The castles of Windstein, Wittschloessel and Wineck

The village of Windstein, nestled in a valley in the Northern Vosges, is the ideal starting point for visiting the many ruined castles in the surrounding area.

The hike takes in the two castles of Wittschloessel and Wineck. It is possible to add Schoeneck Castle by temporarily deviating from the route.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.18 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 511 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 508 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 509 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 220 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Start at the Menhir car park in Windstein, near Jaegerthal.

(S/E) With your back to the car park, follow the road to the left and then immediately turn right onto the Castle Route (marked with a red rectangle) which climbs up to the Old Windstein Castle (clearly visible from the car park).

(1) At the lodge, continue in the same direction and go around the castle ruins on the left (climbing site) until you reach a crossroads (elevation 325).

(2) At this crossroads, continue straight ahead following the red rectangle markings. After about 100 metres, leave the wide path and turn left onto a trail, still following the red rectangle markings.

(3) Arrival at Col du Gruenthal. Continue left on the path marked with red rectangles towards Wassersteine.

(4) You can make a short detour to the left (not marked here) to see the Wassersteine cup-marked stones (sign). Continue north-northwest on the path marked with red rectangles. Follow a few bends, descend and reach the Col du Petit Grueneberg.

(5) Continue north. Stay on the Red Rectangle marked path and ignore the side paths. Reach the Col de Wineckerthal.

(6) Continue with the red rectangle. At a left turn on the main path, take a path on the right that climbs westwards.

(7) At a fork, turn sharply right and climb a path marked with red-white-red rectangles.

(8) At a fork, take the path on the right that climbs the hill, going around it in an anti-clockwise direction. You will reach Wittschloessel Castle at the top of the hill. Then take the eastern variant indicated by a sign and return to the previous intersection.

(8) Turn right to quickly reach the fork you took earlier.

(7) Turn right onto the path marked with a red rectangle and reach the Col de Wittschloessel.

(9) At the crossroads, take thefirst path on the left and shortly afterwards turn right (marked with a yellow triangle) towards the Col du Wineck.

(10) At the pass, turn left onto the path marked with a yellow disc. Head towards the ridge, climb slightly and reach Château du Wineck.

(11) Cross the ruins, turn left and descend the winding path marked with a yellow disc. You will come out onto a path; follow it to the right. At the Herrenhof forest house, turn right onto the path that runs alongside the D53 for 300 metres.

(12) Cross the D53. Turn left and take the Green Triangle marked path which follows the valley to the south-east and then due south.

(13) At the pumping station, you will come to a small road; follow it to the left. Return to the D53 and follow it to the left for about 200 m. Turn right and climb up a path marked with a red rectangle. After about 50 metres, turn right. Follow a path (red rectangle) parallel to the D53.

Continue along a wider path until you reach a crossroads (elevation 238). Then take the red rectangle trail that climbs towards the Château du Nouveau Windstein. At a T-junction (elevation 303), turn right. Then take thefirst trail on the left and climb up to the Château du Nouveau Windstein.

(14) Continue along the red rectangle trail. Descend the northern slope of the hill and return to the Lodge du Vieux Windstein, which you passed on the way up.

(1) Descend Route des Châteaux on the right and you will soon reach the menhir car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 280 m - Car park - Menhir de Windstein
  2. 1 : km 0.35 - alt. 313 m - Gîte du Vieux Windstein
  3. 2 : km 0.77 - alt. 327 m - Crossroads - Château du Vieux Windstein
  4. 3 : km 1.87 - alt. 500 m - Gruenthal Pass
  5. 4 : km 2.01 - alt. 506 m - Access to the Wassersteine
  6. 5 : km 2.92 - alt. 423 m - Col du Petit Grueneberg
  7. 6 : km 3.77 - alt. 357 m - Wineckerthal Pass
  8. 7 : km 4.16 - alt. 384 m - Junction
  9. 8 : km 4.35 - alt. 399 m - Crossroads of the circular - Château de Wittschloessel
  10. 9 : km 5.4 - alt. 369 m - Wittschloessel Pass
  11. 10 : km 6.1 - alt. 342 m - Wineck Pass
  12. 11 : km 7.01 - alt. 363 m - Château de Wineck
  13. 12 : km 8.25 - alt. 242 m - Crossing the D53
  14. 13 : km 10.3 - alt. 220 m - Pumping station
  15. 14 : km 13.14 - alt. 345 m - Château du Nouveau-Windstein
  16. S/E : km 14.17 - alt. 280 m - Car park - Menhir de Windstein

Notes

Walking shoes.

Worth a visit

Visit the four castles of Nouveau and Vieux Windstein, Wittschloessel and Wineck

The route can be extended by adding Schoeneck Castle, making a circular loop at point (12).

Former De Dietrich forges in the village of Jaegerthal.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 12 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
User 23943317

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk – all those castles, even if there isn’t much left of them, strung together along this route – it’s brilliant!
Good signposting. For lovers of old buildings, it was really lovely.
The end of the walk is quite steep as you head towards the new Windstein! But it was worth it; it’s the best-preserved one.

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tigrou18
tigrou18

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

a very good route that I've done twice, once to check it out and a second time with a group of friends. Some of the castles are more like ruins/piles of stones, but the views are magnificent if the weather is good.

after about an hour and a half of walking, there is a great viewpoint with benches.

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Phelim
Phelim

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Route taken outside of holiday season, during the week, so not many people.

No issues with signposting, easy route to follow.

The Old Windstein is apparently private property, so it is impossible to access it, or at least we couldn't find a way in.

The Wittschloessel is closer to the rock than the ruins, so it's not particularly interesting.

The Wineck is a nice ruin with a beautiful tower still standing.

The Nouveau-Windstein is a beautiful, well-maintained and original ruin.

The hike is quite steep at the start, then fairly easy until the climb to Nouveau-Windstein at the end of the route, which is quite steep.

There are no viewpoints, except at Nouveau-Windstein.

Beautiful, varied forest.

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heunova
heunova

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike. Varied landscapes.

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Schocla
Schocla

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful route. Ideal for lovers of old buildings.

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Jacky D
Jacky D

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very pretty route taken on a Sunday, which was inevitably a little busier than during the week. Finding four castles along a 14 km route is not very common, although it is much easier in the beautiful Northern Vosges than elsewhere. The Windstein castles are very interesting to visit and even a little "adventurous" in the case of the old Windstein, which will surprise young and old alike! Thank you for this lovely route.

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Francisgdj
Francisgdj

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, especially the first part. It is very quiet, and what strikes you is the scarcity of birds and insects, not to mention mammals. Unfortunately, this is a symptom of the disappearance of biodiversity. I spent a lot of time in the forest in my younger years, several decades ago, and I could admire many species of insects and hear dozens of birds singing. During this hike, I saw a few dung beetles, several of them on their backs, a few flies and a few butterflies. I heard a cuckoo and a crow.

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gerard stk
gerard stk

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk

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hp67
hp67

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Beautiful hike, very well explained

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1956 didi nepal
1956 didi nepal

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A very varied route.

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Lokes
Lokes

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The Northern Vosges definitely have their charm too.

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Veromissbug
Veromissbug

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk to discover the remains of the castles. Beautiful panoramic views.

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