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Car park near the ‘Les Oréades’ nursery school on Rue de Castroville in Ensisheim.
A longer route is available via the ‘Along the banks of the Ill, the Thur and the Old Thur’ walk.
(S/E) Head towards the roundabout, turn right and walk past the school towards the gravel pit pond. Turn left onto the cycle path (part of the Ensisheim–Thann stage of the Way of St James, signposted ‘Green Saltire’) along the south-eastern bank of the pond.
At the far end, turn right onto the embankment along the western bank and head for the right bank of the Thur.
(1) Follow the River Thur to the left, heading upstream. Enjoy the tranquillity between the river and the forest that bears its name (Thurwald). Pass a ford on the right; further on, the path emerges from the forest.
(2) Continue straight on along a field for about 200 metres. Turn right into the forest to reach the riverbank and then, a little further upstream, a pretty footbridge spanning the river. Cross it and leave the Way of St James.
(3) There are two options:
- short route: take the shortcut on the right (marked with a Green Disc) downstream to reach the two ponds very quickly (7), the preferred option if the weather has been very wet – see Practical Information;
- long route, the option chosen on the map and in this description: turn left and head upstream (marked with a Green Disc). After about 400 m, ignore a path on the right and continue to the next junction.
Marked with a Yellow Ring.
(4) Leave the riverbank by turning right towards the Parc du Petit Prince. After crossing a field, enter the forest. The path soon reaches the Vieille Thur; after the bridge, turn right. The path heads north again, leaves the forest and passes a sandstone cross bearing an engraved hand and the year 1611. 100 m past the cross, you’ll reach a junction before the Feldbach stream.
(5) Continue for a few dozen metres and, after a quick glance at the Parc du Petit Prince, return to the crossroads.
(5) Leave the Yellow Ring marked trail and take the path heading south-east, entering the Espenwald forest. Keep heading in this direction until you reach the Vieille Thurfor the second time; a grassy path branches off to the left just after the small bridge.
(6) There are two options:
- If the path is too overgrown, carry on straight ahead, leave the forest and return to the banks of the Thur. Follow it to the left (marked with Green Discs), pass the footbridge, and continue to the ponds and the waypoint (7).
- Option chosen on the map and in the description: turn left onto this little-used path (not shown on the map) on the right bank of the Vieille Thur. Ignore a turn-off to the left (it leads to the riverbank). Further on, the path moves away from the bank in a south-easterly direction, crosses a ditch (the former course of the Vieille Thur) and then turns north-east as it approaches the Thur, whose rapids can be heard. When you reach a wide path, turn right at the junction, between two ponds.
(7) A short round trip upstream along the bank of the Thur allows you to enjoy the rapids, as well as the ponds (oxbow lakes of the Thur). Leave the bank, ignore the Green Disc signposting along the bank, and return to the junction by passing between the ponds again. See alternative route in Practical Information.
(7) At the crossroads, the Green Disc marker on the tree opposite is partially obscured by a white label. Head north-east towards Ensisheim. Maintain this direction. The path approaches the right bank of the Vieille-Thur and joins a wide forest track near a bridge.
(8) Cross the forest track, leave the Green Disc markings and head along the right bank on a wide path marked with a Blue Triangle. Further on, it moves away from the river along the edge of a field. Shortly after a ‘private forest track’ sign and an old sandstone boundary marker, the track turns left; at this bend, a wide grassy path branches off diagonally to the right.
(9) Leave the forest track and the Blue Triangle markings. Head right into the woods and, after a few hundred metres, reach the embankment bordering the left bank of the Thur. Continue straight on. At the end, let the track continue to the left. Walk down from the embankment.
(10) Turn left onto the path that leads diagonally towards a wide track, then turn right to reach the D4b. Walk along the road on the right, cross the road bridge and stay on the right-hand pavement to join the cycle path on the right.
(11) Carry on between the houses and the old, rehabilitated slag heap. Turn right before reaching the street. After about a hundred metres, leave the cycle path and take a small footpath on the left which runs alongside the school fence and leads to Rue de Castroville (S/E).
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