Trekking in the Vosges and Jura - A Walker's Guidebook

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Reviews

Why visit the Vosges and Jura?

The Vosges and French Jura are areas of mountain country in the extreme east of France, bordering Switzerland and Germany. Compared with the neighbouring Alps these mountains are not high, reaching about 1400m, and perhaps this is one reason why the region is not a major holiday destination and does not have the problems of tourist pressure found in some places. But this does not mean that either facilities or a welcome are hard to find.

The Vosges and Jura contain some excellent walking country, made all the more interesting by the huge variety of landscapes found in this small corner of France. A quiet forest footpath can suddenly reveal a castle ruin high on a distant crag, and the exhilarating hilltop views contrast with the sights and sounds in the narrow streets of old Alsace villages. Further south, secluded paths wind through deep river gorges before climbing out onto the vast expanse of the high plateau.

In the north of the region the Northern Vosges is a land of tranquil forests where people are few and wildlife is undisturbed. Nature has eroded the sandstone here to leave spectacular rock pinnacles that tower in isolation over the forests. A veritable explosion of medieval castle-building has left the region scattered with an astonishing number of half-forgotten ruins, often perched precariously above rocky precipices.

In the Central and Southern Vosges the forests have their own surprises. The enigmatic ruins of the Mur Païen and the nearby convent of Mont Ste-Odile are shrouded in legend and mystery (see Section 4). Footpaths lead through the age-old winegrowing towns and villages on the edge of the Alsace Plain and up through the trees to open summit pastures. There is so much to discover here – do you linger to savour the charm of old Alsace, with its cobbled lanes and half-timbered houses steeped in history, or do you press on up to the windswept hilltops, where the view over the patchwork plain seems limitless, extending out to the distant Alps?

Further south the limestone of the Jura lends its own unique character to the landscape. Isolated lookout points give stunning views over the seemingly endless blanket of forest below. Elsewhere, rivers have cut down through the limestone to produce impressive gorge scenery, with narrow defiles leading between sheer rocky crags. Joux Castle, surely one of the most stunningly sited strongholds in all France, stands guard over one such narrow rocky cleft (see Section 10). The rivers can form gentle backwaters where trout linger in shaded pools, or they can have more dramatic moods – at Saut du Doubs the thunder of rushing water can be heard long before the waterfall comes into sight (see Section 9).

Special mention should be made of one of the real highlights of the whole walk, the airy clifftop path leading up to the summit of Le Mont d’Or (see Section 10). The dramatic wall of towering cliffs at the edge of the plateau forms the border with Switzerland, and the path provides magnificent vantage points over the expanse of the Swiss Jura.

Wildlife enthusiasts will not be disappointed. At dawn and dusk chamois venture out of the forest onto the high pastures, and there is always the chance of a rare glimpse of wild boar rooting among the trees. Kites and falcons can often be seen wheeling overhead, and storks have long been a hallmark of Alsace.

The whole region has an excellent network of footpaths, well within the capabilities of any moderately fit person. These mountains are ideal for walkers, summits being of relatively modest height, and the panoramic views make the breathless ascents worthwhile. When the time comes to rest from walking cross country, the villages and small towns provide distraction in the form of cafés and bars, the occasional museum, wine-tasting in the vineyards, and a friendly and helpful local population.

The major part of this book is a practical guide to the principal north–south walking route through this varied landscape, along the GR5/GR53. This 672km (418 mile) waymarked path traverses the entire length of the Vosges, and then climbs up onto the plateau of the Haut-Jura before dropping down to Nyon on the shores of Lake Geneva. We chose to describe a route combining two long-distance paths because the GR5 approaches the Vosges from the plains of Lorraine and misses the Northern Vosges completely. The Northern Vosges is a fascinating area with its own unique attractions, so we decided to start the northern end of our route description on the GR53, continuing south through the main part of the Vosges and Jura on the GR5. This has allowed us to describe a route down the full length of the Vosges mountains.

The marked regional differences along the route reflect the contrasting histories of the areas visited. Alsace, on the east side of the Vosges, has long had strong cultural links with the German lands across the Rhine, and this has left its mark on the towns and villages, with their timber-framed houses, local dishes and beers. Although French is spoken universally, the area also has its own thriving Germanic language (Elsässisch). Further south, the French Jura lies within Franche-Comté, also with a history of being separate from the rest of France, and where the proximity of Switzerland lends a more Alpine influence to the countryside.

If long-distance trekking seems to be a rather challenging way to get to know the area, it is certainly not the only option. A more relaxed way to explore the region is to choose one of its many pleasant towns or villages as a base for shorter walks, as described in the latter part of this book.

Landscape

In the Northern Vosges the low, rounded hills are mostly formed from eroded sandstone, but in places where it is more resistant, prominent rocky outcrops remain. These isolated high points make obvious defensive sites, and the sandstone castles built on them can look like extensions of the rock itself. Further south in the Vosges this layer of sandstone has been eroded away completely to reveal gneiss and granite, harder rock which is responsible for the higher land, the Ballons des Vosges 9 (see Sections 6 and 7), with massive, flat-topped summits and ridges. The east face of the range, which follows the fault line of the Rhine Valley, is steeper than the west and in places forms a line of impressive cliffs. Glaciation has left its mark on these hills, widening valleys to form huge, bowl-shaped cirques in some places, now the sites of glacial lakes, a series of which, including Lac Blanc and Lac Noir, lies just below the cliffs (see Section 5).

Above the forest the tops of the hills are open pasture, the very highest being naturally clear of trees as a result of exposure, although in some cases grazing is the cause. However, changes in farming practice mean that trees are beginning to encroach on some areas again. Winemaking in Alsace dates back many centuries, and below the forest the lower slopes to the south and east are clothed by vineyards that have given rise to a whole string of inviting little villages in the valleys.

South of the Vosges the granite is left behind and a mix of sedimentary rocks forms the low land around Belfort. Although the GR5 goes through areas of mixed farming and forestry, this region contains a cluster of industrial towns around Montbéliard.

Just south of Vandoncourt the striking rock arch of Pont Sarrazin (see Section 8) is the first unmistakable sign that the path has reached the limestone that forms the basis of the scenery for the rest of the route to Lake Geneva. The limestone of the Jura creates a landscape distinct from the Vosges, with many fossil-rich sites (the region gives its name to the Jurassic geological period). Rivers have cut deep gorges and often flow underground through caverns. One of the highlights of the GR5 is where it follows the River Doubs as it flows through a series of wooded gorges along the Swiss frontier (see Section 11).

The GR5 then climbs onto the high plateau of the Jura where the limestone extends to great depths. Folded by earth movements and split by faults, the whole region was then scoured by ice so that the resulting plateau is far from flat, instead forming an undulating landscape at about 1000m, now largely covered by forest. Elevated lookout points such as Roche Bernard give expansive views. Farming still continues in forest clearings, but as the rural population declines, trees increasingly encroach onto cleared land.

The path leaves the plateau soon after crossing into Switzerland and descends quite steeply, the final few kilometres crossing the belt of flat fields surrounding Lake Geneva.

Elsewhere in the Jura distinctive flat-bottomed valleys bordered by steep limestone cliffs (reculées in French) are a characteristic feature of the landscape. Reculées are created when an impermeable layer of marl lies underneath the limestone, and although not on the GR5 route there are ideas for exploring fine areas of reculée scenery under ‘Other Walks in the Jura’ in the latter part of the book.