The snowdrops of Saint-Bernard

de fr

It is in late February and early March that you should go to meet spring in the forest of Saint-Bernard. This is where the snowdrops appear, signalling the end of winter.

Details

n°25258
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.01 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 48 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 48 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 314 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 266 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ District: Heidwiller (68720)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.657501° / E 7.227929°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3621ET
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Photos

Spring snowflakes
Snowdrops
The Snowdrop Brook

Description of the walk

The starting point is located on the canal at the western exit of the village of Heidwiller (enter Rue du Riedweg into your satnav).

(S/E) Follow the cycle path west towards the RD466 and continue to the lock, then take the RD18-3 road.

(1) Cross it carefully and turn left for 200 metres.

(2) Take a forest path on the left that runs alongside two ponds. At the end of the second pond, leave the path and head south to reach the small river. Snowdrops grow along this stream. Follow it for about 100 metres, then turn right until you reach a forest path.

(3) Follow it north towards the village of Eglingen.

(4) Cross it and join the canal path at the bottom, which you should now follow eastwards (to the right).

(5) At the first lock, leave the track on the left and cross the canal. Head north towards the village of Saint-Bernard.

(6) When you reach Rue de l'Église, turn right. Cross the village and join the RD18.

(7) Turn right, cross the Largue and head towards the canal path.

(1) At the lock, turn left and return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 266 m - Edge of the canal at the exit of the village of Heidwiller - Canal du Rhône au Rhin
  2. 1 : km 1.77 - alt. 273 m - RD18-3
  3. 2 : km 1.95 - alt. 271 m - Forest path
  4. 3 : km 4.31 - alt. 300 m - Fork in the road heading due north
  5. 4 : km 6.72 - alt. 279 m - Village of Eglingen
  6. 5 : km 7.83 - alt. 276 m - First lock
  7. 6 : km 8.52 - alt. 274 m - Rue de l'Église
  8. 7 : km 9.65 - alt. 268 m - RD18-3 - Largue (rivière) - Affluent de l'Ill
  9. S/E : km 12.01 - alt. 266 m - Parking is available along the canal.

Notes

Meals are naturally served at the village restaurant. However, by giving advance notice, a group can simply get soup and drinks, and packed lunches are allowed.

Worth a visit

The spring snowflake resembles a snowdrop. Its flower is larger than that of Galanthus nivalis and its stem measures 15 to 25 cm. The spring snowflake blooms two weeks later than the common snowdrop (February-March). Thus, flowering takes place not in spring but at the end of winter.

Reviews and comments

3.6 / 5
Based on 22 reviews
Reliability of the description
3.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.5 / 5
Route interest
3.7 / 5
User 24165185

Overall rating : 1.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The route description does not correspond to the actual route.
E.g. You walk alongside two ponds... The path must be too far away from the ponds to spot them.
It should be noted that there are no signs in the forest sections, so it is almost impossible to find the fork in the path without using GPS.

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Lemaireclaude
Lemaireclaude

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk

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jardinfleuri
jardinfleuri

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did this route in autumn, the grass was tall, and some of the forest paths were impossible to find. We then used the app to find the route, and thanks to it, the hike was very enjoyable.

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nènène
nènène
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2033
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We shortened the hike by starting from the car park at EGLINGEN Town Hall, 19 Rue Principale, and doing a 7.7 km circular route. From point 4, we went to point 5 and then to point 1. We continued the route as indicated to return to our starting point. Good explanations about the birds and plants along the canal (we saw nutria in the ditch).
The snowdrops were in bloom. It was easy to find them by following your explanations. How wonderful! A carpet of flowers! A few primroses and wild garlic. However, the GPS was very helpful in following the route through the forest (from point 3 to point 4). To sum up, a very nice walk on a very nice day. Well done and thank you to the Visorandonneurs who designed this route.

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Bruno1953
Bruno1953

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant little walk
The snowdrops were in bloom at the indicated location.
The first part along the canal is not particularly interesting, especially as it is a return trip.
It is therefore possible to start from Saint Bernard's Church (car park) to make a circular route.

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les W
les W

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A must-do hike when the snowdrops are in bloom! Late February to early March.

A lovely, very easy walk, with a few difficulties finding the path after the river, but you can easily walk off the beaten track and quickly find your way back to the main path.

There are lots of animal tracks, and if you know how to spot them, it's like a real-life bestiary!

The ponds are magnificent and the early spring light adds to the beauty of the place.

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danielfuchs
danielfuchs

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 20, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

A lovely walk on a classic route, but there is a change to be made at checkpoint 6: contrary to what is stated, there is no longer a restaurant there.

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

A beautiful walk but very quickly lost in the forest

Finding your way in the forest isn't easy because it can sometimes be difficult to match the map to the terrain. In this specific case, in addition to the description and map, we recommend using a virtual guide: the GPS app.

This tool, offered free of charge by Visorando, allows you to validate waypoints and thus remove any doubts about your orientation.

See you soon!

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jipibi
jipibi

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 29, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Lovely walk but quickly lost in the forest

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latristesse
latristesse

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

hike without any particular difficulties, can be recommended for family outings

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Gégé d'alsace
Gégé d'alsace

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

We shortened the route slightly by starting from the car park at Eglingen Town Hall, which meant we didn't have to cycle back and forth along the canal from the canal car park.
We also avoided passing through St Bernard by staying on the cycle path.
Otherwise, the route is very easy to follow on the map.
A wonderful way to discover the Eglingen region.

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gazok54
gazok54 ★

Thank you, Philippe
If you have any ideas for improving the description, please do not hesitate to let us know.

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ePhilippe
ePhilippe

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The description of the forest trail is very average and not very precise. At no point do you walk alongside the two ponds, and you can only see them from a distance in winter when the trees have lost their leaves. The forest road at the start of the walk ends in a path and then disappears, so you have to walk blindly, which meant we ended up getting lost and it was by chance that we found a path that finally led us to the entrance to Hagenbach! The IGN map enabled us to return to Eglingen. But what a waste of time, which is a shame because the rest of the walk is beautiful. The description definitely needs to be revised because I'm not the only one who got lost, if I'm to believe the opinions of other hikers. Nevertheless, thank you for the good times spent in this countryside, which offers beautiful views of the Vosges.

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boulivan
boulivan

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 18, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing

This hike has far too many paved sections for my taste. Without the snowdrops, I didn't particularly enjoy it.

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Minousdu68
Minousdu68

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 13, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely walk with varied scenery: the canal by the water's edge, the forest bordered by two ponds and a stream, the villages... We live in the neighbouring village but had never been there before, so it was a pleasant discovery!

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