Ventron circuit

Date of your route : Mar 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I did this tour on Sunday 10 March 2025.
There were several points to report:
- after the first waterfall, at the junction with a wider path, I missed the climb to the left of the stream,
- At point 4, the direct ascent to the Grand Ventron is forbidden because of the quiet zones, so you have to make a diversion to the Col de Bockloch and walk for about two kilometres on the tarmac track to the inn,
- The descent along the Yellow Cross path seemed interminable.
The route is still worthwhile for the reward at the top of Ventron and the peace and quiet of the hike.

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Date of your route : Oct 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very nice walk with a rather difficult return:

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Date of your route : Sep 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

The signs are generally very good, except when you pass the scree: don't cross it, but turn left as you go up. Almost all the hikers get trapped.
The descent from Petit Ventron is quite difficult and strenuous, with 600 metres of ascent on a gravel path.

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Date of your route : Jun 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with magnificent views from the summit of Grand Ventron. The final descent is long and steep.

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Date of your route : Oct 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The signposts are unreliable, so we relied mainly on the map.
As far as Grand Ventron, it's a beautiful route; you follow the waterfall practically the whole way... 600m of ascent, but the winding path makes the climb easier. At the summit, a magnificent panorama. Beautiful autumn colours.
On the other hand, from Petit Ventron to the dam, the descent is very steep (watch out for your knees), dangerous (roots and rocks) and uninteresting, unlike the ascent, which is very beautiful.
There's a table and then a bench further on... not quite enough to stop for lunch.
Despite the disadvantages of the descent, we recommend this hike.

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Date of your route : Mar 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We left the lake parked in front of the buvette, heading for the dam on the left... it was open to the public, the circuit was easy to orientate just with the descriptions, but we never got it wrong, and we came back with 17 km 900 on the clock!!! so be careful, you need to plan ahead, and the descent is very direct and uninteresting.
So the thatch is superb and the view from the orientation table is breathtaking, but it's a shame about the return.
Be careful, there's snow at the top and on most of the path, and it's especially slippery. Crampons wouldn't be a bad idea for safety. And be careful on the descent, which goes straight down.
In short, a fine viewpoint but not the best walk in the massif.

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Date of your route : Dec 31, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb weather for a really lovely hike.
The finish at Grand Ventron and the superb view are well worth the effort! A few difficult climbs, but a very accessible hike if you're used to walking. The path is very slippery in places, so walking boots are essential! Some sections were less pleasant on tarmac (full of snow for us and without snowshoes it slowed us down). But it was a really lovely walk, completed in 5 hours 15 minutes with a few short breaks.
A colour error at the so-called red crosses, which are in fact a faded yellow. But the signs are clear.
The dam is still under construction, but you can cross it,
I'd recommend it!

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Date of your route : Sep 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike, with a steep climb all the way up to the Bockloch waterfall, but it was all in good fun.
A positive difference in altitude as far as Grand Ventron, and when you reach the heights, you'll have a feast for the eyes. An exceptional view of our beautiful Vosges mountains.
The descent is all in one go, so watch your knees.
Arrive at Lac de Kruth and relax by the lake, with the option of a snack.

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Date of your route : Jun 01, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The dam is still closed to the public.
Then a gentle climb, a superb 360° view at the summit and a slightly more technical descent.
All in all, a very fine day out on a little-frequented, well-marked trail. Just great fun.

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Date of your route : Feb 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I'll start with the negative point: the starting point is closed to the public as the dam is currently undergoing work and will remain so for a few more months. Hiking on a Saturday, we passed by, as did others, but you should plan ahead if you're going on a weekday.
What's more, until April 2021, the last point of the ascent to Mont Ventron is closed because of the risk of falling trees and to leave the wildlife alone. You therefore have to take the "winter" route, which goes around the bottom and rejoins the descent after 2-3km.

Apart from these 2 points, the hike is interesting, the Cascades are very beautiful, especially with the snow melting at the moment, and the final viewpoint is well worth the diversions.
Just in case, there was still quite a bit of snow on the paths as you got closer to the path, and the snow was very frozen and slippery, with a sheer drop at the level of the petit ventron.

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Hello ! I don't have a car, so I only travel by train, so I'd be very grateful if you could adapt this walk so that it starts in Kruth, where the train from Thann stops.
Thank you in advance!

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Date of your route : Jun 27, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The description was perfect, we had no hesitation about the route and the duration was well calculated too. It's just that, for senior citizens like us, it was sometimes borderline difficult, but that also added to our enjoyment: we had a great time! At the moment, the lake is half-emptied and the dam totally impassable due to major waterproofing work. As a result, we left from point 1 (the waterfall), and there's a car park at the end of the lake on the east bank. On the way back, if you follow the yellow cross carefully, you can take the road that follows the west bank of the lake, and as we were hiking on Saturday, there was no work going on.

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Date of your route : Jun 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

The downside:
The departure as described is normally impossible in 2020.
The dam is undergoing major works. You can't park in the small adjoining car park and the passageway is a construction site closed to the public all year long! (It's Sunday, so I went through at my own risk, but I wasn't safe).
So you have to start at point 1 and you can get back by avoiding the dam and following the road back to point 1.

The whole of the start of the route is pointless because it's a road and if you want to take the forest path mentioned on 16/09, it's marked as forbidden by the Club Vosgien de Rando (slippery stones + falling trees).

The descent, although not slippery in June, is steep and ends on a logging road that is not very pleasant...

All in all, this route is a long, gradual climb up to Grand Ventron and then a fast, steep descent: I didn't find it exciting.

On the plus side:
As always in the Vosges, this is a very green route with streams and waterfalls for most of the ascent.
There were a few nice surprises, like the little refuge at Hinter Bockloch and the little wooden bridge in the middle of the forest on the way back to the Wildenstein village...

The route is very accurate, there's very little room for error and with GPS tracking, there's no room for error.

The finish on the Gd Ventron thatch, with its 360° panorama, is well worth a look and marks the end of the climb.

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Hello ,
at the moment I can't download or print the hikes.
For the moment I can't find the problem.
Best regards

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Date of your route : Sep 15, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

To avoid 2 km of tarmac, take the footpath on the left 50 m after turning right as you leave the dam on the D143.
this path joins the track leading to the waterfalls, a very shady walk to be enjoyed in fine weather.
no waterfall, lack of water! unobstructed view from the summit
don't miss the brimbelle tart at the auberge 100 m from the summit!
fairly steep descent on the way back!

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