The Vosges…. once, together with the Black Forest, a huge mountain range. Until Italy found it necessary to collide with Europe some thirty million years ago. This created the Alps and the huge plate on which the old mountains lay broke and largely collapsed. In the enormous groove that was created then, the Rhine now separates the Western Vosges from the Black Forest in the East.

The ridge that remained formed the border between France and Germany from 1871 to 1918. 1918, you read that right. The end of the First World War. Afterwards, boundaries were literally shifted, but you can already imagine that the terrain of the Vosges in WWI was particularly turbulent, and the Route des Crêtes (literal translation: road over the mountain ridges) is a remnant of that.

The road was built by the French army at the time to connect the southern front in Alsace with the northern and ran just behind the front line for the Rhine Valley. There are several 'mountain ridge roads' in France, but none carry as much history as the Route des Crêtes in the Vosges.

This medium version of the route also starts at the Col de Bussang hotel. 500 meters from the hotel you can already see the first sight, namely the source of what will later become the imposing Moselle. A small, quick stop is recommended unless of course you have already visited the source on foot from the hotel.
If you wish, you can already fill up the tank just 3 kilometers from the start, after which you curl up in a relaxed way through the Foret Nationale du Géhant and the Réserve Naturelle Régionale de la Tourbire des Charmes.
After less than 100 kilometers you reach the Col du Bonhomme, but we pass it first to drive to the actual beginning of the Route des Crêtes. Many think that the Route des Crëtes starts at the Col du Bonhomme, but they are wrong… . You first take two extra cols before you 'descend' back to the Col du Bonhomme where you can quench your thirst at one of the two terraces.

After the Col du Bonhomme you pass the 'Gazon du Fang', one of the highest peaks of the Vosges (1306m), completely surrounded by a beautiful nature reserve and equipped with a majestic viewpoint. After all, it is only a few hundred meters from the car park to the cliffs on the edge of the plateau overlooking the plains of the Rhine and Alsace. With good weather you can see as far as the Jungfrau in Switzerland. Very beautiful and well worth the walk. The car parks where you can park your motorcycle while you walk to the viewpoint are indicated on the map.
After the 'Lawn' you pass the Col de la Schlucht; posing here is pleasant and, if you feel like it, a 'toboggan ride' is a pleasant change here.

Just like we can pull super nice turns with the sled on the Col de la Schlucht, we will do the same with the motorcycle on the Col de la Bramont.
We will leave the Route des Crêtes for this, but you will not regret it, on the contrary.
The 'Bramont' with its 40 delicious pins is a real pleasure to drive, after which you can quietly return via the D27 to the Route des Crêtes, to quickly reach the 'Grand Ballon', the highest point of the Vosges.
You can also consider a short stop here to enjoy, in good weather, the view that reaches as far as Mont Blanc….

After the 'Grand Ballon' we make a small excursion to the war history of the Hartmannswillerkopf. Here you will become silent and very humble… Hartmannswillerkopf is after all a historic cemetery on the site where about 50,000 people died in an absolutely senseless trench warfare between 1914 and 1916. All this in order to seize power over a rocky outcrop which is now nicknames like 'The Man-Eater' and 'The Mountain of Death'. You would for less….
A truly hallucinatory battle was fought here. For example, on December 21, 1915 alone – in one day – 250,000 shells were fired by the French Artillery. You can perhaps imagine the massacre and the rebuttal of the Germans. 6000 bunkers were built here. Half of these are still visible along a 90-kilometer course of trenches from which the smell of death may never disappear.

Once you've got rid of the chills, we'll set course from Hartmannswillerkopf to the official end of the Route des Crêtes at Cernay where the road changes name to Route du Ballon. With the exception of the perhaps appreciated trip to the Bramont, you have now completed the entire Route des Crêtes.
But that does not mean that the route or the fun of it is over, on the contrary… Another delicious dessert is coming…

After the end of the Route des Crêtes we drive through more urban areas in the valley of the Thur, but in Bitschwiller les Thann, possibly after a short break in Café de la Poste, you turn back onto the 'green' Michelin roads. Rub the wrists and knees just to digest the tasty curves .. it will be necessary.
It is funny that you will soon find the Col de Hundsrucken here, something that one would normally expect in Germany… It perhaps shows the historical relationship that the Vosges have with the related German area…
In Saint Maurice sur Moselle you will rejoin the original route, which you will take this time in the opposite direction, back in the direction of the hotel. You can then refill the empty tank at the same pump before returning to the hotel.

Several possible stops are included on the route and you choose the one that is closest to your rhythm. It is certain that, whichever resting point you choose, it will be pleasant to talk about the bends you have passed and the related experiences. But don't forget to look at nature in addition to the bends. The entire route runs through extensive nature reserves (Fort des Volcans de Wegscheid, Saint Maurice et Bussang, Géhant,Tourbire des Charmes,…) where a lot of wildlife roams around. So watch out for any unexpected crossings… and please bear in mind that there was a lot of fighting in these forests during WWI, especially at the 'cols', which were of course popular as viewpoints.


The Route des Crêtes in the Medium version is a route that should be digestible for everyone. The newbees will be happy that they have pushed their limits again, while the more experienced riders will be pleasantly surprised with the sometimes tough cornering, and not just on the 'Bramont'.

That is why this route, like its brothers, deserves a five-star rating. Beautiful nature, tough curves, excellent road surface, great views and a captivating history. Sufficient discussion material is therefore present during the breaks and during the evening meal in 'Hotel Col de Bussang'.