BR25 Picturesque villages and the wine region of Cleeboug

It is a hilly road that leads from Soultz- sous Forêts to Hunspach, which is classed as one of the most beautiful villages in France. It winds its way through fields strewn with blockhouses and remains of the Maginot Line. After Steinseltz, from the Geisberg, you can survey the town of Wissembourg with its fortifications. The town's old houses and the river which runs through it, the Lauter, give it a great deal of character. The route route is via the piémont of the Northern Vosges. The trail passes through the Cleebourg vineyards and forest, leading the cyclist through the open countryside, well off the beaten track. At the end of the trail, through the vegetation that covers them, you can pick out the slag heaps of the old asphaltic sand mine at Merkwiller- Pechelbronn and some pumps which are still in use.