The Col de La Charbonnière loop

A beautiful hike passing through the pass and the Charbonnière inn, where you can recharge your batteries with some good food, before reaching the highest point of the Champ du Feu. On the way back, you will pass by the paragliding launch site with a magnificent view of the Villé valley.

Details

n°947239
Creation:
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Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.50 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,529 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,512 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 3,606 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 2,385 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at the Col du Kreuzweg (on the right after the Auberge du Kreuzweg when coming from Andlau).

(S/E) On leaving the car park, turn left onto the Yellow Saltire trail. You will come to the first junction.

(1) Turn left onto the ‘Yellow Disc’ trail. Continue along this trail until you reach the D57. Cross the road and continue along the ‘Yellow Disc’ trail until you reach the ‘Chemin de Tannhütte’ forest track, marked ‘Red Saltire’ (on the left, just past the bend, is the Tannhütte shelter).

(2) Turn right. Continue along this path, signposted with a Red Saltire, towards the Col de la Charbonnière.

(3) After a while, turn right onto the Red Disc trail towards the Col de la Charbonnière and head for the pass. You can stop for a bite to eat at the Auberge de la Charbonnière.

(4) Continue along the D214 road towards Champ du Feu. After about 500 metres, turn left onto theGR®®531path (Red Ring, Blue Rectangle) to reach Champ du Feu.

(5) Go round the tower on the right and take the ‘Blue Cross Red Ring’ path on the right. This path, which initially heads east, curves to the right and heads due south to reach the junction with a ski lift.

(6) Carry straight on.

(7) Continue along the ‘Blue Cross’ path to the left, then turn right onto the ‘Green Cross’ path. You’ll reach the paragliding launch site, where you can enjoy the magnificent view over the Villé valley and (weather permitting) the Swiss Alps to the right.

(8) Carry on to return to the original junction.

(1) Turn left onto the Yellow Saltire path and, further on, return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 2,543 ft - Car park at the - Buchbuckel
  2. 1 : mi 0.4 - alt. 2,841 ft - Junction of the circular loop
  3. 2 : mi 1.51 - alt. 2,385 ft - Chemin de Tannhütte, on the right
  4. 3 : mi 2.95 - alt. 3,005 ft - Turn right at the fork
  5. 4 : mi 3.38 - alt. 3,136 ft - Inn and - Col de la Charbonnière (961m)
  6. 5 : mi 4.42 - alt. 3,602 ft - Tour du Champ Du Feu – Champ du Feu
  7. 6 : mi 5.08 - alt. 3,323 ft - Ski lift – Ski lift
  8. 7 : mi 5.34 - alt. 3,150 ft - Turn left at the fork
  9. 8 : mi 5.83 - alt. 3,035 ft - Paragliding launch site
  10. S/E : mi 6.5 - alt. 2,543 ft - Col du Kreuzweg car park

Notes

IGN map 3717 ET-Sélestat-Ribeauvillé and IGN 3617 ET-Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines

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

4.3 / 5
Based on 34 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
Emem
Emem

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

There is forestry work on the 1st part of the walk

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Schmiltz
Schmiltz

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A wonderful hike not to be missed at this time of year, provided you are well equipped because of the snow on the summit and the paths made slippery by the frost. The views on the way back are simply breathtaking.

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Ryden
Ryden

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

not very flat, but lots of shadows and pretty landscapes

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guyu671
guyu671

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

faster than announced

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KESSENHEIMER
KESSENHEIMER

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Very nice hike = It's a shame that to get from the Kreuzweg to the Charbonnière, you have to go downhill for a while only to come back up again...

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Maminouxe
Maminouxe

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A bit of a mess at the start, but the rest of the route is OK. Picnic stop at the Tannhutte shelter. Only viewpoint at the paragliders' runway.

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rando k
rando k

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Sorry, there's too much snow to do the tour, and the Auberge de la Charbonnière makes it hard to leave again.

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balou17
balou17

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

lovely hike, forest up to point 6, then some very fine viewpoints

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frenchydoc1
frenchydoc1

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 30, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Note the error in the positioning of WP3, which does not correspond to the explanation in the text: "take the red disc path to the right towards the Col de la Charbonnière". In fact, you need to turn right a little earlier at the following coordinates:
Right fork
N 48.37937
E 7.25765
Otherwise nothing to report; the time is correctly estimated at 4 hours with a good break for paragliders; average interest between 1 and 3.

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Bertarazzi
Bertarazzi

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 18, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very nice hike. It took only 3 hours to complete. The end was magnificent, with 4 or 5 paragliders taking off in glorious sunshine. I'd recommend it!

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jdrouaine
jdrouaine

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 04, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike with several viewpoints over the Villé valley and an inn halfway along the route.
Done on a Saturday, no hard cat on the path, it was very pleasant.

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pascal6726
pascal6726

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant walk for a spring afternoon (3h15 without the break)
Well shaded

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Jean-Marie Randonneur
Jean-Marie Randonneur

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

We hiked on snow-covered ground, which was less easy on the descent after the Champ du Feu tower. But a fine hike all the same

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PatrickPH
PatrickPH

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 10, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Thank you for the work you do to help us discover some lovely walks without getting lost.
Cdt

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Goofie
Goofie
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 10, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

It was a lovely walk in superb sunshine, above the mist of the valleys, on ground that was often still white from the first night frost of the year!
Knowing that the Auberge de la Charbonnière was fully booked for lunch, we planned to eat a packed lunch at the Tannhütte area.
We decided to do the hike in the opposite direction. Perfect from the start at Kreuzweg to the Tannhütte via Charbonnière! But then what? At the Tannhütte, we followed the "yellow disc" signs, which went up and up and up, and we looked for the trailhead on the right... After a while, however, we were surprised not to find any markings to the right (although there were more and more trailheads), so we retraced our steps and took the path we "felt best" ... ... quickly confirmed by a glance at our position on the Visorando app and my IGN Rando-Bruche Top 25 map that I had in my bag). We continued for about 2 km .... without ever encountering a single "yellow disc"... Has someone removed them? Or have they fallen victim to the extensive pruning work visible in the area?
I'm certainly thinking about the signposting (Visorando is not responsible for this), but I thought it was important to warn future hikers in the area ^^ It's a pity, because everything else was perfect!
We finally reached the "yellow easel", then the yurt, then the finish.

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