Tour of the Petit Ballon via Buchwald

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Some intersections are poorly marked, which can quickly cause confusion...
But otherwise, it's a pleasant hike.

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Date of your route : Aug 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

a beautiful hike to do outside of the heatwave season, as the climb up to the Petit Ballon in direct sunlight can be a bit tiring

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Date of your route : Mar 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike. The views are truly magnificent! The duration indicated in the description was roughly the same as the duration of our hike.

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Date of your route : Aug 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike of moderate difficulty, with the goal of reaching the summit of Petit Ballon, where you can enjoy an interesting 360° view. It can be completed in less than 4 hours.
At least three farmhouse inns along the route are there to reward us for our efforts.

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Date of your route : Feb 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello. This was our first time trying out your app. We are very satisfied with it. The area for improvement that we would like to see is to have, even when we zoom in on the screen, the walking symbol for the path we are on and/or need to follow. In our case, this was the symbol used by the Club Vosgien, which appeared at a certain scale but not at a detailed level, which sometimes led us to take a path that seemed to be the right one but wasn't. Kind regards.

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Date of your route : Dec 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant hike culminating in a magnificent view from the summit of Petit Ballon. We completed it in 4 hours with a 15-minute break.

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Date of your route : Sep 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk, neither too long nor too difficult, with superb views. The sun was beating down, so don't forget your hat!

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Date of your route : Apr 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very busy, good on Sundays, near Steinberg and the farm inns. Very beautiful route with lovely views, a little physically demanding at times, a beautiful hike best enjoyed when the weather is not too good, as it is often out of the woods.

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Date of your route : Feb 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful, peaceful route with stunning views (you stay at high altitude). Not very technical (path, a few rocks). Having done it in winter, the inns were closed, so make sure you bring enough food and drink. It's not always easy to find your way (due to the snow?), the description is brief and some junctions were not indicated in the description. 4G reception is very limited at present, so don't rely on your mobile phone to find your way online.

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Date of your route : Jul 31, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful, enjoyable route with a lovely variety of pastures, woods, undergrowth, stubble fields, etc. Magnificent panoramic views. The route is not very difficult, but there are a few tricky sections with stones and rocks (especially at the beginning) which could be difficult with small children. Otherwise, the paths and trails are easy. There is only one bench on the entire route (before Schweng!). The main physical challenge for some may be the (fairly gradual) climb to Petit Ballon towards the end of the route.
Excellent blueberry tart at the Buchwald farmhouse inn.
The GPX file is generally accurate (with a few minor but inexplicable discrepancies). This is not the case for the description, which contains several errors, including the indication of the markings for descending from the Petit Ballon to the pass of the same name (these are not red rectangles, but triangles).

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Date of your route : Jul 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful, varied landscapes in the Vosges mountains and the Alsatian plain. Not particularly difficult, as the route starts only about 100 metres below the highest point (Petit Ballon). Another advantage is the presence of farm inns along the route where you can stop for a drink, enjoy a delicious blueberry tart or a marcaire meal, etc., all with magnificent panoramic views from the terrace, weather permitting. Note on the route description: at the end (waypoint 8), the markings on the path down to the Petit Ballon pass have apparently changed. It is now a red triangle instead of a red rectangle.

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Date of your route : May 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful route, especially along the Steinberg ridge. The circular route is well balanced with varied landscapes and environments. There are many farmhouse inns along the route, which makes for pleasant little stops. The heights offer splendid panoramic views. The climb to the top of the Petit Ballon is a little steep at the end of the route, but it's well worth the effort! Highly recommended, all the members of the group loved this route.

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Date of your route : Jan 10, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful panoramic, bucolic and pastoral views. Some sections are well known and quite busy, others much less so. I discovered trails I didn't know before. I really enjoyed the route.

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