Ascent to the highest mountain Vosges
In France, west of the Rhine, you will find the wooded Vosges Mountains. Its highest peak is Gran Ballon (1,424 m above sea level), which thanks to its bare peak serves as a great view of the surroundings. The ascent is very simple, because just a mountain road just below the summit.
View of the top of the Grand Ballon
The mountain road number D431 leads through the Vosges Mountains. We follow it and stop at an altitude (1,345 m above sea level) in a large parking lot near the Chalet Hôtel Du Grand Ballon. From here it is just over half a kilometer and 80 altitude meters to the top of the mountain. At the top is a radar building – so the name Ballon is quite apt for this mountain
View of the Vosges
Although the Vosges do not reach the drama of the relatively nearby Alps, the view of this mountain range is still very nice
GR 5 - Vosges
The long-distance route GR 5 – Vosges leads through the whole mountain range, but it almost always leads along or near the top road, which probably loses a bit of attractiveness.
The top of the Grand Ballon mountain
Peak at the radar
View of the Rhine Valley
It is visible to the east as far as the Rhine Valley 1,200 meters below
The Blue Devils
You can take it back around the statue of Les Diables Bleus