Forest walk around Lautenbach

Parking is available at the car park in front of Buhl School.

(S/E) From the car park, walk down to the Stop sign. Turn left, then immediately right onto the Pont du Cordonnier. At the end of the street, turn right onto Rue Saint-Gangolf.
At the Stop sign, turn left onto Rue de la Gare (where the Blue Disc signposting begins), then carry on straight ahead at the traffic lights. Take the first left onto Rue de la Liberté, and turn right at the next Stop sign. Leave Buhl.

(1) Shortly after entering the forest, at the three-way junction, continue to the left.

(2) Walk past the back of the Saint-Gangolph Chapel, then, at the next junction, take the path that continues to climb, slightly to the right.

(3) Once you reach the Col de Bannstein (end of the Blue Disc markings), follow the road to the left for a few metres, then turn left. Descend for about 300 m, then take the first forest track on the right.
At the first junction, continue to the left (Red Ring markings) and enjoy a 1 km descent until you reach a three-way junction.

(4) Carry on to the right here and at the next junction to begin the ascent (start of the Blue Ring markings). At the picnic table, continue straight on to the summit.

(5) Once you’ve reached the summit, you can dismount and ride down to the Chaudron du Diable.
Then continue straight on and, after the viewpoint, begin a descent of approximately 2 km.
At the next junction, take the track on the left at an acute angle. Carefully make your way down the slope to join the D430.

(6) Cross the road, follow it down for 100 metres, then turn right to enter Lautenbachzell (end of the Blue Ring markings). In front of the town hall, turn left onto Rue des Fleurs, pass the school, then, at the Stop sign, turn right onto Grand Rue.

(7) Just before the bridge, turn right and follow the Chemin du Geffenthal (Blue Disc markings).

(8) At the junction of the forest tracks, continue left to head back down. Take care on the road at the bottom of the track.

(9) Turn sharply left and follow the road downhill to the Rimlishof.

(10) After passing a few houses on your left, look carefully for the footpath on the left – just before a small car park, also on the left – which leads to a bridge. Continue along the footpath.

(11) Back in Buhl, turn right into Rue du Breuel, then at the stop sign, turn left into Rue Florival, and finally left into Rue de l’École, just before the chemist’s, to return to the car park (S/E).

During or after heavy rain, the paths may be muddy.
There are several picnic tables available: at the Col du Bannstein (3), at Kreuzbach (between (4) and (5)) or by the roadside on the river side (6).

(5) There are some lovely views across the whole of the Florival valley from the summit: at the Chaudron du Diable, slightly below the path, and a little further along the path itself, where there is a bench and an orientation table from which to enjoy the panoramic view.

(6) You’ll pass the Vivarium du Moulin, which is open during its opening hours.