Climbing Up and Walking Around

The main body of the rock is accessible from a side trail that branches off the GR 534 footpath. A short staircase carved into the sandstone leads to a small summit platform where, on clear days, the forest canopy drops away below and the distant Lorraine plateau and Alsace plain come into view. The climb is brief and exposed only enough to give a thrill rather than a challenge—though the Club Vosgien warns families with young children about the abundance of rocky edges in the wider area.↗↗

A charming oddity at the base of the rock: a small niche in the sandstone has been furnished with a collection of garden gnomes, a whimsical touch that makes visitors smile. The loop paths encircling the formation let you examine the rock from all angles, revealing layers of erosion lines, tiny fern colonies, and the warm rose colour that gives the Vosges its nickname as the "pink sandstone mountains."↗

The Himbeerfels Circular Walk

The dedicated Himbeerfels loop as described by the Club Vosgien starts at the Col de la Schleif and covers just under 5 km with 116 m of ascent—a brisk, mostly shaded hour-long outing through the mixed fir-and-beech forests of the Dabo region. The trail climbs steeply at the outset before levelling off along the ridge past the Eichelkopf, where the cluster of rock formations, including Himbeerfels, emerges from the undergrowth.↗

For a fuller experience, the Visorando-recommended circular route links Rocher de Dabo, the Col de la Schleif, Himbeerfels, and the chapel of Saint-Léon in a 9.9 km loop of about 3 hours 45 minutes. Starting from the Schlossberg parking at Rocher de Dabo (650 m), hikers pass the Rutschfelsen viewpoint, the Schleif picnic area, and then ascend to Himbeerfels at its high point of 744 m before dropping back past the Zollstock restaurant—famous for hearty regional cooking—and up to the neo-Romanesque chapel crowning the Dabo sandstone monolith.↗↗

Why Dabo's Sandstone Country

Himbeerfels sits within a cluster of notable climbing and hiking rock sites across the Dabo area—the Falkenfels, Kuhfels, Rocher des Corbeaux and Mühlberg all offer bolted sandstone routes, with the Dabo tourism office highlighting "magnificent conglomerate cliffs offering superb panoramas over the mountainous landscape." This is a landscape where rock, forest and history interweave: the Rocher de Dabo was a Celtic place of worship, later the seat of the Counts of Dabo, and still bears the chapel built on its summit.↗↗

The Col de la Schleif, the trail hub closest to Himbeerfels, has served for centuries as the main passage between the Alsatian plain and the Lorraine county of Dabo. Today the pass is an equipped picnic spot with covered tables and barbecues, marking its transition from strategic crossing point to beloved starting point for weekend walks.↗↗

Practical Information

The Himbeerfels rock and its surrounding trails are free to access and open year-round, though the landscape is at its most atmospheric in autumn when mist lingers between the firs and the deciduous canopy turns shades of amber and rust. The Club Vosgien marks the route with its standard red-ring and yellow-cross blazes; the GR 534 also passes nearby.↗↗

Parking options include the Col de la Schleif (for the short dedicated loop) or the Schlossberg car park atop Rocher de Dabo (for the full circular walk). The initial climb from the Schleif is steep enough that those with knee problems should take it slowly. In wet weather the sandstone surfaces become slippery—wear shoes with good grip.↗↗

The Restaurant Zollstock near the trail serves authentic Alsatian-Lorrain cooking and is open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and (except Wednesday/Thursday) dinner—walkers consistently name it as the highlight of the return stretch. IGN topographic map reference 3715OT covers the area.↗