From the Vosges to the Jura mountains – Hexatrek, le Grand Est
Hiking Collection by Luc Gesell
39
days
2-8 h
/ day
690 km
20,980 m
20,850 m
With the Hexatrek, France has its national long-distance hiking trail – its famous thru-hike, as they’re called in the United States. These are hikes that cover a country from one end to the other, like the mythical Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).
Although the Hexatrek was only created in 2022, it promises to be no less iconic, given time. The route leads over famous passes and through nature reserves, offers spectacular views of internationally famous peaks, and crosses national parks that are the stuff of hikers’ dreams: the Vanoise, the Écrins, the Pyrenees National Park.
If you’re now chomping at the bit, there are a great number of things you should know about Hexatrek before you start. For example, this long-distance hiking trail isn’t marked. Sometimes it follows the GR, sometimes the GRP and sometimes it goes the way of the black paths. It’s a combination of trails, so don't be surprised when you leave the GR. Most of the time, this will be for the benefit of a spectacular climb or a viewpoint unknown to ‘GRists’.
The Hexatrek consists of six main stages. This Collection offers you the opportunity to discover the first one: le Grand Est (the Great East). From Wissembourg on the French-German border to Nyon on the shores of Lake Geneva, this stage is the Hexatrek’s longest. A whopping 672 kilometres (418 mi) and 23,300 metres (76,500 ft) of elevation gain await you. I propose to divide the route into 39 stages for an average of 17 kilometres (10.5 mi) per day.
Apart from two or three ambitious days where you’ll have to redouble your efforts, the others remain relatively manageable. The Grand Est section is not the one that offers the most wild camping opportunities or mountain huts and the stages have often been designed to end at hostels on the route, to ensure that you have a safe night's sleep at the end of each day. You can, of course, adapt this itinerary to your liking.
The Grand Est is divided into two parts. The first part winds down the entire Vosges massif, while the second part crosses the Jura massif. Two individual massifs, two different characters.
In the Vosges massif, you’ll be received like kings. First, you follow the route of the castles and then the wine route. Nowhere in the world is there such a concentration of castles. Some are only ruins, while others have been lovingly restored and can be explored. Even the ruins are worth a visit, especially the troglodytic examples. As for wine, you’ll find many opportunities to taste and enjoy in Alsace.
In addition to the historical aspects of this itinerary and the opportunities to unleash your inner connoisseur, lovers of landscapes and nature will also enjoy themselves in the heart of the two regional nature parks of the Vosges. Here, you’ll cross mysterious forests and find unique views of the Ballon chain and the Black Forest. The icing on the cake is the famous blue line: symbolically, it marks the old Franco-German border but also designates a tangle of fir tree valleys from which the mist emerges at sunrise. An enchanting panorama.
As for the Jura section, you’ll see the magnificent Doubs canyon; picturesque ‘cow mountains’ as they are called here, or alpine pastures as they are more widely known; viewpoints of Mont Blanc; and also sparkling lakes and glorious mixed forests. For food, you’ll be spoilt by rustic inns that offer charcuterie, cheeses, blueberry tarts, double cream meringues and perhaps a cheeky absinthe to wash it all down. Take your time and enjoy but don't forget that you have to continue your hike afterwards.
Of course, you probably won’t be treating yourself to slap up meal out every day. Fortunately, buying provisions is quite easy all along the route. You’ll come across shops in the many villages you visit, meaning you’ll never have to carry more than two or three days worth of food in your bag. The same goes for water.
This Grand Est section of the Hexatrek is a mid-mountain route, so you’ll rarely go above 1,200 metres (3,900 ft). This widens the period in which you can plan your adventure compared to routes at higher elevations. The Hexatrek is easy to access from the beginning of April to the end of October. Just remember to pack extra layers as nights can be cooler at the beginning and end of the season. However, pack for the possibility of rain, which is particularly likely on stages 28 and 29 through the canyon between France and Switzerland.
Most of the stages are also accessible by public transport. There are train stations or bus stops in the towns at the start and end of the stages, making them well suited to dividing the route into shorter sections. Sometimes the stages start and end at mountain huts. When this is the case, the stage in question usually passes through a village served by bus. You can go to rome2rio.com for more information.
It's easy to get to the start point of Wissembourg, which is well served by bus and train. In Nyon, at the end of your trek, you can take the ferry across Lake Geneva to continue your Hexatrek on the Northern Alps stage. See cgn.ch/en/horaires-billets for more information. Otherwise, from Nyon, you can reach all the major Swiss cities by train.
Hopefully now you know everything, or almost everything, you need to know. For the rest, I wish you a beautiful time on the trails.
And if you are already curious about the next stage of the Hexatrek, through the Hautes Alpes, see my Collection here: komoot.com/collection/1730773
On The Map
Do it yourself
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Last updated: June 18, 2024
Plan your own version of this adventure in the multi-day planner based on the stages suggested in this Collection.
Activities
05:19
18.5km
3.5km/h
510m
360m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
The Hexatrek's great adventure starts here, in Wissembourg. This city with a medieval past deserves to spend two days there before setting off. The salt house and the Bruch district are particularly remarkable in terms of architecture and history.
The first great promise of this long route is very quickly…
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Luc Gesell
05:09
16.8km
3.3km/h
540m
560m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.This second stage, like the first, offers a very accessible hiking profile with hilly terrain and gradual slopes. Its reasonable distance will allow you to take some time to observe and wander around the castles. You will come across many of them, but you will appreciate the uniqueness of each of them…
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04:06
13.3km
3.2km/h
420m
550m
IntermediateIntermediate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.The effort of the day is called the Little Wintersberg. An average 20% ascent and at the top the Wintersberg chalet. Held by the Club alpin vosgien, this shelter offers you a refreshment bar in its own juice as they say.
And whoever says Little Wintersberg says there's a big brother not far away. Indeed…
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05:33
18.0km
3.2km/h
710m
580m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.The waltz of castles continues with more beautiful buildings to explore. Whether they are in ruins or in good condition, you will be able to appreciate the architecture of two additional, quite remarkable castles.
In addition to these vestiges of the former German border, the trail also bears witness…
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04:48
17.3km
3.6km/h
320m
310m
IntermediateIntermediate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.If this Collection is steeped in history, this step gives pride of place to the small stories in the big story. Starting with that of the Ochsenstall rock that you will discover halfway.
Throughout this day, you will be escorted by the many mountains with local accents. Small bumps 300 meters high on…
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05:57
20.6km
3.5km/h
460m
600m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.This day is a pivotal first stage of your Hexatrek, Grand Est section. It closes the chapter of the Northern Vosges and leads you gently towards the wine route which will make the junction to the Regional Natural Park of Ballons de Vosges.
But for that, you will already have to pass the curiosities of…
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05:13
17.7km
3.4km/h
630m
280m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.If you were thinking of heading to Marlenheim, the starting town of the wine route, well, you will still have to wait to survey the Alsatian hills.
The route runs through the foothills of the Vosges, on a balcony path, with a view of the Rhine valley. It transplants towards the interior of the Vosges…
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05:14
16.4km
3.1km/h
590m
790m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.This day offers a diversity that the previous stages of this Collection do not have. The ruins of the Nideck castle offer an absolutely magnificent panorama of the Vosges. It's like being in an aerial fjord, where the hills of fir trees part to let a sea of clouds spread.
Further on, the Nideck waterfall…
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08:41
28.5km
3.3km/h
940m
980m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Sure-footedness, sturdy shoes and alpine experience required.It's a long stage that awaits you to reach the charming little town of Schirmeck: almost 30 kilometers of walking and 1,000 meters of elevation gain. So much negative.
This day, which lengthens the distance, also takes height. You will hike mainly between 900 and 1,000 meters above sea level. The forests…
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06:57
22.7km
3.3km/h
980m
540m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.This stage is in a way a memorial stage of memory. The path respectfully passes by the National Necropolis and the Struthof, a former deportee camp.
Further on, the route takes the path of the terminals, itself full of unpleasant stories since dramas whose stories can easily be found are attached to it…
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05:38
18.6km
3.3km/h
490m
840m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.After having feasted on the road to fortified castles, like a king of hiking, this stage marks a turning point. You will still see castles, ruins, fortifications but from now on you will also see vineyards, cellars and charming wine villages.
From Mont Sainte-Odile, the path descends towards the Rhine…
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07:25
25.4km
3.4km/h
720m
660m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.Don't be surprised if you hear monkeys howling in the distance. The castles are already back on the rocky promontories of the Vosges, after a stop at the gates of the Rhine plain, but this is not the main curiosity: you will indeed find an animal park called the monkey mountain.
The stage is rather copious…
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05:42
17.9km
3.1km/h
830m
510m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.The path from Thannenkirch to Ribeauvillé is a sublime combination of the charms of the region: a path in the middle of the vineyards, castles still proudly erected on the cliffs and rolling landscapes as far as the eye can see.
In Ribeauvillé, which is about halfway through this stage, you will find…
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03:03
9.78km
3.2km/h
470m
190m
IntermediateIntermediate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.This stage is more or less a recovery day. The idea is to allow you to keep moving forward while reducing the airfoil. You can adopt a leisurely pace, take the time for a siesta, enjoy without rushing.
The hilly path alternates between pretty little earthy singles that wind between the fir trees and wider…
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02:59
9.17km
3.1km/h
280m
420m
IntermediateIntermediate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.It's still a short and generous day for your legs, with a moderate elevation gain. In the shade of several peaks that exceed 1,000 meters, the route connects little corners of paradise ideal for picnics and siestas. That's also hiking: take your time and enjoy.
The decor immerses you in the hollow of…
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06:55
21.1km
3.0km/h
700m
610m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Sure-footedness, sturdy shoes and alpine experience required.Be careful, on this stage the Vosges take a bit of a big head. Indeed, the trail takes you to the summits of the Têtes des Faux and Immerlins at over 1,200 meters above sea level. Ideal for getting back into the rhythm after two calm days.
If the route has been shy in bodies of water so far, you will…
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06:30
18.1km
2.8km/h
940m
790m
ExpertExpert hike. Very good fitness required. Sure-footedness, sturdy shoes and alpine experience required.Enjoy a good breakfast at the Frankenthal Inn because the day promises to be intense. On the first kilometers you descend peacefully to the hairpin path which descends to Lake Schiessrothried.
The route then climbs towards the summits by connecting, on a succession of flat ridges, several peaks that exceed…
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04:16
14.0km
3.3km/h
390m
450m
IntermediateIntermediate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.The paths follow each other but are not necessarily alike on this stage. You will sometimes walk on beautiful tracks, wide, draped in grass and earth, sometimes on technical, rugged and rocky paths.
You will not cross any village on this stage so take advantage of the inns and facilities at the Grand…
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04:57
16.1km
3.3km/h
330m
1,090m
IntermediateIntermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.This stage is mostly downhill with a beautiful negative elevation of 1,100 meters. The trail connects several small peaks. You will have the sensation of trampolining from one Vosges mountain to another. And with each leap, you can enjoy very distant, charming and typical views of the Vosges: forests…
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03:31
10.8km
3.1km/h
780m
10m
IntermediateIntermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.This stage gives a beautiful feeling of wide open spaces, in mountains more conducive to intimate atmospheres with its valleys, forests and nooks. Here you will find beautiful stretches, especially at the Hundsruck pass. And for good reason, the route moves towards the interior of the Vosges massif.
Remember…
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Collection Stats
- Activities39
- Distance690 km
- Duration209:11 h
- Elevation20,980 m20,850 m
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