Trail Name: Turckheim et Le Brand
Trail Type: Short distance circuit; almost exclusively paved or hard packed surface, well maintained, but the route itself is not specifically marked for this trail.
Length: Total: @5 kilometers/ 3 miles
Convenient to: Colmar, France
Marking:
Turckheim to Niedermorschwihr: Blue X
Niedermorschwihr to Turckheim: Yellow triangle
Just before winter solstice, I found myself in Alsace, not far from Strasbourg, wondering why I would hike on such a gray day. The short answer is that Strasbourg has one of the most impressive Christmas Markets in France, and Molsheim, near some of Alsace’s grand cru vineyards, is not far from it. So after an evening visiting the market, I headed for the hills to the west the next morning.
What I Learned
The Alsatian wine region is famous throughout France, and the world. It is a great place to try excellent French wines, at very reasonable prices. Politically, Alsace is divided into two districts, or departments. The Haut Rhin is the southern-most. Above it is the Bash Rhin, stretching north to the border with Germany. The Rhine river marks the eastern border of both, and the Vosges mountains lie on the western side of each.
Trail Name: Circuit de Trotele (One of the “Circuits de Bacchus” local circuit trails)
Trail Type: Mid-distance circuit; varied surfaces, from paved to meadow grasses, well maintained, with the route itself specifically marked in most, but not all, places.
Length: Total: 13.8 kilometers/ 8.4 miles
Convenient to: Strasbourg, France
Marking: Hollow blue circle, in places; yellow lines elsewhere
Some places seem designed for vineyards, and this was one of them. Outside Guebwiller, the slopes of the foothills of the Vosges run into a small mount. Like its opposing counterpart, the Bollenberg mount itself is cloaked in vines. While the Bollenberg vineyards are well-known, more importantly, the Bollenberg itself functions as a shield for the vines on the opposite slope. Protected from eastern winds, and fully exposed to the sun, this long, albeit non-contiguous stretch of slope, has on it not one, not two, but three Grands Crus.
What I Learned
Alsace’s wine producing region identifies certain vineyard areas as Grand Cru. The Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine department) area is particularly favored with some great terroirs. Spread roughly north to south, many of the most well-known crus are in the northern and central parts of this department. However, around the area of Guebwiller, there are several, and this post focuses on three.
Trail Name: Vignoble de Bergholtz
Trail Type: Medium distance circuit; trail surface mostly paved, with some hard-packed earthen sections, sometimes covered by loose gravel; well maintained, but the trail itself has no designated marking.
Length: 10 kilometers/ 6 miles (2.5 hours)
Convenient to: Colmar, or Guebwiller, France
Marking: None specific to the trail
