From Kaltenborn to Glasborn

This hike offers beautiful views of the Munster Valley and the Val d'Orbey. The return route follows the historic Linge Barrenkopf trail.

Details

1314592
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.72 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 524 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 528 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 977 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 604 m

Description of the walk

Coming from the D48 road leading to the Col de Wettstein, at the start of the first bend, turn right onto the path leading to Lac Forlet. After about 200 m, park at a place called Kaltenborn.

(S/E) Follow the marked route (yellow disc) which leads to the Hautes Huttes crossroads via Mulmen in the Michelbach valley. The climb is quite long, sometimes on roads, sometimes on paths.

(1) Once you reach the ridge and have enjoyed the view of the small Munster valley, turn right onto the path (GR®532Yellow Rectangle).

(2) Reach the Musmiss farmhouse inn via the path (unmarked) on the right, then, at the farm, continue along the small tarmac road (Yellow Chevalet) which descends to the Col du Wettstein.

(3) Cross the road and climb the road towards Linge for about 150 metres, then turn right into the forest onto the path (GR®532 Yellow Rectangle).

(4) Pass in front of the Glasborn farmhouse inn, stay on the path (Yellow Rectangle) to cross a bumpy meadow (traces of the 1914 battles) and join the historic Linge-Barrenkopf path.

(5) Leave the path (Yellow Rectangle) and turn right onto the GR®531 (Blue Rectangle).

(6) Pass Barrenkopf and, after coming across numerous military remains, cross the D431 and continue for 100 metres on the path (blue rectangle).

(7) At the crossroads, leave the Blue Rectangle and turn right onto the path (Red Triangle) that leads to Gebraech.

(8) When you reach a small car park on the edge of the D431, cross the road again and turn left, following the path (Red Horse) for a few dozen metres before turning right onto the path (Blue Disc) towards the Londenbach goat farm.

(9) After a left turn, the path crosses the Londenbach road. Turn right and follow the road for 200 metres.

(10) Leave the road near Buchteren and climb right up the path (Disque Bleu) towards the abandoned Burnenmatt farm. This path then climbs back up to the road, passes under the viewpoint at altitude 820 and reaches a reservoir.

(11) Leave the path (blue disc) and take the path (blue horse) on the left towards Oberen Geisberg, Geisberg and then Langeren in the direction of Soultzeren.

(12) Shortly after Langeren, leave the path (blue horse) and take the path (red disc) on the right. Climb gently uphill along the Michelbach stream towards Kaltenborn until you reach the Wettstein D48 road.
Follow it to the left to rejoin the small Forlet road and the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 640 m - Car park on Route du Lac Forlet at a place called Kalten
  2. 1 : km 2.27 - alt. 966 m - Carrefour des Hautes Huttes
  3. 2 : km 3.21 - alt. 950 m - Turn right towards the Musmiss farm. Towards - Col de Wettstein (882m)
  4. 3 : km 4.21 - alt. 883 m - Wettstein Pass (882 m) - Nécropole Nationale du Wettstein
  5. 4 : km 5.74 - alt. 944 m - Glasborn farmhouse inn
  6. 5 : km 6.13 - alt. 971 m - On the right: Blue Rectangle
  7. 6 : km 6.5 - alt. 977 m - Barrenkopf
  8. 7 : km 7.47 - alt. 829 m - Right via Triangle Rouge
  9. 8 : km 8.27 - alt. 813 m - Gebraech locality
  10. 9 : km 8.98 - alt. 762 m - Londenbach trail
  11. 10 : km 9.17 - alt. 756 m - Turn right towards the Burnenmatt farm
  12. 11 : km 11.4 - alt. 785 m - Reservoir: turn left
  13. 12 : km 11.81 - alt. 742 m - Wettstein Route
  14. S/E : km 13.72 - alt. 639 m - Car park on Route du Lac Forlet at a place called Kalten

Notes

Worth a visit

Beautiful views of the Munster Valley and the Val d'Orbey, two valleys with very different appearances.
Visit the trenches and bunkers at Barrenkopf.

 Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 16 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
Jean-Michel Perigault
Jean-Michel Perigault

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful scenery throughout the route, with two farmhouse inns along the way. Many interesting sites from the First World War. Take care on the final winding descent between the houses.

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Nau90
Nau90

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike in the late winter sunshine. Not particularly difficult, and in any case, your efforts are rewarded with magnificent views!
Thanks to the app's GPS function, it's easy to find your way along the route; despite this, I made a small mistake at the end, which meant I had to climb back up a nice little slope... just goes to show, when you're in a hurry to get there, you have to take your time even more!
Thank you for sharing the route!

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muller andre
muller andre

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful scenery throughout the route, towards the end of the route due to a detour marked by the Vosges club, which is more difficult to follow, but thanks to the Visorando route on your smartphone, it is easy to find your way.

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cathy86
cathy86

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Apart from a few difficulties finding the path to join the D431 at point 6 and the return route at point 12, there are some beautiful views on this hike.

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achdidier
achdidier

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

very beautiful hike, beautiful views, a good farmhouse inn
We couldn't find the last section and ended up taking the road

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abadrando
abadrando

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike on a lovely autumn day. It started pleasantly in a misty landscape up to Hautes-Huttes, then continued in the sunshine. The route is very varied, with paths and trails offering beautiful, unobstructed views of the hills. Thank you for sharing this route.

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groupe67
groupe67

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with glorious sunshine, but too hot at the top.

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Cécé de Pfastatt
Cécé de Pfastatt

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A truly beautiful hike with breathtaking, superb views in good weather.
However, there are a few difficulties (a long climb at the beginning and two descents that are also quite challenging!)
Some details in the description are vague, and we found ourselves wondering which path to take two or three times.

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eribelle
eribelle

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike with a good portion through stubble fields (which were quite busy on this sunny day) – the hike description is accurate – note that the D431 has been renamed and is now the D5 bis I
The direction of the Londenbach goat farm is not signposted; follow the blue disc pointing towards the Wettstein Pass.

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adurand
adurand

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 17, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, mostly in the sunshine. Beautiful panoramic views and varied landscapes. Very good route on the map and clear explanations (we only got lost at the end because several paths have "blue easel" markings and we took the wrong one).
Quite a few people on some sections.

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expertalu
expertalu

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I did this hike for the second time. It's one of the most beautiful routes in the Vosges in winter. Sunshine for three-quarters of the route, breathtaking views, a high-quality GPS track. Thank you again and well done!

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expertalu
expertalu

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 02, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Thank you for this beautiful walk under a glorious sun, with the plain shrouded in mist. A reliable GPS route, no need for a map.

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chrispier85
chrispier85

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

A superb hike, magnificent landscapes. I recommend it.

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LEROUGEDANI
LEROUGEDANI

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 05, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

HELLO to all hikers. Very beautiful hike, but the signage is not great in the first part. The confirmation point is too far from the crossroads. We had to send a scout to confirm (about 50 metres further on ::
DATE: 04/07/19

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ottrott
ottrott

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 06, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

a very beautiful hike with superb views of Munster and other places. I recommend stopping at the Glasborn farmhouse inn. The family and owner are very welcoming.

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