is recommended for experienced walkers.

Worth a visit

You can visit the Ziegeunerfels, the Froensbourg and the Fleckenstein, but this extends the walk. You would lose a lot of time visiting the Fleckenstein.
To shorten the route, you can head to Lembach via the Hohmarkstein Pass, without going via the Riegelsberg, but it’s less scenic.
The route from Lembach to Niedersteinbach, via Disteldorf, is very quiet. You will therefore be walking almost alone for 2½ hours.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5

Based on 4 reviews

Reliability of the description
5 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5

Route interest
4.8 / 5

RandoAnne

09 Jun 2025 at 20:12 7200

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very enjoyable and long hike, just how I like them.
I missed the fork for Disteldorf before point 1, so I cut through the forest to get back on track (thank goodness for GPS). I didn't see any forestry work, as mentioned in the previous comment.
The view on the way back at point 15 (Schuhfels) isn't anything special.
Very few people except at Fleckenstein and Gimbelhof (where you can get something to eat).
It took me 7 hours and 15 minutes in total for 29 km at a fairly fast pace.
I removed 5 ticks after the walk.

Machine-translated

manhatan

22 Feb 2025 at 16:41 3600

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb walk. I really enjoyed it because it was quite varied. It combines a bit of culture (passing through a partly abandoned village and the castles) with stretches through the forest. There are no major difficulties.
The start of the walk is a bit of a slog because of the sections on the foresters’ tracks; the paths are rutted and muddy, and the ‘clear-cut’ landscape isn’t very pleasant. When I was there, these muddy tracks were frozen, so I had no trouble, but in wet weather it must be more difficult. After point 3, it gets better.
It can be difficult to find your way without a map or GPS as the paths criss-cross, particularly with the foresters’ tracks (points 1 to 4).
You come close to the German border at point 9.

Machine-translated

Fanny Pil.

31 Aug 2022 at 15:09 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A solo hike with my dog. This one isn’t particularly difficult, apart from the distance.
Overall, the trails are very quiet – a real pleasure! There are just a few people around the castles of Froenbourg and Fleckenstein.
The route description is very detailed, and the trail markings are clear.
Düsseldorf was a lovely discovery.
I made a small mistake between points 4 and 5; the trail marked with the Red Cross is very discreet on the left, so keep your eyes peeled!
At point 14, there’s the option to do an extra kilometre round trip for a lovely view of Lembach (follow the Red Cross – Schuhfels)

Machine-translated

Yves Reibel

23 May 2020 at 10:29 7200 • Edited: 01 Jul 2020 at 14:53 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route, quite hilly; I was alone on the trail with my two Catalan Shepherds, which was really pleasant. One slight hiccup at Froensbourg, where I missed the shelter and ended up having to take a 3 km detour to rejoin the route down in the valley
However, my Runtastic app showed me 1,250 metres of elevation gain....

Machine-translated

Georges Heichelbech

23 Aug 2019 at 20:18 7200 • Edited: 24 Aug 2019 at 19:22 7200

It’s a shame the photo you sent wasn’t oriented correctly
Following your message, mine is no longer necessary. Thank you

Machine-translated

grandin

23 Aug 2019 at 20:16 7200 • Edited: 24 Aug 2019 at 19:22 7200

Georges Heichelbech

Thank you for suggesting this hike

I turned your photo the right way round when I approved it

Machine-translated

Georges Heichelbech

23 Aug 2019 at 19:50 7200 • Edited: 24 Aug 2019 at 19:22 7200

It’s a shame the photo provided wasn’t oriented correctly

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.

Author

Georges Heichelbech
1 Walk

Visorando member

Machine-translated walk - Original version

Walk map

Bigger map and chart