(S) Set out from the car park near the dam at Pierre Percée lake (1).
You could also set out from other starting points along the route (Pierre-Percée pier, Salm Castle, or the Vierge Clarisse madonna, for example).
Take the road to the right of the dam (Club Vosgien waymarks with yellow rings) and 100m further on take the left-hand path along the lake.
After following the path for 4.5km, follow the blue cross waymarks down the path to the right (E6°55'46 - N48°28'30).
Climb up 500m to the car park and then carry on to the ruins of Salm castle (signposted) (2).
Come back to the car park and take the path opposite you, with green rectangle waymarks.
Keep following these waymarks until you reach the Vierge Clarisse madonna (3) then take the road to the right until you reach the Grotte des Poilus cave (4) (N.B. after the Vierge Clarisse, take a forest road for 400m, then take a small footpath to the right that is not very obvious, still following the green rectangle waymarks).
At the cave, follow the path with the yellow disc waymarks for 400m, which takes you past Rocher de l’Arche and Rocher de Dame Galle (accessible from the forest road) (5).
Turn left onto the forest road for 100m (yellow cross waymarks).
At the crossroads, take the uphill path (yellow triangle waymarks), which takes you past Rocher de la Pierre à Cheval and then on down to the forest road (blue cross waymarks) and bear right.
After 450m on this road, turn left onto the footpath at a turn in the road still following the blue cross waymarks and carry on until you reach Rocher de la Soye.
Stay on this path until you reach the RD182 (6).
Take the RD182 past the hamlet of Ménelle and Ménelle Museum.
At the crossroads; E6°46'59 - N48°27'26 you have two possibilities; 1 or 2:
1) Take the RD182b as far as the car park after the Maison Forestière de Para, and then follow the blue ring waymarks as far as the Vierge de Para madonna. Turn left and stay on the path with the blue ring waymarks until you get back to the footpath (yellow ring waymarks) that you took at the start of your walk. Turn left to get back to the car park near the dam.
2) Take the footpath with the green rectangle waymarks for 30m and then the yellow triangle waymarks, until you reach point 497 E6°56'17 - N48°27'44 then turn left and follow the green cross waymarks for 500m. Take the forest path on the left (red cross waymarks). After 660m, take the path with the blue ring waymarks, then the path with the yellow ring waymarks and head back to the car park near the dam.
Pierre Percée lake - Discover the battles sites of the First World War
Discover the man-made lake that feeds the cooling system at Cattenom nuclear power station and the First World War battle sites around Celles-sur-Plaine.
Technical sheet
–
-
Activity: Walking -
Distance: 15.65 km -
Average duration: 5h 45 -
Difficulty: Moderate -
-
Return to departure point: Yes -
Vertical gain: + 457 m -
Vertical drop: - 454 m -
-
Highest point: 567 m -
Lowest point: 314 m
-
Country:
France
-
Area: Vosges mountains -
District:
Pierre-Percée (54540) -
Start/End: N 48.453533° / E 6.921667° -
IGN map(s): Ref. 3616OT -
Hour-by-hour weather
Photos
Description of the walk
Waypoints
- S/E : km 0 - alt. 385 m - Dam car park
- 1 : km 5.13 - alt. 476 m - Salm Castle
- 2 : km 7.12 - alt. 481 m - Col de la Vierge Clarisse (493m)
- 3 : km 8.16 - alt. 496 m - Poilus cave
- 4 : km 8.66 - alt. 512 m - Rocher Dame Galle
- 5 : km 11.23 - alt. 327 m - Outlet onto the RD182
- 6 : km 12.33 - alt. 315 m - Celles-sur - Plaine (rivière)
- S/E : km 15.65 - alt. 387 m - Dam car park
In the nearby area
At the start or the end of your walk, it is well worth reading the information board on the mound to the right of the dam which has interesting information about the dam.
The ruins of Salm castle with beautiful views of the lake (information plate attached to the rock face before the steps).
Monument to the 363rd regiment – Village of Pierre Percée.
Remains of the Battle of the Col de la Chapelotte (August 1914 – year 1915) – Grotte des Poilus cave served as an advanced dressing station (there is interesting information on this on the internet http://www.lieux-insolites.fr/cicatrice/...)
(5) You can reach the Col de la Chapellote via the forest road (green rectangle waymarks). From the Col, follow the directions given on the sheet above. It is well worth the detour as the First World War site is impressive.
Rocher de Dame Galle where there are still some ruins of the castle built by the Bishop of Metz to besiege Salm castle.
Beautiful views of Celles-sur-Plaine valley from the Rocher de la Pierre à Cheval and the Rocher de la Soye.
Menelle Museum (free admission, open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2pm to 6pm and on Saturdays and Sundays depending on the season. Information on the museum website.) Information and equipment from the war of 1914-18 and the Battle of the Vosges).
Reviews and comments
4.4 / 5
4.4 / 5
4.8 / 5
Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : May 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
Very satisfied with the hike, the Pierre Percée site is not lacking in points of interest: the dam, the remains of the 14-18 war, surprising geological formations (I extended the hike as far as the Xaveure rocks), it's well worth a look.
The Château de Salm is still closed.
Most of the route is in the undergrowth, which is just as well given the heat of the day.
François.
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 4 / 5
Date of walk : Apr 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No
A lovely, very pleasant walk that reveals a number of relics and beautiful viewpoints 
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : Jan 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : N/A
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
I've come to do the full circuit At the beginning of January, there are no visitors, even though it's a bright but cold day.
I didn't follow the description but the gpx file was fine.
Very pleasant as a stranger to discover this varied nature and the traces of mankind over the centuries.
I'd like to thank the author for sharing this with me.
The only drawback is the long stretch of road in the last third, so it's better to follow the option in the description.
Au plaisir.
Vincent.
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 4 / 5
Date of walk : Jun 25, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No
We only used part of the route during the week, namely Château de Salm and the section along the lake.
Note that the castle is currently being restored, so is inaccessible to the public (shame!). We'll be going back to do the whole thing 😏
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : Jul 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
Super hike, thanks for the explanations, we usually work with a GPS that broke down this time, the perfect description of the route enabled us to make this magnificent hike.
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 4 / 5
Date of walk : Apr 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No
Nice walk, although the paths are stony in places; given the very sunny weather, we were hot, but the route should be shadier once the leaves have grown on the trees; lovely views; pleasant to walk along the lake, as the peace and quiet that still reigns there is soothing and the scenery enchanting; in summer it may be noisier....Note that you have to be careful if you want to see the Vierge de Para because it is very small, in a "little house" fixed to a tree; the same goes for the Vierge Clarisse, which is a little more visible because you have to walk past it. Magnificent and imposing rocky bar on the route
We covered around 17 km doing the whole circuit.
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : Mar 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes
Nice walk to do
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : Feb 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
A very pleasant and picturesque route. It is not easy to identify the yellow rings at the start. The markings are there on the trees, but they are not very visible. It is better to follow the red ring or green disc signs, or even the GRP Pays de la Déodatie signposting. The same applies to the section after the grotte des poilus, where the yellow disc is not very visible because it is painted on the trees.
A small suggestion: from the Château de Salm car park, it is best to take the red ring path that leads along the Marie Fontaine rocks.
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : Dec 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes
Very nice route with beautiful viewpoints
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 3.3 / 5
Date of walk : Aug 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes
We had a hard time getting started on the circuit because it said to follow the yellow rings... but there weren't any, or the yellow circles were painted over and half faded. The markings need to be updated. You have to follow the red circles at the beginning. The end was also complicated. 2 options proposed but not clear....
It said 15.6 km, but we did 20 km... quite a difference...
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : Jul 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes
A very pleasant route with rocky passages and beautiful viewpoints; I lengthened the route a little to satisfy my legs. Sahlm castle is being renovated, so we can't admire it too closely. Don't hesitate to take this lovely walk.
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 4.3 / 5
Date of walk : May 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
A fine route with no real major difficulties apart from a good climb at the end after the leisure centre with many points of interest, completed in 5? hours, including the break. However, the final mileage is almost 21 km; something to bear in mind from the start.
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : Apr 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
A very nice, varied circuit.
On Sunday, the road section wasn't very troublesome.
To quote an old review, the yellow rings have disappeared, but you can do without them.
Thanks to the author
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 5 / 5
Date of walk : Jan 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
Superb walk
Very nice route
Automatically translated
Overall rating : 4.7 / 5
Date of walk : Oct 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No
A very pleasant route with rocky sections and beautiful viewpoints. The less pleasant part is the road section, but it can't be avoided.
Automatically translated
Other walks in the area
Grand soldat: Col du Brechpunkt - Rocher du Hohwalsch circular
Walker 7.46 km
+199 m
-194 m
2h 40
Easy
Departure from Walscheid (Moselle)
Difficult For more walks, use our search engine .
The GPS track and description are the property of the author. Do not copy them without permission.
