The Hardt Forest

Start at the car park of the former Renault garage next to the Zussy bakery.

(S/E) Cross the roundabout opposite and follow the cycle path towards the village centre for about 200m. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and take the small path leading to Rue Waldner. Follow this street and take the first alleyway on the left. At the end, turn right and you’ll come out onto a decorative grass verge.

(1) Follow the street opposite, turn left and continue to the steps of the footbridge, which can be seen from a distance.

(2) Take the footbridge to cross the railway line. Follow the path running alongside the old sewage treatment plant. Continue east-northeast and carry on to the next junction.

(3) At the junction just before a power line, turn right and go straight on. You will come out onto the D19bIII; follow it to the left for about 100 metres.

(4) Then turn right and cross the small bridge leading to the fields. Follow the path opposite for 500m.

(5) At the next junction, turn left towards the north-east. Pass the pumping station on the right and then the transformer on the left. Continue along the edge of the forest on a slight incline until you reach the A35.

(6) Cross the motorway bridge, then continue to a junction (water tank on the right).

(7) Turn right onto the tarmac path (look behind you from time to time to avoid being caught out by cyclists).

(8) At the next junction, turn right, cross over the A35 again and continue straight on through the forest (west-south-west). As you leave the forest, ignore a turn-off on the left and you will come to a crossroads.

(9) Then take the track on the right.

(10) At the next junction, turn left and go under the power line. Before the railway line, turn right and you’ll come out into a housing estate. Follow the path through it naturally until you reach the main road. Then turn left and go under the railway line.

(11) Take the first right, Rue du Chemin de Fer. After about 500m, turn left onto Rue Albert Schweitzer. At the junction in front of the school, follow Rue Louis Pasteur to the right until the end. Cross diagonally across the small traffic island you passed on the way there.

(1) Continue straight ahead through a small passageway. Join Impasse Zumstein. At the junction, follow Rue des Landes straight ahead. At the end, turn left to return to the starting point (S/E).

If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to watch a train go by from above.