Route from Zittersheim to Wingen-sur-Moder through the forest

A lovely little walk in the Northern Vosges forest connecting Zittersheim to Wingen-sur-Moder.
I fell in love with the forests of the Northern Vosges.

Details

1401303
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.78 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 119 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 116 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 282 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 211 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐
  • ⚐ District: Zittersheim (67290)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 48.90031° / E 7.345804°
  • Accessible from the train station Gare de Wingen-/-Moder- (Mairie.
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3714ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from the church car park on the main street in Zittersheim.

Markings: Green ring along the entire route.

(S/E) Leave the car park and turn left towards the church, heading south-east. At the bend, go straight on along Rue de la Fontaine, then Rue la Montagne, continuing straight on towards the south-east until you reach the forest path. Continue along this path through the forest.

(1) At the intersection, turn left and follow the path downhill towards the north-west. Follow this path; you can't go wrong.

(2) Please note that this intersection is not very visible. Go straight ahead into the field; do not follow the path.
Enter the village of Wingen-sur-Moder, which you will need to cross. Follow Rue du Moulin, then Rue du Cimetière as it continues. Walk along the cemetery (the Anneau Vert markings are on the posts).

(3) At the intersection of Rue du Cimetière and Rue Principale, turn left heading north. You will cross the river, the Moder. Continue to the left turn and then to the first intersection.

(4) Turn right and take the street that goes up towards the station heading north. At the roundabout, turn left towards the station and follow Rue de la Gare heading west until you reach the main street again, from where you can see the Schuesselbach Pond. Continue along the main street heading west until you reach the roundabout. Turn left at the roundabout and continue to the first intersection.

(5) Turn right onto Rue du Petit Passage and continue straight ahead northwards. Turn left at the junction with Rue Bellevue onto the path leading up to the relay station, heading south-west.

(6) At the intersection, turn right onto the forest path that goes around Villa Lalique and follow this path. Continue left for a few metres on the track and then take the path on the right.

(7) At the intersection, turn right and take the leftmost path, heading southwest.

(8) Turn left onto the path that passes between the two ponds, heading south, then take the road on the left, heading east. At the next intersection, continue right, heading south-west for about 100 metres.

(9) Turn left onto the path that descends into the fields heading southeast and follow this path to the village of Wittersheim. At the intersection with Rue Principale, turn left heading south and continue to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 251 m - Church car park
  2. 1 : km 1.32 - alt. 271 m - Intersection, on the left
  3. 2 : km 3.52 - alt. 222 m - Go straight across the field, do not follow the path
  4. 3 : km 4.07 - alt. 211 m - Intersection, on the left - Moder (rivière)
  5. 4 : km 4.2 - alt. 212 m - Intersection, on the right
  6. 5 : km 5.08 - alt. 223 m - Intersection, on the right
  7. 6 : km 5.69 - alt. 239 m - Intersection, on the right
  8. 7 : km 6.91 - alt. 230 m - Intersection, on the right
  9. 8 : km 9.02 - alt. 239 m - Intersection, on the left
  10. 9 : km 10.06 - alt. 262 m - Intersection, on the left
  11. S/E : km 10.78 - alt. 251 m - Church car park

Notes

Fairly easy route with very little elevation gain.

The hike can be very beautiful in autumn given the nature of the forest (deciduous trees).

No drinking water sources.
A Club Vosgien shelter on the way back.
90% of the hike is in the forest, sheltered from the sun.

Worth a visit

12 Springs Route.
Glassmakers' route.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 19 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.2 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
Barbier Sylvie
Barbier Sylvie

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 02, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very nice hike

Machine-translated

Wehrung
Wehrung

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful route to Wingen, but crossing Wingen is long and tiring when it's hot. The signage is poorly marked and not visible everywhere. I ended up walking 20 km instead of 11 km. The return trip was very long. On the other hand, it was wonderful near the ponds. There was practically no elevation gain.

Machine-translated

Laurj
Laurj

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

easy hike on a wide path with little elevation gain. The forest is a bit monotonous on the "outward" leg, as it has clearly been replanted with oak trees and has little undergrowth. The long crossing of Wingen on tarmac in full sun is not pleasant. Similarly, the hike ends with a long stretch on the road. The explanations are not very clear, sometimes even incomprehensible. GPS is useful, but unfortunately quickly drains the phone battery.
Fortunately, there are "green round" markings.
in short, not the best hike in the area, but perhaps difficult to do better without elevation gain

Machine-translated

Brumisateur67
Brumisateur67

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Regarding signage

The "green ring" markings specified in the description are still very visible as of October 2021 and make it very easy to find your way.
One point to note: about 1 km after the start (marker 1), the path descends to the left. The path and the marker are not very visible, as they are out of sight, so be careful...
I personally find compass-type directions useless here, as there is a very well-marked path.
I downloaded the GPX track provided onto my G**min watch, which makes it easier to navigate in the field.
I also printed the IGN map with Club Vosgien landmarks, provided in the PDF.

The hike

The paths are wide, with no obstacles to overcome, and mainly deciduous forest (except, of course, when crossing Wingen). There are no viewpoints, but if the sun is shining in autumn, the scenery is all the more beautiful.
No difficulty in terms of elevation (about 150m of elevation gain over an 11km hike).

Other hikes

There are two other routes: the springs route and the glassmakers' route, which may give you ideas for other hikes in the area.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the person who posted this hike on the Visorando website.

Machine-translated

Aurore_o
Aurore_o

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant forest route, without any viewpoints but still a very beautiful interlude in the forest.
For animal lovers, there are a few ponies, cows and horses along the route.

Machine-translated

michel.olland
michel.olland

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk mainly along forest paths, with little elevation gain, very accessible to all

Machine-translated

tevemal
tevemal

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 03, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Very easy hike (almost a walk), well guided by the description, mainly in the forest and in Wingen.
Little elevation gain, but more than indicated in the description.

Machine-translated

Jms 0729
Jms 0729

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Easy hike on flat, shaded terrain. Walking at a normal pace without dawdling, the route can be completed in 2½ hours.
I'm not a big fan of the part of the hike through the village of Wingern sur Moder. You can avoid it by taking the glassmakers' path on the left before you get there, which keeps you in the forest/meadow.

Machine-translated

jlduz67
jlduz67

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful hike with a manageable elevation gain...the description could be simplified by avoiding the use of compass directions, which add nothing to the crossing of Wingen sur Moder...otherwise, it's very good and very pleasant...

Machine-translated

19011964
19011964

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 29, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

a pleasant and not too difficult hike. Beautiful forests. After Villa Lallique, simply follow the green ring markings to Zittersheim.

Machine-translated

mike67450
mike67450

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 21, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful, shaded walk through the forest between villages and ponds. The route follows forest paths and sometimes secondary trails, but you just need to keep an eye out for the green ring markings to stay on track (a word of warning to the absent-minded!). If you have time, visit the Lalique Museum of Glass and Crystal Art on the same day (1.5 km north-west of point 5).

Machine-translated

grandin
grandin ★

Thank you for your feedback, nolive73

indeed, the base map was OSM. I changed it to the classic IGN, which is more accurate (in general).

Machine-translated

nolive73
nolive73

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2019
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

(I did the hike in the opposite direction, from 9 to 1, so I didn't take the description into account)
A very pleasant hike, mainly through woods, with a few stretches across flat ground to soak up some sun.
Crossing Wingen isn't essential, unless you want to stop for a drink on a terrace, although I didn't see many cafés there (returning to civilisation and the noise that goes with it, even temporarily, after spending an hour and a half alone in the quiet forest, isn't the most pleasant experience...).
As the map used is not an IGN map (very inaccurate), I would not recommend this route if you don't have a hiking GPS, as it's easy to take the wrong paths and the signposting is not great... (especially from 8 to 7).
Thank you, daft27, for sharing.

Machine-translated

Goofie
Goofie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant hike that met our main criterion: "walking in the shade without too much effort thanks to a moderate elevation gain", as we were in the middle of a heatwave.
The author's description of the route is accurate. It was easy to follow; our 10-year-old daughter was in charge of guiding us and did a great job!
Thank you.

Machine-translated

henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

Thank you for your feedback.

The forest is beautiful, but the directions provided are very vague and impossible to follow, whether it's shortly after setting off from the intersection (turn left): where is the path? Or the other directions that follow: head east... south-west... etc. You need a compass at all times. However, there is a route marked by the Club Vosgien (green circle) and it would be preferable to provide the correct information on how to access it from the start and follow it regularly.

The markings are mentioned in black and white at the beginning of the description.

Quote from the description

Markings: Green ring along the entire route.


(S/E) Leave the car park and turn left towards the church, heading south-east. At the bend, go straight on along Rue de la Fontaine, then Rue la Montagne, continuing straight on towards the south-east until you reach the forest path. Continue along this path through the forest.

It is also marked (Green Ring) on the 1:25,000 Visorando IGN map provided free of charge with the description.

However, I will highlight all of this information in bold.

See you soon!

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.