Between vineyards and forest, starting from Ammerschwihr

Park in the small car park on the Route du Golf, near the upper gate of the village.

(S/E) With your back to the car park, keep the Upper Gate on your right and take Rue du Sandbach, which descends towards the river to the small bridge over the Walbach.

(1) After the small bridge, turn left onto the small marked path (Yellow Saltire) which runs alongside the river to the junction with the golf course road and the D11.1 (marked by a cross).

(2) Turn right onto the wide tarmac path, then, a few dozen metres further on, turn left to follow the path (Yellow Saltire) which climbs quite steeply along the edge of the vineyards, offering lovely views of the Ammerschwihr vineyards. It continues through a sparse woodland to the Flieger Chapel, which is in fact a small oratory, situated at this major crossroads.

(3) Take the Chemin de la Crêtes plein Ouest, which climbs towards the Col du Herrenwasen (Yellow Cross) and features a few fairly steep sections through a light oak forest. When you reach the junction with a wide path, continue left to reach the pass.

(4) Then retrace your steps to follow the wide path; this is the Vorhof circular trail (Blue Triangle), which heads north to the Chalet Jean Weibel, a large wooden house run by the Club Vosgien. See Practical Information.

(5) Continue to the right along a small path (Blue Triangle) which descends briefly through the forest. It crosses several forest tracks and reaches a junction of several paths.

(6) Ignore the Green Ring marked paths and continue to follow the Blue Triangle markings. Please note that the trail veers slightly south of the route shown on the IGN map. After a series of hairpin bends, you’ll reach a wooden footbridge spanning a small stream.

(7) Continue left along the wide descending path (Blue Triangle), pass an area of meadows and orchards on the left, and carry on until you reach a path leading uphill to the right.

(8) Turn sharply right and follow this wide forest track (Green Ring then Red Ring). At the junction after the hairpin bend to the left, continue straight on, then leave the Green Ring-marked path on your left and continue straight on to the Junghau junction.

(9) Do not take the path climbing steeply ahead of you, but take the path on your left (Red Ring) heading east towards Saint-Wolfgang Chapel, a former leper colony overlooking the main road and offering beautiful views of Kayserberg and its castle.

(10) Pass to the right of the chapel, between it and the rock, and continue towards Ammerschwihr along a narrow forest path (marked with a Blue Cross then a Blue Disc) until you reach a wide concrete track.

(11) Follow it downhill; it offers lovely views of the vineyards and the Alsace plain, and takes you back to the bridge over the Walbach and Rue du Sandbach (S/E).

The Club Vosgien’sChalet Weibel in Kaysersberg is open to walkers every Sunday and on public holidays from 1 May to 30 September.

Names and meanings of the Club Vosgien trail markers.