Lutterbach, its basilica and its woods

A family walk offering the chance to discover some of the attractions of Lutterbach, a town steeped in history and culture, home to one of the four basilicas of Alsace and a famous brewery rich in history, before enjoying the Bois de Lutterbach, the south-western part of the Forêt du Nonnenbruch (Marais des Nonnes), criss-crossed by numerous walking trails and serving as the urban area’s green lung.

This walk is accessible via Lutterbach railway station (Haut-Rhin).

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.32 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 52 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 52 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 879 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 807 ft
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Lutterbach (68460)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.762903° / E 7.279284°
  • Accessible from the train station Gare de Lutterbach (Haut-Rhin).
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3720ET
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking is available at the Vita car park, 31 Rue de Richwiller, or just next door at the secondary school car park, at the junction of Rue de Richwiller, Rue des Chevreuils and Rue de la Forêt.
Lutterbach station is 750 m away.

(S/E) With your back to the car park, head towards Rue de Richwiller, which climbs up opposite. To do this, go round the roundabout on the right, carefully crossing Rue de la Forêt, then the pedestrian crossing across Rue de Richwiller. Stay on the left-hand pavement for about a hundred metres, then turn left up a path that runs above the road, leading to Rue des Vosges. At the end, this street narrows and leads to the cemetery. See the ‘Places to see’ section.

(1) Walk down Rue du Cimetière towards the basilica. At the junction with Rue Aristide Briand, look out for a beautiful Lebanese cedar on your left. Turn right to cross (at the pedestrian crossing) and reach the basilica’s forecourt. A visit to the basilica is well worth it; see the “Places to see” section.

(2) From the forecourt, walk round the west side of the basilica, cross the car park, pass through a lane lined with old boundary stones and ancient rubble (ruins of the old church), and go down the steps towards Rue Ackermann. Turn right, then right again, walking alongside the school. When you reach Rue Aristide Briand, turn left and then, in front of the town hall gardens § “Places to see”, cross the road (pedestrian crossing). Continue left along the other pavement until you reach the junction just after a chemist’s. Cross Rue du Houblon to admire the majestic plane tree (notable tree), § “Places to see”.

(3) Cross Rue du Houblon again to visit, behind the chemist’s, the mural depicting iconic figures from Lutterbach, § “Must-see”. Walk up Rue du Houblon towards the new brewery and its museum commemorating the history of this famous pre-war industry, § “Must-see”.

(4) Continue by passing to the right of the roundabout, heading towards “École La Forêt”. At the next junction, cross the road and walk between the two buildings. With the school on your left, take the path that turns left; then, at the junction of the paths, turn right, cross the road in front of the park and turn left towards a footbridge over the Dollerbachlein, § “Places to see”.

(5) Turn right, following the stream and the Blue Saltire signposts. The path leads to a junction between a footbridge and a bench.

(6) Walk a few metres, then leave the bank of the Dollerbaechlein opposite you (this is the way back), and turn left, passing under a high-voltage power line. Immediately afterwards, turn left. The path runs alongside the high-voltage power line for about 150 m before veering away to the right. Shortly afterwards, a sign reminds you that you are on the fitness trail. Pass a piece of fitness equipment, then walk through a plantation dotted with educational signs. Shortly after the last sign, you’ll reach a junction with a path branching off at a 90° angle to the left (be careful, it isn’t signposted).

(7) Leave the fitness trail and follow this path westwards. After a few dozen metres, at the junction, turn left towards a Red Ring marker, then continue to the right. You’ll be heading west again and the Red Ring markings will become more frequent. A sign on a tree reads “Route du Muguet”; the path gradually turns northwards until it reaches a junction at the far end of a long, narrow pond, the Baggerloch § “Must-see”.

(8) Pass the chicane on the left to take the path along the western bank. You are on private land; passage is tolerated but please keep a low profile so as not to disturb the anglers. A shelter and a few tables and benches are situated along the 600 metres of this unusual stretch of water.
At the end, continue straight ahead on the path marked with the Red Ring, heading due north. Watch out at a junction: ignore an arrow sign indicating you should turn left; carry on straight ahead and maintain your bearing to rejoin the Red Ring markings. Further on, after crossing a stream, you’ll reach the junction marked with a sign reading ‘Lieu dit croisement des Chênes’ on a tree on your left.

(9) Turn right onto the wide “Chemin du Gros Chêne de Pfastatt”, heading east. You’ll need to walk about 800 m to admire this remarkable 250-year-old tree with a circumference of 5 m. Continue straight on for a few hundred metres until you reach a bridge over the stream on your right and the start of a signposted path.

(10) Cross the stream and take the path, following the Red Ring markings (alongside the Yellow Ring) which quickly lead to the road; cross the road towards a small car park on the left. Walk through the car park and continue along a small road running alongside a horse pasture. Carry on to the next junction.

(11) Turn right between two fences; a sign reminds you that, for the animals’ sake, it is forbidden to feed them. At the end, the track becomes a path and leads to a multi-way junction.
Take the second path branching off to the right – the southernmost one. Cross a stream, which can sometimes be muddy, then pass under the high-voltage power line. Continue straight on until you reach a cross-path. Turn left and walk a few dozen metres until you find a path marked ‘Blue Saltire’ just before a footbridge.

(12) This is the “Chemin de la Dollerbaechlein”; it follows the stream more or less southwards, then, as the buildings of Lutterbach come into view, gradually turns to the right before running as close as possible to the bank.

(13) Walk along the bank westwards until you pass under the high-voltage power line and then cross the road. Turn left immediately, still following the stream, to reach the footbridge near the junction you passed on the way there.

(6) Turn left, cross the Dollerbaechlein and, keeping to the right, follow the path to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 827 ft - Vita car park (secondary school)
  2. 1 : mi 0.25 - alt. 876 ft - Cemetery – Monuments
  3. 2 : mi 0.37 - alt. 846 ft - Basilique de Lutterbach
  4. 3 : mi 0.7 - alt. 823 ft - Platane de Lutterbach
  5. 4 : mi 0.76 - alt. 830 ft - La Brasserie de Lutterbach
  6. 5 : mi 1 - alt. 827 ft - Footbridge – Little Venice - Dollerbaechlein (cours d'eau) - Affluent de l'Ill
  7. 6 : mi 1.22 - alt. 823 ft - Junction of the circular loop – Bench – Footbridge
  8. 7 : mi 1.52 - alt. 827 ft - To the left – Red Ring
  9. 8 : mi 2 - alt. 837 ft - Baggerloch
  10. 9 : mi 2.79 - alt. 837 ft - Croisement des Chênes – Stream
  11. 10 : mi 3.49 - alt. 817 ft - Bridge – Red Ring
  12. 11 : mi 3.85 - alt. 810 ft - Lutzelacker – Horses
  13. 12 : mi 4.35 - alt. 810 ft - Blue Saltire. Dollerbaechlein Trail
  14. 13 : mi 4.68 - alt. 814 ft - Left bank of the Dollerbaechlein
  15. S/E : mi 5.32 - alt. 827 ft - Vita car park

Notes

Club Vosgien trail markers

(12) If there has been heavy rain in the previous days, it is best to cross the footbridge and turn right onto the wide path (Red Disc markings) to Rue des Chevreuils, which leads back to the car park on the right (S/E).

The LutterbachHeritage Route

Worth a visit

(1) The cemetery is the highest point in the town; a visit is well worth it and offers a sweeping view. Note, near the entrance, the“Monument to Life” by the sculptor Claude Bonnot, as well as the plaque in memory of the victims of genocide.

(2) The Basilica of the Sacred Heart: a brief visit will reveal, immediately to the left upon entering, the old clock and its mechanism; in the nave, the frescoes and statues, the modern-style stained-glass windows, and on either side of the nave, two features characteristic of basilicas: the red and gold umbrella (Ombrellino) and the small bell (Tintinnabule), symbols of the special bond with the Pope that all basilicas share.

Between (2) and (3): in the Town Hall gardens, note a well dating from 1569.

(3) The Plane Tree: a remarkable tree, 20 metres tall and 7.7 metres in circumference at the base, it is part ofthe town’s history.
The mural opposite Place du Platane pays tribute to three iconic figures of the town: Théodore Boch (founder of the brewery in 1870), Amélie Lalance and her husband (an industrialist and philanthropist), who established a sanatorium on their property to combat tuberculosis, and JJ Scherrer (painter). See notable figures.

(4) The new brewery is the successor to the one that was very famous before the war, which produced a beer “as good as the best English ones”, according to Winston Churchill.

(8) The Baggerloch is a former gravel pit that has become a valuable habitat for the local flora and fauna in this wetland area. It is also a place for walking and leisure activities.

Between (9) and (10), the Great Oak of Pfastatt: a remarkable tree 23 metres tall and 5 metres in circumference.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 1 review

Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
4 / 5
jmchang
jmchang

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

An easy, shaded walk that’s very pleasant during a heatwave…

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