La Petite-Pierre — loop from Graufthal in the Parc Naturel Régional des Vosges du Nord

Today we had planned a hiking tour in Graufthal to La Petite Pierre in the Vosges. All paths were very well signposted. I really wanted to see the cave houses. Also the former Benedictine abbey, which was only made famous by Hildegard von Bingen, since Hildegard had advised the then superior Hazecha. Also the three cave houses Maison Wagner; Maison Weber and Maison Ottermann with the famous "Felsenkäte" (Catherine Ottermann), who loved to tell true and made-up anecdotes from her life... a must see! Hard to believe, but not so long ago that people really lived there!

☀️Today we're heading to nearby Alsace, starting from Graufthal, a small village known for its beautiful troglodyte houses prettily painted in blue. There I discover the remains of an abbey from the 11th to the 16th century which was recently discovered. With my Lia🦮 we quickly leave the village to reach the beautiful forest of the Northern Vosges Natural Park. 🌳🌲🌳 The route takes us to the heights via pretty, very gradually climbing paths, first it goes up, then it goes down to the small hamlet of Kohlthal. With all the rain of the last few days the forest is already full of mushrooms 🍄‍🟫 🍄‍🟫.. After Kohlthal it goes up in switchbacks to reach the so-called "Rocher du Corbeau", where I enjoy the magnificent distant view of the Vosges mountains ⛰️.. The rest of the route takes us back to the small Alsatian town of La Petite Pierre, well known for its famous "Au grès du Jazz" festival 🎶, a festival that is in full swing as we cross the old quarter to reach the castle 🏰.. The return journey takes us past the Pagan Rock, past the forester's house, and along numerous small ponds in the valley. Back in Graufthal, I linger a little longer near the pretty blue houses.

And today I was out following a recommendation from the local newspaper's hiking guide, and since I don't have a Germany ticket this month, I chose a tour by car. And I was lucky with the weather: I left later, so I arrived after the rain, and it didn't start raining again until I got back in the car. The rock houses, of course, looked very sparse inside—thankfully, there was a nice place to eat in Graufthal, which I took advantage of.

I had the tour from Annett and Matthias. https://www.komoot.de/tour/10332471 Had forgotten to change the time on the camera, so all images are wrongly positioned by one hour.

After 2017, it was time to visit the Grauftal near La Petite Pierre in the Vosges for the second time (see also https://www.komoot.de/tour/14924804). Start and finish is in the parking lot near the Lützelburg. The weather is still foggy and cloudy at first, but it's downhill to kilometer 1.18. This is where the ascent to the first highlight of the day, the Heidenfelsen, begins. From here we continue in the direction of Grauftal. At kilometer 2.40 we miss the turnoff and come to a path that gets wilder and wilder. It was actually very good that we missed the turnoff, as the section of the path is very beautiful and rustic. At kilometer 2.95 we come back to the official path and climb down partly wide, partly narrow paths into the valley of the Rehbach. Once at the bottom you have a choice; either you follow the road to the left in the direction of Grauthal or go a bit to the right and then hike on the other side of the valley on a beautiful forest path along the Rehbach and many many ponds to Grauftal. In Grauftal, not only the rock dwellings are worth a look (admission costs EUR 3.00), but also the abbey ruins excavated in 2019. At the village fountain near the rock dwellings it was time for the extensive lunch break. During this the weather cleared up more and more and for the rest of the hike we had glorious autumn weather. Strengthened in this way, we first went up the road a bit up the Rehbachtal and at kilometer 8.84 we turned onto a small mountain path. From here it went consistently up to kilometer 10.7; from here it went down into the Kohltal. Here we hike through the small hamlet of Kohltal and then we follow a small path along the country road until, at kilometer 13.2, we have to climb up to the Rabenfelsen. From here there is a wonderful view. From the Rabennfelsen it is only a relatively short distance past the Poetengarten back to the car park in La Petite Pierre.

La petite Pierre, German Lützelstein. Start at the free car park at Lützelstein Castle, in the direction of Graufthal to the rock dwellings. To my regret, both facilities were closed, so I had to be satisfied with the outdoor facilities. But that was also worth seeing. At the castle, especially the cistern driven into the rock and the position of the rock dwellings in the rock are impressive. Refreshment stop at the end of the tour in the romantic, lovingly furnished café 'Les Jardin d'utophie' with delicious cake.