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Park in the car park next to the small pond at the Col de Steige.
(S/E) Cross the road and take the path on the other side, marked with a Blue Rectangle. It passes behind a wooden building which is actually a huge apiary. Turn right, then left about a hundred metres further on.
(1) The path climbs gently through the woods and joins a wide forest track.
(2) Follow it for about a hundred metres, then leave it and take a path heading south-west towards Le Climont, marked with the Blue Rectangle.
(3) When you reach the forest track, turn right and continue to follow the Blue Rectangle.
(4) After about 400 m, you will reach the source of the Climontaine. From there, the path, still marked with the Blue Rectangle, heads south then south-east to the D214.
(5) Once you reach the D214, continue along the road, still following the Blue Rectangle. You will pass successively on the left-hand side of the road past a holiday camp, the Ferme-auberge des Cimes and a farm shed until you reach the junction with the D156. This first section will have provided an excellent approach walk and a necessary warm-up for the second part.
(6) At the D214/D156 junction, the Yellow Cross marked trail starts on the right, at a 90° angle, heading towards Climont, and begins to climb the contour lines. It continues to the summit where the Julius Tower is located. You will cross over and follow a section of a wider forest track, but the markings to follow (Yellow Cross) are still clearly signposted and you will soon rejoin the narrow path climbing up to your right.
(7) Once you reach the tower, built in 1897 by the Strasbourg branch of the Club Vosgien, make one final effort to climb to its summit to take in the panoramic view. The descent from Climont follows the marked Yellow Cross trail. It starts opposite the tower exit, slightly to the right.
Whilst the ascent took place under the cover of the forest, the descent is much more open and you’ll have a lovely view of the Col de Steige and the hamlet of La Salcée, where the Confitures du Climont shop is located. The Yellow Cross markings are present throughout the descent.
Please note, this descent is quite technical and can be difficult in bad weather.
If in doubt, return via the same route you took on the way up.
At the bottom of the descent, you’ll join the signposted Blue Ring circular route.
(8) When you reach the crossroads, follow the marked Blue Ring trail heading east. You will reach the D214.
(9) Once on the D214, take the Red Disc marked trail on the left; this will quickly take you back to the Blue Rectangle marked trail you took on the way out, at the Climontaine spring.
(4) Follow the route taken on the way there.
(3) Don’t forget to turn left at the start of the main forest track. If you miss it, it doesn’t matter, as this path rejoins the original route, still heading downhill, a little further down at the point (2).
(2) Now that you’ve completed a circular journey, all that remains is to let yourself descend along the track to the Col de Steige after crossing the D50 (S/E).
Visorando Member
Moderate 
Tourist office
Easy 
