The Kohlschlag farmhouse inn and Molkenrain as seen from the Firstacker Pass

Start from the Col du Firstacker car park.

(S/E) At the car park, cross the Route des Crêtes (D431) to reach the pass.

(1) At Firstacker, on the other side of the road, turn right onto the Red Rectangle path which descends towards Col Amic, running more or less parallel to the road at a distance. Continue straight on until you reach the road at Col Amic.

(2) To reach the Kohlschlag farmhouse inn (just below), head down to the left on the Blue Triangle path.
Alternatively, cross the junction and , at the picnic area, follow the Yellow Ring path to the left towards the pass and Freundstein Castle. When you reach the road again, turn right then rejoin the path on the left.

(3) Leave the path leading to the castle ruins on your left. Once past the Freundstein ruins, the path descends and leads to meadows and a small pass.

(4) Turn left onto the track, then right onto the path and continue along the GR®5 Red Rectangle towards the Hartmannswillerkopf Memorial (or Vieil Armand) via a narrow, fairly rugged path.

(5) At Hartmannswillerkopf, the path joins the road. You can visit the museum/memorial and take a tour of the National Necropolis.

(6) After a kilometre through the forest, the path enters the Molkenrain heathland. Turnleft at the junction onto the path that passes in front of the Cernay Ski Club refuge. When you reach a track, turn right and follow it uphill towards the farm.

(7) After the farm, turn right then left, and head straight up the meadow.

(8) From the Refuge des Amis de la Nature Cernay, head down through the forest on the other side, following the GR®5 towards Thann and Camp Turenne. Continue straight on until you reach the Camp Turenne monument.

(9) At Camp Turenne, turn sharply right onto the path marked with a Red Rectangle crossed by a white line, heading towards Freundstein and the Grand Ballon, which joins the path to the Freundstein farmhouse inn.

(10) Pass close to the Freudstein Chapel.

(11) At the junction, continue straight on. After the Freundstein farmhouse inn, cross the Route des Crêtes.

(12) Follow the Yellow Ring trail along the edge, which leads to the small pass where, on the way out, you turned off towards Hartmannswillerkopf.

(4) From the small pass, follow the GR®5 in the opposite direction to the outward journey, towards the Grand Ballon, as far as the Col du Firstacker. Before returning to the car park, a short climb to the right is required to reach the Chapelle du Sudel, dedicated to the soldiers who died on the nearby battlefield of Sudelkopf.

(13) Turn back and head for the pass, then the car park (S/E).

Kohlschlag Farm Inn: 03 89 82 31 28.

Molkenrain Farm Inn: 03 89 81 17 66.

Freundstein Farm Inn: 03 89 82 31 63.

Sihlbach Mountain Hut (Cernay Ski Club): klee.matts@gmail.com.

Molkenrain Nature Friends Mountain Hut: 03 89 37 32 52.

Hartmannswillerkopf Memorial : 09 71 00 88 77.

Ruins of Freundstein Castle.

Sudel Chapel.

The Hartmannswillerkopf Memorial and National Necropolis.

The Sihlbach chalet in Molkenrain, where director François Truffaut filmed the iconic scene featuring the song ‘ Le Tourbillon de la vie’, sung by Jeanne Moreau in the film Jules and Jim.