Ranspach-le-Bas walks

A lovely walk along the Sundgau trails through meadows, fields and woods. Near the D419, there’s a stunning view of the border region. Of interest: a memorial to a plane crash in 1915… there weren’t many of those back then!

A lovely circular walk starting from Kappelen, passing through Ranspach-le-Bas and the hills of Helfranzkirch, combining woodland, fields and village outskirts.

The route starts at the car park by the church in Wentzwiller, a pretty little village typical of the Sundgau, a region in southern Alsace. A lovely walk with beautiful views over the Rhine Valley and Basel.

Overlooking the Rhine’s alluvial plain—a barren landscape where the Hardt Forest struggles to survive—the hills of the Bartenheim heights enjoy very rich soil. Set upon this fertile silt, on either side of the ridge between Helfrantzkirch and Bartenheim, lies the most beautiful forest in the Sundgau: the Schneckenberg Forest (see Practical Information). A short walk through the forest or along the forest edge for tree lovers.

On the heights of Blotzheim, the Grand and Petit Schneckenberg (snail hills) form a wooded area close to its natural state, criss-crossed by streams and surrounded by fields, copses and a few vineyards.A multitude of trails and paths offer beautiful walks in the hills, where you can enjoy the peace and quiet and a few views of the neighbouring mountain ranges, the Vosges, the Black Forest and the Jura.Two versions are available, 10 or 13 km.

Family walk around Brestenberg hill between Bartenheim and Brinckheim, passing through sunken lanes typical of the Sundgau hills. Enjoy the forest and the view of the Vosges mountains and the Black Forest.

Partly in the forest and partly in open countryside, this route will allow you to discover the forest and countryside to the west of Hésingue: the passage over and under the D105, the Fichtag discovery trail with its numerous informative and entertaining displays and panels, the Liesbach passage with its beautiful wooden footbridges, the Finnish track, the tranquillity of the forest, the beauty of the countryside and the views towards the Black Forest.

The hike alternates between fields, forest edges and villages. Go through the fields of Bartenheim and Brinckheim, passing the small village of Kappelen. The return journey is through the fields of Kappelen and Brinckheim, then HochaLoch along the Muehlgraben.

A trail giving you the possibility to explore a large number of running vineyards throughout the Bartenheim and Brinckheim hillsides.

The hike alternates between fields, forest edges and villages. Go through the fields of Bartenheim and Brinckheim, pass the small village of Stetten to reach the Gros Chêne. The return route is via the village of Helfrantzkirch, the fields of Kappelen and Brinckheim, and the HochaLoch along the Muehlgraben.

A short, unpretentious hike. Starting at the ACL foyer in Bartenheim, the outward journey takes you through the fields of Bartenheim and Brinckheim, and the return journey takes you through Hochaloch along the Muehlgraben.

This is a small nature trail made by the city of Saint-Louis. It passes through the 3 of drinking water catchment points in the city where 535 cubic metres of water are pumped every hour and then stored in a 6000-metre-cubed tank. The trail has a dozen panels explaining the difficulties of supplying drinking water and the surrounding environments.

On the edge of the Petite Camargue Alsacienne is a quiet residential area that is part of the Saint-Louis conurbation: Neuweg. It is well worth a visit and, at the end of the walk, you will come to a small forest where you can learn more about water along a discovery trail.

The Eptingen family, who had already settled on the edge of the Sundgau region in the 14th century, owned both Hagenthal and Neuwiller, where they lived in comfortable castles. This walk crosses their former seigneury and passes through a one-kilometre-wide bottleneck between the borders, as Neuwiller forms a sort of French peninsula on Swiss territory. Text by Marc Glotz taken from the Sundgau hiking guide.

A walk partly through the forest and partly in open countryside on the heights of Hagenthal-le-Haut. Several benches and picnic spots along the route. On the return journey, beautiful views of the Jura, Basel, Chrischona and the surrounding hills.

A pleasant, uneventful walk that starts in Sierentz and passes through fields and the Hardt Forest. The route is mostly on flat ground, part of which consists of tarmac paths for pedestrians and cyclists.

A national nature reserve, the Petite Camargue Alsacienne now covers 904 hectares, including nearly 200 hectares of water. Originally, in 1982, it covered 120 hectares around the buildings of the Imperial Fish Farm (1852). It is here, in the wild heart of the Au wetland plain, that you can walk along some of its most beautiful paths and discover the exceptional flora and fauna of this marshland landscape, thanks to the groundwater.

Below the Hochistross, the high road from Altkirch to Basel, villages dot the Thalbach valley. The old grain mill in Hundsbach has recently been restored, much to the delight of artists and history lovers.

Do you live in the urban area of the three borders and want to get away from it all without travelling dozens of kilometres? Come and discover the Petite Camargue to get some fresh air and observe many species of birds and plants in a well-preserved area. Leaving from the pretty village of Rosenau, you'll find it hard to believe that you're only 4 kilometres away from the airport as the crow flies.

In the heart of the Au, the alluvial terrace of the Rhine between Huningue and Kembs, the history of Rosenau is closely linked to that of the Rhine. Throughout this route, between the Grand Canal d’Alsace and the Huningue Canal, by a pond or a lock, on the banks of canals or streams, water is ever-present.

A short walk between the wild Old Rhine and the tamed canal with its array of industrial installations: the locks, the German motorway that you cannot see but can hear, the high-voltage power lines you pass under at the start of the route, but also its natural beauty: the winding, silted-up Rhine, exposed at the Istain sandbars. To fully enjoy the views of the Rhine, the route is best done in winter when the trees are still bare.

Rantzwiller, a small village in the Sundgau region, is a lovely place to live. The area around the village, particularly the hamlet of Heilhof, is well worth exploring and offers some lovely views.

Walk from the car park near the turbine roundabout in Kembs, towards Rosenau Sud along the Rosenau Stream, through Rosenau to the Huningue Canal, then back to the starting point along the towpath.

Two centuries ago, the Rhine flowed in braids. From 1842, with the construction of dykes by Tulla, then around 1930 with the construction of the Grand Canal, the river was brought back into a single channel and the Rhine ecosystem was profoundly altered. Today, there is a stark contrast between nature, which is becoming re-vegetated and adapting to the drying up of the river with diverse and unique flora and fauna, and the intense industrial activity surrounding navigation and hydroelectric power.

The Plaine de l’Au is this wetland region on the Rhine’s floodplain in the Land of the Three Borders, where the river, before its course was straightened by dykes (19th century) and then channelled (early 20th century), spread out into multiple branches.Between the Kembs hydroelectric power station to the north and the Grand Marais trail to the south, water accompanies us throughout this route, where biodiversity and human activities strive to coexist harmoniously.The time given does not include stops at the five observation points and other points of interest along the route.

A circular route that mainly follows cycle paths. The route, running alongside the water, allows you to discover the local flora, fauna, history and industry between Kembs-Loechlé and Kembs

Starting from Linsdorf, between forest and fields, the route climbs to the Eichwald plateau, alternating between woods and fields, leading successively to the Abri de la Fuste, on the heights of Bettlach, and the Sentier des Casemates, connecting three imposing forts of the Maginot Line. The Casemates Trail is dotted with information panels explaining the history of the Maginot Line. The route also offers beautiful views of the Ill Valley and the Jura Mountains.

The route is mainly open, winding through the vineyards. There are stunning views throughout the route of the villages in the Rhine Valley, the Jura, the Vosges and Istein. There are numerous benches and picnic tables along the route. Information boards (in German) on wine, history and geology are dotted along the route. From the car park, information boards and the Saint-Vit Chapel opposite, set in the rock, herald the richness of the route, which is “to be savoured”.

A family hike that follows the Sentier des Croix to the Chapelle des Malgré-nous, then climbs the hills to follow the Sentier des Deux Chênes, decorated with wooden sculptures and dotted with educational panels.

In warm weather, this is a pleasant walk from the Ill valley to the old bed of the Rhine at the foot of the Jura mountains. The well-marked path offers plenty of opportunities to rest and leads to a strange crypt, the last vestige of a convent destroyed during the Revolution, where the shadow of an exiled poet still lingers.

Landskrön, a castle that was feared until 1814 and is now lovingly maintained by a Franco-Swiss association, and Mariastein, where crowds of pilgrims come to pray every year, are the highlights of this superb walk, which offers beautiful views on both sides of the border.

A lovely and varied circular walk starting in Efringen-Kirchen, first through the village, then through a small wooded area and along the Old Rhine. From there, the route takes you to the Isteiner Klotzerfelsen rock formation with the St Veit Chapel, which is situated in a rock niche. The rest of the walk takes you through vineyards, offering frequent beautiful, sweeping views of the surrounding mountains.

A very beautiful short hike through vineyards and orchards with breathtaking views of the Alps, the Jura, the city of Basel, the Alsatian villages of Sundgau, the Rhine Valley and Kembs just opposite on the way there, and the Black Forest and Blauen on the way back. In the first half of the route, follow the Wiiwegli (wine trail) markings, red diamond with a yellow bunch of grapes, towards Blansingen. The markings are present at each fork. However, you will need to be vigilant at the start of the route and look out for the markings so as not to give in to the temptation to continue straight ahead on a more visible path. Our path branches off twice to the right between the orchards and then twice with a left-right turn on grassy paths.

Between the marina and the Ferme du Moulin, this unpretentious little walk allows you to enjoy the tranquillity of the banks of the Canal de Huningue, the Grand Canal d'Alsace and the Augraben, which still feature a few oxbow lakes and ponds, natural remnants of the old bed of the Rhine.

Before the construction of the Canal of Alsace (1928), the Rhine extended its arms east of the Huningue Canal (1806) over a wide area of 1km to 2km. From the Rhone Canal on the North Rhine to the Barre d'Istein on the Old Rhine, along paths and trails often in the protected areas of the "Little Alsatian Camargue.", you'll discover numerous natural and industrial sites related to the history of the Rhine. Begin with a stroll between the drawbridge of Kembs (1831) and l'Ecluse Le Corbusier (1961).