The Schneckenberg Forest

Parking on Rue des Acacias (next to the Institut Médico Éducatif) in Bartenheim.

Please note: there are no signposts; a map and description or a GPS-guided app are essential.
In wet weather, some sections are muddy.

(S/E) Walk up Rue des Acacias towards the forest, ignoring the road on the right. At the fork, keep left onto a wide path. At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead up a steep slope along a sunken track. After a wide bend to the right, keep going straight on. When you reach a clearing, enjoy the view to the right: to the north, the Vosges mountains with the Grand Ballon standing out; to the north-east, the Black Forest with the Blauen.
Continue through the forest; the track narrows to a path and then descends to reach a wide track at the edge of a field.

(1) Turn left at the edge of the woodland, ignoring a path on the right and then another on the left. The path, still running along the edge of the woodland, heads south and begins an ascent before reaching a crossroads.

(2) Ignore the path opposite which continues into the forest. Turn right, cross the field to enter the forest and walk through it for over 500 m. The path opens out onto a vast area of farmland. On the right, a large maple tree marks the exit from the forest, with the number 3 written in green on its trunk.

(3) Continue for about a hundred metres along the edge of the woodland to find a path branching off to the left.
Enter the forest, heading due south towards the Lutterbach valley floor, and emerge onto a wide path. Head left along the edge for about a hundred metres until you come to a path that enters the forest and leads to a wet meadow (possible as a round trip).

(4) Leave this path and turn right, staying on the edge of the woodland. At^{the first} right-hand bend, leave the path that continues along the field and head straight up into the forest. Ignore the cross-country paths and reach the ridge path of the Petit Schneckenberg. Take this path to the left on a gentle descent. Just after a path branches off to the left, keep to the right and arrive at a fork in the path.

(5) Turn left; the path descends towards the Lutterbach stream, joins a path coming from the left and then a second one, runs alongside a wet meadow and reaches a large crossroads in the trough of the valley. Turn left towards the crossroads with a wide path running parallel to the valley.

(6) Turn left for about 200 m, then climb up a wide right-hand bend. Ignore a path on the right leading to a hunting shelter and arrive at the junction with the Grand Schneckenberg ridge path.

(7) Head right through a thicket of young trees followed by tall, majestic trees. The forest is divided into plots numbered in red on the trunks, in ascending order on the left-hand side. Stay on the path until the junction after plot no. 19.

To do this, look for the junction between plots 18 and 19 (^numbers on two trees on the left), continue for a few dozen metres until you see the number 19 on a tree on the left, which marks the end of the plot (see Practical Information).

(8) Head down to the left along the path bordering plot no. 19 and leave the forest into the Wurbach valley. At the next junction, the path opposite, often overgrown with grass, climbs up to join the outward route (alternative route). Turn right along the valley floor. After a few hundred metres, the path opens out onto a field and veers left towards the D201 at the entrance to Bartenheim.

Note the Notre-Dame des Champs Chapel on the other side of the road (see Practical Information). Turn left along the road and continue on the pavement, then the cycle path. After the roundabout, take Rue des Acacias on the left (S/E).

Introduction inspired by the Presentation Report Volume 2 – Initial State of the Environment – Saint-Louis Agglomeration – March 2020.

(8) If you go past the junction at point (8), you will see the red marking for plot no. 2 on your right. Turn back a few dozen metres to find the junction and the path down alongside plot no. 19.

If you wish to see the Notre-Dame des Champs Chapel when you reach the D201, cross the road with care as traffic is heavy during the hours when cross-border commuters are passing through.

To avoid having to turn back, check the hunting dates.