Birkenfels Castle at the start of the Carrefour de la Bloss

A lovely walk to discover Birkenfels Castle with beautiful views, easy to do with children.

Details

n°22898982

Creation:
11 Jun 2022

Last update:
22 Jun 2022

Last review:
30 Sep 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 5.30 km
Average duration: 1h 40
Difficulty: Easy
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 53 m
Descent: - 48 m
Highest point: 718 m
Lowest point: 661 m

Country: France
Area: Vosges mountains
District: Barr (67140)
Start/End: N 48.423274° / E 7.399548°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3716ET, 3716ETR, 3717ET
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Description of the walk

Access the car park via Barr (D854) or Obernai Klingenthal (D246). Car park at Carrefour de la Bloss (intersection of the D426 and D854).

(S/E) From the car park, walk past the Kommer kiosk and then follow the path on the right (marked with yellow crosses).

(1) Pass the Kienberg pass to reach Birkenfels Castle. You can walk around the castle.

(2) After the castle, follow the path that branches off to the left (marked with blue rings and blue crosses) and leads to the Breitmatt crossroads.

(3) Cross the D426 with caution and follow the path opposite (marked with a green ring).

(4) Follow the^GR®5to the left (marked with a red rectangle).

(5) Here, there are two options:
-^{the first}: climb to the top of Kienberg (about 100 m elevation gain and 500 m more distance) then return to the starting car park by continuing along the path (marked with a yellow triangle and blue ring).
- the^second option (route choice) is to stay on the^GR®5and, after a bend, return to the car park at the start (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : km 0 - alt. 709 m - Car park - Carrefour de la Bloss
1 : km 0.58 - alt. 712 m - Col du Kienberg (712m)
2 : km 1.76 - alt. 665 m - Château de Birkenfels
3 : km 2.58 - alt. 683 m - Crossing the D426
4 : km 2.94 - alt. 685 m - Fork
5 : km 3.86 - alt. 690 m - Intersection - Access to - Kienberg (Vosges)
S/E : km 5.3 - alt. 709 m - Car park - Carrefour de la Bloss

Worth a visit

Birkenfels Castle.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5

Based on 17 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5

Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5

Route interest
4.1 / 5

Jacques R

30 Sep 2025 at 18:11 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk in the shade of the forest with a ruin as a point of interest and a viewpoint over the Alsace plain equipped with a bench, which is not always the case on the trails

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bernard_dorli

01 Sep 2025 at 13:12 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, easy walk in the forest, with the added bonus of a castle along the way.

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User 2622342

28 Jul 2025 at 08:31 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, easy walk

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marcheur52

30 Jun 2025 at 19:48 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Today's route was completed with a group. We walked through the forest, which provided some relief from the heatwave. The highlight was Birkenfels Castle.
No difficulty on this route.

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BrigitteST

09 Jun 2025 at 23:02 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A lovely walk through the forest to Birkenfeld Castle. This well-marked route presents no difficulty.

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User 25806083

09 Jun 2025 at 18:54 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk to Birkenfels Castle.
Good route with no difficulties.
We went to Kienberg, which was a steep climb. The view was well worth the effort!

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BrigitteST

26 May 2025 at 16:49 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Completed on a Sunday in the late morning/early afternoon: The route is easy, well marked and pleasant. The width of the paths varies from narrow at the start of the route to slightly wider in the middle. Quite busy on this Sunday with pedestrians and a few cyclists. No particular problems along the entire route.

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Thecla

30 Mar 2025 at 20:23 7200

Thank you very much for your feedback 😊

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Math67.hmt

30 Mar 2025 at 19:15 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little walk I took with my dog.
I took the detour through the Kienberg viewpoint, where the gradient is quite steep but well worth the effort!
It's just a shame that you have to walk close to the road for a while!

The route is well described!

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Nisse Corinne

10 Mar 2025 at 09:10 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful walk that passes by the ruins of Birkenfels Castle.
A slight variation is possible by climbing 100 metres to pass by Kienberg

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algeis

01 May 2024 at 10:18 7200 • Edited: 01 May 2024 at 10:56 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Excellent description for a very easy walk, except for the short climb up to Kienberg, which is worth doing
Note that before this climb, there is a view of Andlau Castle, and during the climb, there is a view of Haut Koenigsbourg

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Nara64

28 Jan 2024 at 11:22 3600

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant and easy hike. It's a great way to get back into shape after the festive season and discover a new castle in the Vosges foothills
Thank you for the description!

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CM67

21 Aug 2023 at 18:40 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

At the start, the path runs alongside the road, and the same applies on the way back, which means that these two sections are noisy
No difficulty, hike accessible to the whole family

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Michelelu

05 Sep 2022 at 09:15 7200

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hike suitable in terms of duration and difficulty
part of the route runs alongside the road...

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gOOn

08 Aug 2022 at 21:27 7200

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike, especially because of the castle, otherwise there are very few clear views (only one?) as suggested in the description, which is a shame
Very cool and easy to do with children