Around Gérardmer

Start from the car park of the Pierre et Paul Didier Gymnasium, 15 Rue du Levant, Gérardmer.

(S/E) With your back to the sports centre, head left along Rue du Levant until you reach the cemetery.

(1) Carry on to the left (Boulevard d’Alsace), towards Épinal, until you reach the roundabout near the Gérardmer Hautes-Vosges Community Tourist Office.

(2) Carry on straight ahead, then turn right onto Rue de la ³ Dia et^2eRsar. Cross a boulevard and continue straight ahead until you soon reach a Fork in the road. Take the central lane, Montée du Château d’Eau, and proceed to the^second four-way junction.

(3) Turn right onto Chemin des Grives and follow it to the end. At No. 8, go straight on (Chemin des Abeilles) and continue to the next junction.

(4) Turn right onto Chemin de la Ferme and follow it to the end. Continue uphill (Chemin de la Pépinière) until you reach the next junction.

(5) Take the hairpin bend to the right onto Chemin des Genièvres and arrive at a four-way junction, at the Gérardmer town boundary sign.

(6) Turn left onto Chemin de Miselle/. At the subsequent three-way junction, keep left, enter the forest and reach a forest clearing with a picnic table at the top of the climb (signpost for Cerceneux Mougeon, Alt. 890 m).

(7) Continue to the left, then keep left at the following junctions. Join a track and follow it to the^second junction.

(8) Turn left for a round trip to the Balcon des Xettes viewpoint.

(9) After admiring the beautiful view over the lake, return to the previous fork.

(8) Continue left along the main forest track until you reach a cross-country track.

(10) Turn left and you’ll reach a road (Pépinière des Xettes).

(11) Turn left, then, at the hairpin bend, take the path on the right towards Bout du Lac. Head down to the Route Forestière du Hautré (Chemin des Fourmis on the IGN map).

(12) Cross it and continue along the path. The descent is magnificent and offers lovely views of the lake. Be careful, as the path is uneven and strewn with rocks. You’ll reach a road and a roundabout (Route d’Épinal).

(13) Cross the road, then take the path leading down towards the lake. At the water’s edge, take the path on the right. Follow the shore, pass behind the hotel-restaurant, then rejoin the path running alongside the lake, until you reach the road and the car park near the Stade Henri Millan.

(14) Continue left onto the path that runs alongside the campsite and the road. Cross the footbridge on the left, then continue along the lake. Walk past the sports complex, then carry on along the Quai du Locle by taking the small bridge on the right, until you reach a junction.

(15) Head straight ahead, cross the Square du Docteur Briffaut, then, at the junction, continue straight ahead onto Rue du Lac.

(16) At the end, turn left onto Rue Charles de Gaulle. At the roundabout, head straight ahead to reach Place du Tilleul. Stop for a moment at the site of the old lime tree to read the information. Then continue along Rue Charles de Gaulle until you quickly reach Place Albert Ferry.

(17) Carry on straight ahead, past the Town Hall and then Saint-Barthélémy Church. Cross the bridge over the Goutte des Rupts and, at the next junction, turn left to reach the car park at the Pierre et Paul Didier Sports Centre (S/E).