Chaumes and forests of Lauchen

Please note that the^GR®®532route passing over the summit of the Klintzkopf is closed from¹ December to¹ July to protect wildlife; you must use the alternative route which bypasses the summit to the south.

(S/E) From the car park, near the entrance to the Auberge du Lac, cross the D430 road to find, a few metres past the ‘Lac de La Lauch’ sign, the path marked with a Yellow Rectangle (^GR®®532). After 800 m of a fairly steep climb through the forest, you’ll emerge onto the Oberlauchen plateau. Continue straight on for 200 m up the slope until you reach the track (Red Triangle).

(1) Leave the Yellow Rectangle trail by turning right until you reach a three-way junction 300 m further on, then take the Welschweg path, which climbs gently to the left.

(2) After 700 m, take a sharp left-hand bend and continue straight up the Grand Tetras path for 700 m, ignoring any other paths to the right or left.

(3) At the crossroads, you’ll find three paths: the one directly in front of you is a dead end; to its right, the path climbs to the Col d’Oberlauchen (variant 2); take the^{third path}, which is furthest to the right – a rather unusual path strewn with moss beneath a canopy of trees. It joins the Chemin des Américains, signposted with a Yellow Rectangle, which you follow to the right as far as the Col de Lauchen.

(4) Make the most of the Lauchen shelter and the information boards before taking the^GR®®532(Yellow Rectangle) behind the shelter – closed from¹ December to¹ July(see practical information). It crosses a beautiful high-altitude beech forest towards the rocky summit of the Klintzkopf.

(5) At the summit, take in the panoramic view from the scree slope, then begin the descent towards the Col d’Oberlauchen.

(6) At the pass, leave the^GR®®532and head up towards Eibelwasen along a gently sloping path, running alongside the precipice, marked with a Red Disc.

(7) At the crossroads, leave the Red Disc path and pass the Blue Cross path on your right, which descends towards Sondernach. 50 metres further on, turn right towards the Platzerwasen Pass via Lauchenkopf on the Blue Disc path. It climbs the scree slope at the edge of the forest. After a stop to enjoy the views at the summit, descend northwards through a beautiful beech forest. Continue to the summit scree slope of the Nonselkopf.

(8) 100 metres further on, take a path leading straight down westwards towards the D27. Before reaching the road, turn left towards the south to follow a path running parallel to the road for 300 metres. After passing a few clumps of trees, you’ll come to a fence at the edge of the forest. Go through the fence and, 10 metres further on, head down to the right towards the road.

(9) Cross the D27, follow it for a few dozen metres and join the track leading to the Salzbach farm. Follow it for 600 m. Then, before a sharp right-hand bend, take the path on your left leading into the forest.

(10) This is the Hahnenbrunnen path (Red Rectangle-White-Red Rectangle). Ignore the paths on the left; you’ll pass by the source of the Fecht, enter the forest and then continue to the right. 50 m before the ridge road, leave the Blue Disc path on your left – this will be our return route.

(11) From the Hahnenbrunnen refuge, join the Blue Disc path. Passing through open grassland and then the forest, it joins the D27, which you cross to pass a small car park and reach an ONF sign marking the western entrance to the Guebwiller State Forest.

(12) Behind and to the right of this sign, an unmarked path leads downwards. You’ll pass by the headwaters of the Lauch, follow the stream on your left alongside a beautiful peat bog, then cross another stream coming from the right. Leave the path on your left and continue to the right into the forest. Ignore the next path leading down to the left; keep to the right and, after a right-hand bend, continue slightly uphill for 400 m before turning left downhill to join the Red Triangle-marked path. Take this path to the right.

(13) At the hairpin bend, cross the bridge over the stream, heading towards the Steinlebach Farm Inn, which you’ll reach in a few minutes.

(14) Opposite the farm’s terrace, a path leads down into a meadow. When you reach the middle of the meadow, turn 90° to the left towards ‘Parking lac de La Lauch’ (the sign is not always there), heading towards a cattle gate at the edge of the forest.

(15) Ignore the path on the left; take the path leading down into the forest. Turn right at the next path. At the next junction, turn right onto a slight incline and, 150 metres further on, cross the stream at a left-hand bend to follow the path down the opposite bank. You will reach the bottom of the ski lifts.

(16) Cross the ski runs in front of the technical buildings, leave the path leading to the road on your left, and head up the path opposite until, after a left-hand bend above the stream, you reach the Blue Triangle path.

(17) Head down towards the D430. Cross the road; the path continues on the other side, descending steeply to Lac de la Lauch. Turn right along the lake’s shore, then cross the dam to reach the car park (S/E).

Please note:
The “Yellow Rectangle”^GR®®532trail leading up to Klintzkopf is closed from¹ December to¹ July to protect the capercaillie’s peace and quiet before and during the breeding season.
After the Col de Lauchen, the red and white paint markings (not to be confused with^GR®® markings) indicate a municipal boundary, which also marks the boundary of the state-owned forest, running along the ridge of the Klintzkopf, to which access is prohibited.

Alternatives:
Between 1 December and 1 July, you will need to choose one of the following alternatives:
Alternative 1: take the “Sentier des Américains”, which bypasses the Klintzkopf to the south, from the Col de Lauchen (4) to the Col d’Oberlauchen (6), then retrace your steps. Distance remains the same.
Option 2: at the point (3), take the path towards the Col d’Oberlauchen. Distance shortened by 2.8 km.
Option 3: head directly to (6) from the point (1). Distance shortened by 4.3 km.

Shelters and refreshments:
Numerous farm inns on or near the route: Salzbach, Uff Rain, Hahnenbrunnen, Steilebach.
Hahnenbrunnen mountain hut at point (11).
Lauchen Pass shelter before the climb up the Klintzkopf at point (4).

Club Vosgien signposting:
CV signs

IGN map legend:
IGN

The River Lauch flows through the Florival (Valley of Flowers) and the Guebwiller Valley.
The location of its source is geographically disputed; it is likely to be close to the point (12) at an altitude of around 1,220 metres on the eastern slope of the Breitfirst and south of the Lauchenkopf.
However, it may have been designated near the point (13) at an altitude of around 1,160 metres on the southern slope of the Breitfirst for administrative reasons prior to 1871, when this stream served as the boundary between the cantons of Belfort (then part of the Haut-Rhin) and Colmar.

The Fecht flows through the Munster valley. You pass its source at Salzbach shortly after the point (10), on the side of the Breitfirst opposite that of the Lauch.
Like the Lauch, it is a tributary of the Ill which flows into the Rhine.