Wildberg Pass from Oberhaslach

Start from the large car park by the village hall at the end of the village, heading towards Wangenbourg and Nideck; access is via the roundabout, opposite the fire station.

(S/E) With your back to the car park, turn left (eastwards) onto Rue du Klintz (marked with a Yellow Saltire signpost), cross the small bridge over the Hasel, then pass the fishing pond. Ignore Rue du Mittenbach, which branches off to the left, and follow Rue du Klintz as it heads uphill to the right with care; there are no proper pavements.

(1) Ignore and pass Rue la Forêt and Rue du Talmatrain, which branch off to the right, and continue to the left. Ignore Rue du Talmatrain on the right and continue for 30 m.

(2) Take the path uphill to the right marked with a Red Disc and arrive at a forest track, Route des Pionniers.

(3) Follow it straight on, following the same markings, until the next junction.

(4) Take the Route Forestière du Weinbaechel on the left, with the Petit Weinbaechel stream flowing to your left. Pass the first forest track branching off to the right, then a second one branching off to the left, and continue past the Maison Forestière du Weinbaechel.
(5) The small Grandweinbaechel stream flows between the Weinbaechel Forest Road and the Forest House. Follow the road, keeping to the left and ignoring the path branching off to the right, until the next junction.

(6) Turn left and follow the Blue Cross and Red Disc markings until the next junction.

(7) Turn left, heading due south, following the Yellow Rectangle markings until the next junction called “Schmeerbuchs”.

(8) Take a path marked with a Blue Cross on the right (poorly signposted when I was there), which splits a little further on. Follow the left-hand path uphill through the broom to rejoin the Blue Cross markings. The end of the path leads onto the Col du Wildberg forest road (alt. 637 m).

(9) Continue to the right, climbing for about a hundred metres to reach a fork (alt. 637 m).

(10) Turn right onto the path marked with the Blue Cross, which quickly turns into a footpath and descends to the right before joining the Wildberg Forest Road.

(11) Cross it and continue straight ahead onto the Kastel Forest Road (no CV markings, but with some very fine views). On this road, ignore a first path branching off to the right, then very soon a second one on the right which is not shown on maps, and continue along the forest road. Then, in turn, ignore a path on the left, then a second on the right, and a third and final one on the left just before reaching a junction.

(12) Turn left, still on the Route Forestière du Kastel (no CV markings), heading downhill, and arrive opposite on the Route Forestière, Route de Pionniers.

(13) Walk a few metres to the left and quickly rejoin the path on the right which passes in front of the Hohensteinwald Forest House. You are now on the GR®53 (marked with a Red Rectangle), which leads to Rue de la Forêt; follow this to the end and rejoin Rue du Klintz, which you passed on the way out.

(1) Head down to the left and, following the route in reverse to the one taken on the way there, you will find the car park on the left (S/E).

Hotels and restaurants

Lotel
24 Rue de Molsheim
67280 OBERHASLACH
Tel: 03 88 50 99 60
Booking recommended

Hostellerie Saint-Florent
28 Rue du Nideck
67280 OBERHASLACH
Tel: 03 88 50 94 10
Booking recommended

Michael Bakery
5 Rue de Molsheim
67280 OBERHASLACH
Tel: 03 88 50 91 40

PROXI
3 Rue du Nideck
67280 OBERHASLACH
Tel: 03 88 50 97 47

Hiking route mapped out, tested and approved by: Les Branquignol.e.s – The famous group of Alsatian friends, hikers and foodies, who really know how to enjoy themselves.

Le Noll: rising to an altitude of 991 m, it is located in the commune of Lutzelhouse. This peak is an ancient volcanic cone (source: Wikipedia).

Soultzbach Waterfall
In a rocky cirque above Urmatt, discover the Soultzbach Waterfall, which drops some 8 metres. Set amidst lush greenery, the path leading to the waterfall winds its way along the stream. An ideal refreshing walk, with rocks rising up as cliffs covered in thick moss (source: Urmatt Town Hall).

Nideck Castle and its waterfall
Situated on the heights of the road leading from Oberhaslach to Wangenbourg.
Nideck is a land of legend with castles inhabited by giants. Its waterfall, the highest in Alsace, plunges into a steep and wild volcanic cirque (source: Wikipedia).

The Schneeberg
The northernmost peak of the sandstone Vosges, rising well over 900 m in altitude at the end of a long ridge line resistant to glacial and post-glacial erosion, formed of Triassic sandstone and situated to the east of the Windsbourg valley, forming the boundary with the Moselle. It rises to 961 m at the Schneeberg and 967 m at the Baerenberg (source: Wikipedia).

The Rocher de Mutzig
, rising to an altitude of 1,008 metres, offers a 360° view of the Bruche valley, as well as the surrounding massifs such as the Donon, the Schneeberg and the Champ du Feu. The remarkable summit formations are often made of puddings, conglomerates of sandstone embedded with numerous small pebbles. The Mutzig Rock takes its name from the Mutzig Wood, which it overlooks.
Along with the Porte de Pierre and the Donon, the Mutzig Rock is a must-see for hikers on the western side of the Bruche Valley.
(source: https://www.valleedelabruche.fr/fiche-si...).

The Chapel of Saint-Florent and its votive offerings:
built in the Baroque style, it stands at the foot of the Ringelsberg.
Located on the outskirts of the village of Oberhaslach, the chapel was built in 1315 on the very site of the hermitage of Saint Florent, a monk from Ireland who became the^7th Bishop of Strasbourg.
(source: visit-alsace).

Saint-Florent Collegiate Church
Renowned for its magnificent 13th-century stained-glass windows, it was built by the son of the architect of Strasbourg Cathedral: Erwin von Steinbach. A true masterpiece of Gothic art. The majestic façade is located in the village of Niederhaslach, a major pilgrimage site since 810, and houses the relics of Saint Florent, a bishop in the last third of the 6th century who succeeded Arbogast and preceded Ansoald on the See of Strasbourg (source: visit-alsace).