Weil am Rhein and the Beyeler Foundation

The vast renaturation project on the Rhine Island, which began in 2013, is nearing completion. A new river, the Little Rhine, has appeared between the Grand Canal and the Old Rhine. The land and water around it has been completely transformed, allowing many plant and animal species to return or remain. This walk takes place in a rapidly changing natural environment, where everything is set to change for the greater benefit of biodiversity.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In the heart of the Au, an 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 Canal de Huningue, by a pond or a lock, on the banks of canals or streams, water is omnipresent.Please note: the Scheidgraben path before point ::10:: is currently submerged (November 2026), making this hike difficult to complete.

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 a wetland area on the floodplain of the Rhine in the Pays des Trois Frontières, where the river, before its course was corrected by dykes (19th century) and then channelled (early 20th century), spread out into multiple branches.Between the Kembs hydroelectric plant 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 indicated does not take into account stops at the five observatories and other points of interest along the route. Please note: the Scheidgraben path between (6) and (7) is currently submerged (November 2025), making this hike difficult to complete.