Chaumes and forests of Lauchen

Please note that the^{GR®532 trail}passing through the summit of Klintzkopf is closed from¹ December to¹ July to preserve the peace and quiet of the wildlife. You will need to use the alternative route that bypasses the summit to the south.

(S/E) From the car park, near the entrance to the Auberge du Lac, cross the D430 road and, a few metres after the "Lac de La Lauch" sign, you will find the path marked with a yellow rectangle (^GR®532). After an 800 m climb through the forest, you will come out onto the Oberlauchen moor. Continue climbing straight ahead for 200 metres until you reach the carriage road (red triangle).

(1) Leave the yellow rectangle by turning right until you reach a three-way junction 300 metres further on and take the Welschweg path, which climbs slightly to the left.

(2) After 700 m, turn sharply left to climb straight up the Grand Tetras path for 700 m, ignoring any other paths to the right or left.

(3) At the crossroads, there are three paths to choose from. The one in front of you is a dead end, while the path to its right climbs up to the Col d'Oberlauchen (variant 2). Take the^{third path} on the far right, a strange path strewn with moss under a canopy of trees. It joins the Chemin des Américains, marked with a yellow rectangle, which you take to the right to Col de Lauchen.

(4) Take advantage of the Lauchen shelter and information panels before taking the^GR®532(yellow rectangle) behind the shelter, which is closed from¹ December to¹ July(see practical information). It crosses a beautiful high-altitude beech forest towards the rocky summit of Klintzkopf.

(5) At the summit, enjoy the panoramic view from the scree slope, then begin the descent towards the Oberlauchen Pass.

(6) At the pass, leave the^GR®532and climb gently towards Eibelwasen along the path marked with red discs, which runs alongside the precipice.

(7) At the crossroads, leave the red disc path and ignore the blue cross path on your right, which descends towards Sondernach. After 50 metres, turn right towards Col de Platzerwasen via Lauchenkopf on the blue disc path. It climbs up the grassy slope at the edge of the forest. After a break to enjoy the panoramic view at the summit, descend northwards through a beautiful beech forest. Continue to the grassy summit of Nonselkopf.

(8) 100 metres further on, take a path to descend due west towards the D27. Before the road, turn left towards the south and follow a path parallel to the road for 300 metres. After a few clumps of trees, you will come to a fence at the edge of the forest. Go through the fence and 10 m later, descend 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 metres. Then, before a sharp right-hand bend, take the path on your left that leads to the forest.

(10) This is the Hahnenbrunnen path (red-white-red rectangle). Ignore the paths on the left, pass by the Fecht spring, enter the forest and continue to the right. 50 metres before the ridge road, ignore the blue disc path on the left, which will be our return route.

(11) From the Hahnenbrunnen Refuge, join the Blue Disc path. Through the stubble 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, there is an unmarked path leading downhill. You will pass the sources of the Lauch, walk along the stream on your left and 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. Leave the next path that descends to the left, stay on the right and after a right-hand bend continue slightly uphill for 400 m to turn left downhill to meet the Red Triangle marked path. Take it to the right.

(13) At the hairpin bend, cross the bridge over the stream towards the Steinlebach farmhouse inn, which you will reach in a few minutes.

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

(15) Take the path downhill into the forest. Turn right at the next path. At the next crossroads, turn right and walk slightly uphill. After 150 metres, cross the stream in a left-hand bend and follow the other bank downhill. You will reach the bottom of the ski lifts.

(16) Cross the slopes in front of the technical buildings, leave the path that leads to the road on your left, and climb up the path opposite until you reach the Triangle Bleu path after a left turn above the stream.

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

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

Variants:
Between 1 December and 1 July, you will need to choose one of the following alternatives:
Variation 1: use the "Sentier des Américains" (Americans' Trail), which bypasses the Klintzkopf to the south, from the Col de Lauchen (4) to the Col d'Oberlauchen (6), then retrace your steps. Distance unchanged.
Option 2: at the point (3), take the path to the Oberlauchen Pass. Distance shortened by 2.8km.
Variant 3: go 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 refuge at point (11).
Lauchen Pass shelter before the climb up Klintzkopf at point (4).

Club Vosgien markings:
CV signs

IGN map legend:
IGN

The Lauch crosses the Florival (valley of flowers) and the Guebwiller valley.
The location of its source is geographically controversial, but 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 chosen near the point (13) at an altitude of around 1,160 metres on the southern slope of the Breitfirst for administrative reasons before 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 in 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.