From the Col des Bagenelles to the Mines d'Échery

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Beautiful hike in the Val d'Argent, via the Tree of Liberty, to discover the old mines of the village of Échery and its clock tower.
Climb to the summit of Grand Brézouard and enjoy a 360° panorama of the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines valley and the Vosges mountain ranges.

Details

n°112903
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 19.03 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 8h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 958 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 956 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,101 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 400 m
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Photos

View of the Ste Marie aux Mines valley.

Description of the walk

(S/E) From the car park at the Col des Bagenelles, climb up theGR®531, alternating between the main path and its alternative route to reach the Tree of Liberty.

(1) After the Col du Pré de Raves, don't miss the Roche des Fées and its view over the valley.

(2) Continue on to Place Mandray (elevation 952).

(3) The path descends to the left to reach Place de la Liberté, where there is a pretty log shelter.

(4) Take the path marked with red discs that branches off to the right, passing close to some casemates

(5), then a blockhouse a little further on.

(6) You will reach a cave.

(7). Continue north-east and reach the Côte d'Échery (698m).

(8) At the junction after the 638m mark, turn right towards Échery and follow the fitness trail.

(9) Cross the D48 between the school, the sports fields and the gymnasium to go back up into the village towards the church to discover the Clock Tower.

(10) Take theGR® towards the old mines, after the footbridge, pass in front of the forest house.

(11). After a second footbridge and the old mines, go up the Rauenthal Forest Road.

(12) Leave the road via a path that leads to the crossroads between Petit Brézouard and Grand Brézouard.

(13) Here you will find picnic tables and a shelter, as well as a superb 360° panorama of the Vosges valleys and ridges. Descend via theGR®5towards the Refuge de Haicot.

(14) Then reach the Col des Bagenelles (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 904 m - Col des Bagenelles
  2. 1 : km 1.44 - alt. 1,023 m - Col du Pré de Raves
  3. 2 : km 1.88 - alt. 1,025 m - Roche aux Fées
  4. 3 : km 2.9 - alt. 954 m - Place Mandray
  5. 4 : km 4.3 - alt. 906 m - Place de la Liberté
  6. 5 : km 5.26 - alt. 792 m - Casemates
  7. 6 : km 5.52 - alt. 779 m - Blockhaus
  8. 7 : km 5.85 - alt. 748 m - Caves
  9. 8 : km 6.88 - alt. 692 m - Cote d'Echery
  10. 9 : km 10.1 - alt. 424 m - D48 crossroads. Towards the - Lièpvrette (rivière)
  11. 10 : km 11.5 - alt. 428 m - Clock Tower.
  12. 11 : km 12.57 - alt. 482 m - Forest house.
  13. 12 : km 15.62 - alt. 876 m - Trail junction.
  14. 13 : km 16.31 - alt. 1,078 m - Between Petit and Grand Brézouard
  15. 14 : km 16.98 - alt. 1,094 m - Haicot refuge.
  16. S/E : km 19.03 - alt. 904 m - Col des Bagenelles

Notes

Shelter near the Tree of Liberty.
Shelter at the crossroads of Les Deux Brézouard.
Haicot refuge.
La Graine Johé farmhouse inn at the Col des Bagenelles.

Worth a visit

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.

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Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 16 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.1 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.7 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
User 18807384

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Good hike with a fairly steep climb at the end, but the route isn't great

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Christelle1488
Christelle1488
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike, but the route is unreliable in several places. We lost our way several times, but managed to find it again each time, which meant that we ended up walking almost 23 km instead of 19 km.
Apart from the distance, we didn't find it particularly technical.

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sithmonster
sithmonster
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed in difficult conditions with snow and wind. Very good route with beautiful views. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
The added bonus is the shelter of the tree of liberty, where you can refuel in the dry and warm. The climb from Echery to the Col des Bagenelles has quite a steep gradient 😏.

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Nature57
Nature57
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

A beautiful hike with lovely spots such as the Tree of Liberty and its chalet! The climb up to Grand Brézouard from the village of Echery requires a good level of fitness. However, the view from the summit is superb! Be careful, as the route does not always correspond to the actual terrain. In addition, the author's description is sometimes incomplete in relation to the route, for example from point 15 to the arrival at Col des Bagenelles, or between points 13 and 14! I therefore strongly recommend using a GPS device for this hike.

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HARDIV
HARDIV

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 09, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very beautiful and long hike. The first part is very pleasant with beautiful views.
The only downside is the description and map between points 13 and 14. It is easy to get lost there.
We have very fond memories of it.

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cyrille2010
cyrille2010

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

I did not complete the entire route.

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Mick88
Mick88

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : May 23, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hike starting from the clock tower closest to my home rather than the Col des Bagenelles. I used my GPS to guide me as I was unsure at several points. Map or GPS required. There are several variations, particularly between the Col du Pré de Raves and the Tree of Liberty. I was unsure at several points.
Beautiful views, a lovely hike.

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Antoine M4.
Antoine M4.

Hello,

We are planning this hike in November, perhaps with a trailer like this one https://www.amazon.fr/Tiggo-Convertible-... with a puppy inside... Are the paths wide (let's say wide enough for two people) or not? Are there any particularly difficult sections? (basically, where a mountain bike wouldn't be able to pass?)
Thanks in advance.

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pieraudan
pieraudan

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 12, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely walk, but personally, I would start from the bottom and climb up to the Col des Bagenelles via one side, then descend via the opposite side...

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It@k
It@k

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful, challenging but enjoyable route; rocks, blockhouses, casemates and mines add interest to the hike.
The route was completed in fine weather and warm temperatures, which made it challenging, and the profile, which is mainly downhill in the first part, means that the return to Col des Bagenelles from Echery is quite physically demanding.

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Franck67_22
Franck67_22
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 08, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello, great hike today; however, you need to prepare for it. The route isn't very precise. Without my smartphone, I would have got lost many times. The climb up to Bezouard is tough. In the end, it was 26 km and 1,090 metres of elevation gain because I hesitated a lot. Thank you for sharing this beautiful walk.
The school was also closed but easy to get around.
You need a smartphone to find the start, otherwise it's impossible.

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ecm2
ecm2

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello, excellent hike. However, I didn't want to finish with the hardest part, the climb from Echery to Bezouard, so I started from the Clock Tower, keeping the same direction. What's more, Echery was closer to my home than the Col des Bagenelles. I used the description to plot my own route on an IGN map, which was perfect, except for the end of the descent to Echery to return to the tower, where I had to use my smartphone to find my way.
To be done again.

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viry
viry

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 28, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful parish-specific to Brittany hike, we did a circular route to Brézouard. The route isn't very clear in places, but luckily I had the route mapped out on my smartphone using the IGN map.

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Chantal&Olivier
Chantal&Olivier

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Offer a variant starting from the low point at Echéry for those who prefer to climb first.

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bibi
bibi ★

And was the description accompanying the signposting good quality? Or did you get lost?

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