Pierre d'Appel at the start of Raon-l'Étape

A beautiful short hike on mostly single-track trails in the forest. Beautiful views.

Details

30016421
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.17 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 333 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 327 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 510 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 293 m

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at the second fir tree plantation.

(S/E) Go down the road, pass the barrier and follow the green easel markings. Then begin a descent and, via a wide right-hand circular, join a wider track and then quickly reach a trail junction.

(1) Take the path marked with a red cross on the right. Take the path marked with a red triangle at the foot of the rock to reach the summit of the Pierre d'Appel.

(2) Take the Blue Cross marked path and continue towards the oppidum, see the Celtic camp information panel and arrive at the crossroads with an antenna.

(3) Take a small path on the left marked with a yellow disc. Reach the Roche du Bouc viewpoint.

(4) Turn right and follow the blue triangle markings to complete the climb to the crossroads: Carrefour de Bellevue.

(5) Follow the green ring markings to the right to descend into the Basse de la Fontaine woods and reach a large crossroads.

(6) Take the left-hand track, cross a bridge and reach another junction, then turn left.

(7) After 170 m, take the uphill track on the right, marked with a blue triangle, to reach another track marked with a yellow triangle at the top. Take it on the right, continue uphill and you will reach a four-way junction.

(8) Turn right onto the path marked with a red cross and descend to reach the car park at the second pine forest (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 323 m - Car park at the second fir tree plantation. Close to the - Meurthe (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 2.14 - alt. 337 m - Pierre d'Appel crossroads. Near the - Valdange (rivière)
  3. 2 : km 3.25 - alt. 489 m - Pierre d'Appel
  4. 3 : km 3.73 - alt. 481 m - Antenna crossroads
  5. 4 : km 4.45 - alt. 483 m - Roche du Bouc
  6. 5 : km 4.88 - alt. 510 m - Bellevue crossroads
  7. 6 : km 6.04 - alt. 351 m - Multiple crossroads
  8. 7 : km 6.3 - alt. 363 m - Crossroads after the bridge
  9. 8 : km 7.34 - alt. 388 m - Four-way crossroads
  10. S/E : km 8.17 - alt. 323 m - Car park at the second fir tree plantation

Notes

No water source except for a stream at the car park, which must be filtered before use.
No shelter except under the rocks at Pierre d'Appel.

Worth a visit

(2) Pierre d'Appel: enjoy the view and the bench and take time to invoke the Universe and the elements at the summit.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 11 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
Jp 3011
Jp 3011

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 01, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful routes, lots of fallen trees, signs not always explicit and clear in detail.

Machine-translated

User 3478909

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very nice route overall. A bit noisy at the start (traffic noise, the motorway is not far away) and the paths are a bit damaged at the end (perhaps shorten the route by connecting point 6 to the start?).

Machine-translated

CathyPP
CathyPP

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Easy hike on a very pleasant trail (few stones, soft sandy paths) under the canopy of fir, pine and chestnut trees. Interesting historical aspects of the Pierre d'Appel and the Celtic site. The pink sandstone rocks, shaped by wind, rain and snow, have taken on surprising forms: rock of the raven, rock of the goat, rock of the cuckoo, fairy cauldron...
The trail is easy to follow. There is a short, easy and pleasant climb to the top of Répy. The total distance is 13.6 km, with two passages by the antenna.

Machine-translated

mtortue54
mtortue54

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Beautiful climb, beautiful views, beautiful hike!
A leash and towel (or comfort blanket) were left behind on the route.

Machine-translated

Francis MICHEL
Francis MICHEL

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The trail is clean despite the rain over the last few days, except at the beginning due to foresters passing through. It is a pleasant trail with some elevation changes and beautiful panoramic views to enjoy, but do not approach the edges as they are not secure.

Machine-translated

eric dulche
eric dulche

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 08, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Lovely walk

Machine-translated

Lefeuvre
Lefeuvre

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Be careful at the summit if there are children present without protection.

Machine-translated

Viviekiki
Viviekiki

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Route, pleasant and very beautiful view once you arrive at the stone marker.

Machine-translated

Malcko
Malcko

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

The entire route takes place in Étival-Clairefontaine, so why mention a neighbouring town? This is confusing; at first, I thought this hike started "very far" from the points of interest.
Having done this route during the week, the first few kilometres were accompanied by the very noticeable noise of the nearby four-lane road... Once I reached the stone, I headed straight back to the car park. This route lacks tranquillity, which I consider to be an essential quality.
Please note that the access road to the car park from Étival-Clairefontaine is closed to traffic; you must arrive via Raon-l'Étape.

Machine-translated

Larry38
Larry38

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely short hike to discover Celtic ruins. Beautiful views, forest, no particular difficulty, well worth exploring!

Machine-translated

jean54110
jean54110
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The point (5) is called Carrefour Bellevue, but this name is not mentioned in the description.
There is also a lack of precision at the end, as the crossroads is not quite on the route. Green Disc

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.