Cycling in Alsace Verte: 10 detailed routes with maps

This is the route that starts closest to us: the published starting point is the thermal baths at Morsbronn-les-Bains, a few minutes by bike from the Ritter’Hoft. It links two communes with the Station Verte label, Morsbronn and Niederbronn-les-Bains, over 21 km and 150 m of climbing.

The Tourist Office does not publish the list of villages the route passes through, and we would rather not invent one: the KML track you can download from the official page remains the only reliable reference for the exact line. The "experienced/sporty" grading for 150 m of climbing over 21 km looks harsh compared with the other routes in the catalogue.

It is the logical choice for a first half-day: being short, it lets you test your form and your gear before committing to the loops with 400 or 600 m of climbing.

If you were to keep only one, it would probably be this one. Over 42 km it strings together just about everything that gives Northern Alsace its identity, and it ends at Morsbronn-les-Bains: you ride back to the hotel on the road, with no shuttle and no empty return leg.

Along the way, in order

• WissembourgFortified town on the Lauter, start at place de la République. Station on the Strasbourg-Neustadt line.
• Cleebourg vineyardThe northernmost vineyard in Alsace, separate from the rest of the Wine Route. This is the section that accounts for most of the 476 m of climbing.
• HunspachFrance’s Favourite Village 2020, white half-timbered houses with bowed window panes.
• Fort de SchoenenbourgThe largest Maginot Line work open to visitors in Alsace.
• Merkwiller-PechelbronnThe French Petroleum Museum, on the first oilfield worked industrially in Europe.
• Morsbronn-les-BainsFinish. Spa town, and the Ritter’Hoft.

The 476 m of climbing are concentrated in the crossing of the vineyard: this is not a flat route despite its intermediate grading. The stated 2h30 corresponds to a brisk pace, with no stops for visits. Allow a full day if you want to go inside the Fort de Schoenenbourg or the Petroleum Museum, whose opening hours are seasonal and worth checking before you set off.

19.6 km for 94 m of climbing: this is the shortest and flattest route in the selection, and the only one that genuinely ticks every box for riding with children or getting back on a bike after a long break.

Along the way

• HoffenStart at the station, on the Strasbourg-Wissembourg line.
• SeebachFlower-decked village of the Outre-Forêt, known for its half-timbered houses and its tradition of local costume.
• HunspachFrance’s Favourite Village 2020, with its distinctive white façades.

Starting from a station is a real advantage: you can come by train with your bikes from Strasbourg or Haguenau, ride the loop, and leave again without a car. A PDF sheet is available in French, German and English on the official page.

36 km and 236 m of climbing: intermediate in the literal sense, between the flat loops of the Sauer and the vineyard routes. The circuit combines three themes that sum up the Outre-Forêt rather well: fortification, fired clay and the architecture of the white villages.

Along the way

• Soultz-sous-ForêtsStart at the station, reachable by regional train.
• Potters’ villageThe pottery tradition of the Outre-Forêt, blue and grey salt-glazed stoneware.
• Maginot Line sitesWorks and casemates of the fortified line built in the 1930s.
• Hunspach and the white villagesThe architectural heart of the Outre-Forêt.

As with the other circuits starting from a station, the logistics are simple: train from Strasbourg or Haguenau, loop over half a day, back in the late afternoon. PDF sheets available in three languages.

46 km for only 143 m of climbing: the best distance-to-effort ratio in the selection, and the start is at Woerth, the commune next to Morsbronn-les-Bains. The circuit follows the orchards of the Sauer valley and the places of remembrance of the battle of 6 August 1870.

Along the way

• Museum of the Battle of 6 August 1870Housed in the château of Woerth, it tells the story of the Franco-German clash at Woerth-Froeschwiller.
• Church of PeaceCommemorative building linked to the battle.
• Château de FroeschwillerAt the heart of the 1870 battlefield.
• Orchards of the Sauer valleyThe farming landscape that characterises the valley.

It is the only route in the selection for which the Tourist Office publishes a seasonal recommendation: it is described as particularly pleasant in spring and autumn, which makes sense in orchard country. The stated 6h for 46 km that are almost entirely flat assumes a very gentle pace and stops along the way.

52.1 km for 94 m of climbing, that is less than 2 m of ascent per kilometre. It crosses Northern Alsace from west to east, from the foot of the Vosges to the Rhine, and it is the route to choose if you are riding loaded or if the group has mixed abilities.

Along the way, in order

• LembachAt the foot of the Northern Vosges, close to the Fleckenstein and the Four à Chaux fort.
• WoerthSauer valley, 4 km from Morsbronn-les-Bains.
• BetschdorfCapital of blue and grey salt-glazed stoneware, with working potters’ studios.
• SeltzOn the Rhine. This is where you join EuroVelo 15.

Its strategic value goes beyond a day out: it is the natural link between Alsace Verte and the Rhine Cycle Route. From Morsbronn, you pick up the route at Woerth and you are on EuroVelo 15 within half a day.

680 m of climbing over 42 km: this is the highest elevation gain in the whole Alsace Verte cycling catalogue, and the only route in this selection that calls for genuine training or a good electric assist. In return, it is also the most spectacular.

Along the way, in order

• LembachStart at the town hall.
• Wingen and Petit-WingenEntering the Heimbach valley.
• Rue des Châteaux Forts, col du LitschhofThe main difficulty of the loop.
• Château de FleckensteinA 12th-century castle carved into the rock, one of the major sites of the Northern Vosges.
• Niedersteinbach and ObersteinbachSingle-street villages at the bottom of the forested valleys.
• WindsteinThe castles of Schoeneck and Wineck.
• JaegerthalThe former De Dietrich forges, the family’s industrial birthplace.
• Nehwiller, Langensoultzbach, WoerthReturn through the valley towards Lembach.

Save it for settled weather: the forest sections and the col du Litschhof become distinctly less enjoyable in the rain, and the loop passes through areas with little in the way of help if you have a mechanical problem.

432 m of climbing over 28.6 km: this is the steepest route per kilometre in the selection, sharper even than the castles loop. The Cleebourg vineyard has to be earned.

Along the way

• Cleebourg vineyardThe northernmost vineyard in Alsace, specialising in pinot blanc, auxerrois and pinot gris.
• Fort de SchoenenbourgThe largest Maginot Line work open to visitors in Alsace.
• HunspachFinish in France’s Favourite Village 2020.

The start is at Wissembourg station, which makes a car-free day from Strasbourg perfectly feasible. One point to note: the Cleebourg vineyard is not part of the Alsace Wine Route, whose official line stops a good deal further south. It is a vineyard apart, and that is precisely what makes it interesting.

The most complete loop in the catalogue: 48.9 km taking in the whole of the Outre-Forêt and its two valleys, with 391 m of climbing spread out rather than concentrated.

Along the way, in order

• WissembourgStart at the station.
• Villages of the Cleebourg vineyardThe climb up to the northern vineyard.
• Soultz-sous-ForêtsThe main market town of the Outre-Forêt.
• BetschdorfSalt-glazed stoneware pottery.
• The Sauer and Lauter valleysThe two rivers that shape the area.
• Seebach, then AltenstadtFlower-decked villages, heading back towards Wissembourg.

This is the route that gives the fullest picture of the region in a single outing: vineyard, market towns, craft workshops, valleys and white villages. Best kept for a second or third day, once you have the lie of the land.

This is one of the few routes over 25 km graded "all abilities" by the Tourist Office. The elevation gain is not published on the official page, which calls for some caution in an area that is already Vosges country, but the grading and the stated 2h suggest an easy-rolling profile.

Along the way, in order

• Niederbronn-les-BainsSpa town and Station Verte, at the foot of the Northern Vosges.
• PhilippsbourgClog-maker’s workshop.
• BaerenthalThe Zinsel valley, an area of ponds and forests.
• Zinswiller, then OberbronnReturn along the foothills.