Osthouse and its surroundings

A short tour of the village of Osthouse and its surroundings. Numerous waterways, meadows and shady forests will enhance your journey. The castle and church are also worth a visit.

Technical sheet

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.82 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 6 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 6 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 157 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 151 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) With Osthouse Castle on your left, continue along the road to the first intersection and take the path through the fields. Cross the bridge over the Sonderau and then the bridge over the Muhlbach. Immediately after the second bridge, turn right until you reach a large lock.

(1) Cross the lock and immediately turn left until you reach the next intersection.

(2) At this intersection, turn right and walk to the Allmendhütte (wooden refuge). You will pass the fishing ponds and the gravel pit.

(3) At the Allmendhütte, turn left and then right at the next intersection. Continue to the next intersection and turn left onto Rue de Guerstheim (D131).

(4) Turn left at the stream. Follow the "Anneau Rouge" signs

(5) Follow the path through the forest along the Bronwasser until you reach a bridge, which you will cross. Continue along the river until you reach the Sept-Écluses dam.

(6) Cross the first locks, then the second, and take the second path to the right, the one that branches off from the Ill.

(7) At the intersection, turn left and continue until you reach a meadow. In front of you is the Bois du Looch. Cross this meadow and follow the easily visible path that opens up into the woods. Continue straight ahead. When you leave the forest, you will arrive at a football pitch.

(8) Walk along the football pitch, then continue to the last intersection before the Muhlbach, which, on leaving the village, becomes the Feldgiessen, literally the river that waters the fields.

(9) Turn right. Walk up Rue de Guerstheim, then turn left towards the Church of Saint Bartholomew in Osthouse.

(10) Continue to your starting point on Rue du Château (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 157 m - Château d'Osthouse
  2. 1 : km 1.31 - alt. 154 m - Lock on the Ill
  3. 2 : km 1.87 - alt. 154 m - Fork towards ponds and gravel pit
  4. 3 : km 3.67 - alt. 154 m - Allmendhütte
  5. 4 : km 4.31 - alt. 154 m - Turn left and follow the Bronwasser
  6. 5 : km 5.92 - alt. 152 m - Turn right into the forest just before the bridge - Bronwasser
  7. 6 : km 7.54 - alt. 152 m - Les Septs-Écluses - Barrages des Sept Ecluses
  8. 7 : km 8.32 - alt. 156 m - Turn left towards the Looch woods
  9. 8 : km 9.33 - alt. 154 m - On the left before the football pitch
  10. 9 : km 9.72 - alt. 154 m - On the right along the river
  11. 10 : km 10.58 - alt. 156 m - Eglise Saint-Barthélemy d'Osthouse
  12. S/E : km 10.82 - alt. 157 m - Château d'Osthouse

Practical information

This is a peaceful little walk, but be sure to wear hiking boots as some sections can be muddy in wet weather.
This hike can also easily be done by mountain bike.
A guide to the town, its heritage, its surroundings and its waterways can be found at this address.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 19 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
User 8713732

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

The trail is marked with red rings along its entire length if you follow the IGN map, but the markings on site are poor at the start of the trail. A lovely route along the water, especially in winter when the trees have lost their leaves.

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User 21492067

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

We missed a turn that we didn't see. Maps helped us get back to point 5.

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JimmyAce
JimmyAce
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A very beautiful walk, take the time to look around. We extended the route a little after the Steinsau dam by following the Ill trail (blue diamond) to Erstein. We returned via the back of the Jewish cemetery, crossed the D426 road to rejoin the circuit at 7. To enter the forest, we turned left onto a path that is not very visible

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Jampes 68
Jampes 68

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

More of a stroll than a hike, despite the 3-hour route. It alternates pleasantly between fields and forest. The main attraction is discovering the groundwater resurgence springs.
Depending on the season, you may need to protect yourself against horseflies and ticks.

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HABERACKER
HABERACKER
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

Nice outing.

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HUNGLER
HUNGLER

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 22, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very nice outing. We did it with the printed itinerary and the route on Garmin.
It only took us two hours, despite the stops.
A little disturbed by the motorbikes we encountered along the way.
Overall, very satisfied. Would do it again at another time of year.

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RegineBelfort
RegineBelfort

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A magnificent walk that I will happily do again at another time of year.
Indeed, after a very rainy July this year, all the wooded areas and waterside areas that make up most of the route were infested with mosquitoes.

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alma67
alma67
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Hello,
We did this hike twice:
once with a printed map and once with the Visorando app.
The first time, the entrance to the forest after point 7 was not visible on the ground, so we walked around the outside of the forest (as a precaution) and found the right path again after the forest.
The second time, the app guided us well, even though the path at point 7 was practically invisible (due to tall grass), which is why we made a mistake the first time.
Otherwise, it's a superb hike as long as you take the time to enjoy the beauty of nature (meadows, undergrowth, ponds, birdsong and conversations with other walkers).
Negative point: between points 5 and 6, there are a lot of ruts if it has rained the day before, as mountain bikers plough up the relatively narrow path.
Thank you

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jeandeser
jeandeser

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 25, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Very nice and very popular circuit

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limagineur
limagineur

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 07, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

We just missed the last turn. I think the round red sign at the entrance to Osthouse has been removed, but otherwise it was a lovely ride, mostly along the waterfront, not many people, TOP

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Zielinsky
Zielinsky

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jan 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Busy trail : Yes

The circumstances further enhanced the appeal of this highly accessible, varied and invigorating route, doing justice to the little-known charms and architecture of Osthouse (and those of nearby Matzenheim): Beautiful sunshine and January cold, nature in hibernation, the babbling of underground springs and the imposing backdrop of the Ill dams, with the snow-covered Black Forest in the background!
ALAS! The charm of the 'nature and undergrowth' section, from point 4 to point 6, is short-lived when the walker's attention is completely captured by the narrow path, which has become a rutted track that is difficult to walk on, a long stretch of mud ploughed up by cyclists and frozen solid. One finds oneself cursing the inconsiderate, invoking laws and legal action, thinking of carefree strolls along centuries-old paths reinforced by trampling, but here, in a few decades, irreparably ruined by what one perceives as a horde of unscrupulous people...
SO, WHAT CAN BE DONE, Visorando, and all hiking federations combined, to RESTORE THE RIGHTFUL PLACE OF WALKING, in the face of the stubborn craze for mountain biking and so many other vehicles, on trails and tracks that cannot support them?
I, for one, am giving an average rating to a circuit that deserves a "Very good". That's all I can do in my humble capacity!
A word to the wise...

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csaas
csaas

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 23, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : N/A

Hello,

I have taken your comments into account and modified the route between points 3 and 5

Enjoy your walks!

Kind regards,

Cédric

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Philippe Schwab
Philippe Schwab

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 26, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

More like a stroll, to stretch your legs, for example after Sunday lunch :-)
My wife and I completed the route in 2 hours and 15 minutes (we walk fast).
Very important indeed (see other comments): to reach point 5, be sure to turn left after point 3 (about a third of the way to point 4) and follow the red circle markings that run alongside a small stream: a superb path that avoids the road.

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amance2004
amance2004

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 04, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

During this heatwave, walking across open fields was a bit daunting, so when I saw a "Club Vosgien" signpost along the BrunWasser in the middle of the hike, I decided to take that route to stay in the shade. This alternative path wasn't marked on the IGN map, but it's very pretty.
The pond area is nice.

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bruno68z
bruno68z

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 13, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I confirm the comments made previously. The section on the road between points 4 and 5 is quite difficult, and the red circular marked trail allows you to avoid this section.
Be careful between points 7 and 8 when crossing the Looch woods. After crossing the meadow, follow the path to the right before turning left into the woods.
This very pleasant walk near the ponds and along sections of the Bronnwasser and Ill rivers should be avoided during periods of high water

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