In the heights of Pfingstberg

de fr

This short walk in the hills above Soultzmatt will take you to the Langenstein Menhir and a beautiful viewpoint over the Vallée Noble. You will then enjoy the peace and quiet of the forest, which you will walk through for most of this hike, as well as a beautiful meadow that you will cross.

Details

n°3236374
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.18 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 93 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 97 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 435 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 329 m
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Photos

Forest path and sunset
Langenstein Menhir
View from the Grossfels Rock
At the entrance to the meadow

Description of the walk

Parking near the military cemetery.

(S/E) Leave the car park with your back to the military cemetery and enter the forest via the Menhir forest path.

(1) You can stop on the left at the Langenstein Menhir. Then continue along the same path.

(2) At the crossroads, leave the forest path and start walking alongside it, taking the small path on your left. Go straight ahead and turn right to go to the Grossfels Rock.

(3) On the right, you can see the top of the Grossfels Rock. You can go there to enjoy the view. Then go back up and climb the path to the end.

(4) When you reach the forest road, turn right and follow it for about 2 km, forming a circular route. You will arrive at a road.

(5) Turn left. Be careful, as you will be walking along a country road for about 50 metres. Turn right onto the first path you come to, then cross the meadow, continuing straight ahead.

(6) A few metres after returning to the forest, turn left twice. Follow the entire Chemin du Schafbuckel until you reach the D40, which you crossed earlier. Turn left towards the military cemetery and return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 384 m - Car park near the - Cimetière militaire roumain (Soultzmatt)
  2. 1 : km 0.33 - alt. 385 m - Menhir du Langenstein
  3. 2 : km 0.51 - alt. 387 m - Crossroads of forest paths
  4. 3 : km 1.14 - alt. 383 m - Rocher du Grossfels
  5. 4 : km 1.42 - alt. 420 m - Crossroads with forest road
  6. 5 : km 3.44 - alt. 330 m - Crossing the road
  7. 6 : km 4.03 - alt. 364 m - Return to the forest
  8. S/E : km 5.18 - alt. 384 m - Car park near the cemetery.

Notes

The ground is likely to be muddy in wet weather.
Wear sturdy shoes, if only to cross the meadow between (5) and (6) or for the rather steep descent to reach the top of the rock (3).

Worth a visit

This hike covers the northern part of the Pfingstberg.
(1) The Langenstein Menhir, a large block of puddingstone sandstone erected at the beginning of the last century and surrounded by magical legends.

(3) The Grossfels Rock, or Grossfels dolmen, offers a remarkable view of the village of Soultzmatt and its valley. This enormous rock with its remarkable pink colour is made of puddingstone sandstone.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 9 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
didier.lasserre68
didier.lasserre68

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Short, easy, shaded route lasting 1 hour 45 minutes
Take the opportunity to visit the Romanian cemetery from World War I when you arrive, with informative signs.

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Novy08
Novy08
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful little route shaded by splendid oak and chestnut trees. A viewpoint over the Soulztmatt valley where you can enjoy a picnic.
A walk across unmown meadows.
On arrival, you can take a short detour that leads to a small chapel (water to refresh yourself) and two taps at the bottom of the farm to fill your water bottle. Return via the Way of the Cross and the Menhir Trail.
Thank you for this discovery.

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CATHYK
CATHYK

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2033
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

First hike via Visorando and first time using the app.
I think that without the app, we would have taken the wrong path a few times, especially when leaving the main trail.
The app was very, very useful, as an alarm sounded after about a hundred metres to alert us that we had taken the wrong path.
However, it also alerted us to a deviation when there was no other path we could take... But anyway, we followed the route without any problems.

This was an easy hike, which we chose because it was mostly shaded by the forest, which was very welcome when the sun was beating down... It's worth noting that there was a beautiful view when we left the forest and came out onto a meadow at the end of the trail.

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viovio
viovio

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

pleasant and easy

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corgnac@24
corgnac@24

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

restful calm

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chamane7
chamane7

Thank you very much, you're welcome.

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Mickanside
Mickanside

Hello Chris,
Thank you for your comment! I'm sorry you weren't able to complete this hike... It's true that the path between (3) and (4) is a little difficult to see. Next time, if you want to skip Grossfels, you can turn left at the waypoint (2) to go directly to (4) via the blue disc trail markers.
Have a good evening!

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chamane7
chamane7

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Impossible to find the path after the grossfels... many tracks have been made... so unfortunately I retraced my steps. But I'm not giving up, I'll happily go back.
Chris

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Mickanside
Mickanside

Thank you for your comments and suggestions for variations!
@MONROB, thank you, I have updated the practical information!

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MONROB
MONROB

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

At point 3 (Grossfels), it should be noted that the slope is steep with a risk of slipping, so sturdy footwear is recommended. This is the only part of the route that is not suitable for people with walking difficulties; the rest is very easy (even crossing the meadow). A very pleasant route that can be completed at a leisurely pace in 1 hour 35 minutes.

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Maminouxe
Maminouxe

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Well frequented, but it was a public holiday, which explains it... After point 3, don't hesitate to make the climb. At point 6, finding the hike a little short, we opted for the left side and climbed up to the Bannstein Pass (yellow circle, then blue triangle), staying on the blue triangle and returning to the cemetery. This meant that the 6km hike became 10km, but the beautiful scenery made up for the detour.

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Mickanside
Mickanside

Thank you for your comment! Have a nice day!

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Christophe.68000
Christophe.68000

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very precise directions.
Perfect timing.

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