Col de Boenlesgrab walks

This is a very pleasant hike that also offers views of the Alsace plain. The different environments you will pass through will delight walkers who take the time to look around.

This hike takes you around the thatched roofs of the Petit Ballon, allowing you to enjoy views of the surrounding peaks and the thatched roofs that are so characteristic of these Vosges peaks.

The starting point for this hike in the Petit Ballon massif is at Wassmatt, at an altitude of over 800 m, which reduces the elevation gain. After reaching Buchwald with its hundred-year-old beech trees and panoramic view of the Wasserbourg valley, the Alsace plain and the Black Forest, the route takes us to the peaks and then plunges through the forest to Boenlesgrab. The return journey, which is more peaceful, passes through Dreischoepf and Hanspen before reaching Wassmatt again.

A hike with very varied landscapes and paths: small hiking trails, forest paths and exceptional views of the surroundings of the Munster Valley, the Grand Ballon and the Alsace plain from the summits of the Petit Ballon and Steinberg.

Departure from the Col de Boenlesgrab, passing by the Refuge de la Schellimat, near Hilzen, via Bockswasen, then by the Refuge des Amis de la Nature below the summit of the Petit Ballon, then continuing after the summit along the ridges via the Col du Petit Ballon, Steinberg and its megaliths, then Grothkopf.Return via the farmsteads of Kahlenwassen (near the Virage Pinot) and Buchwald, the former intermediate station of the German cable car, then via the Strohberg farmstead before descending via Brudermatt to the Col du Boenlesgrab. This hike takes you across magnificent high-altitude stubble fields and offers numerous 360° views of the Vosges peaks and nearby Alsatian valleys.

Walk, mountain bike or electric mountain bike ride in the Stauffen and Petit Ballon mountains. The proposed circuit includes sections on roads, forest paths and cycle paths. There are no major difficulties, except for a short but steep climb after the Col de Marbach, which may require you to dismount, and the steady but also fairly steep climb from Boenlesgrab to Strohberg.