Hiking for Ballon lovers – Tour du Ballon d'Alsace in France

The Tour du Ballon d’Alsace doesn’t have an official route; you can start in various places and hike in different ways. However, the 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) path ‘Discovery of the Ballon d’Alsace’ offers the most beautiful viewpoints over the valley and the surrounding mountains. In this Collection, I propose a three-day loop which takes in this path and the surrounding area.

This little path takes you to the highest point of the Ballon d’Alsace at 1,247 metres (4,091 ft). It also teaches you a lot about the region’s landscape, fauna and flora, history, geology and mountain economy. Along the trails, you’ll get the chance to try cheese, honey and other gourmet treats that are produced on the massif. The Discovery Trail has many information boards and maps too.

This Tour du Ballon d’Alsace takes you across four departments: the Territoire de Belfort, Vosges, Haut-Rhin and Haute-Saône. You walk between Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comté. The Ballon d'Alsace is a real crossroads of history and tradition. Located in the heart of the Ballons des Vosges Regional Nature Park, its massif is a natural paradise classified as a Natura 2000, meaning it has remarkable biodiversity. The loop I’ve outlined in this Collection takes you to many wonderful natural places such as maple, beech and pine forests, peat bogs, waterfalls and lakes, like the one at Alfeld.

The Ballon d'Alsace has many small, picturesque chalets hidden in meadows or in the woods with incredible views over the Vosges Mountains and forests that extend into the horizon. These chalets are unguarded refuges that welcome you at the end of each stage to spend the night. They are generally well maintained.

The Ballon d'Alsace is accessible all year round and its forests are charming in every season: rich fauna in summer, fiery landscapes in autumn, an effervescent flora in spring, and white calm in winter. I recommend hiking at the end of September or in spring, when the refuges are mostly empty and the nature is beautiful.

To access the trail, I suggest starting from Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle, northwest of the Ballon d'Alsace. Various buses run to this small town, depending on where you travel from. You can catch the train to Remiremont and take a bus from there. Have a look at options here: rome2rio.com/fr/map/%C3%89pinal/Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle.

Have a good hike!