VAN-COMPARATOR Guide
The Vosges Mountains by Campervan: the Ridge Road and Glacial Lakes
Grand Ballon, Hohneck, Col de la Schlucht, the lakes of Gérardmer and Lac Blanc: how to plan a campervan road trip through the Vosges mountains, the best season, real budget numbers and where to sleep on the high pastures.
On July 18, 2026, the Tour de France peloton climbed the Grand Ballon during stage 14 between Mulhouse and Le Markstein Fellering — the eighth time this summit has featured in the race since 1969. It's a good excuse to shine a light on a range too often skipped by campervan road trips: the Vosges pack in one of Europe's most spectacular ridge roads, glacial lakes tucked into the forest, and mountain farm-inns still serving Munster cheese the old way. From Mulhouse or Strasbourg, a long weekend covers the essentials; allow five to six days to combine the ridge road, the lakes and the Munster valley without ever driving more than an hour between stops.
The route, from the ridge road to the glacial lakes (3 to 6 days)
Start from Mulhouse via Cernay and Uffholtz, the southern end of the legendary Route des Crêtes: 55 miles (88 km) opened in 1915 by the French army to supply the Vosges front, and now one of France's finest scenic drives. It first climbs to the Grand Ballon (4,672 ft / 1,424 m), the range's highest point — the summit and its viewpoint table are a twenty-minute walk from the pass car park — then runs on past the Markstein and its high pastures before reaching the Hohneck (4,472 ft / 1,363 m) and its 360-degree panorama over the Alsace plain and, on a clear day, the Black Forest. The road ends at the Col de la Schlucht (3,724 ft / 1,135 m), which drops down into Lorraine.
From there, a short detour leads to Lac Blanc and Lac Noir, two glacial lakes tucked beneath rock walls above Orbey — an easy half-hour walk to each. On the Lorraine side, the Gérardmer valley strings together three lakes reachable by van: Gérardmer itself, the largest natural lake in the Vosges, then the wilder Longemer and Retournemer, linked by a small forest road. Round off the loop through the Munster valley, where every village sells its cheese straight from the farm, before heading back down to Mulhouse or Colmar.
When to go
The Route des Crêtes and the Col de la Schlucht are open from May to October; some sections close as soon as the first snow falls, usually in November, and reopen in spring depending on conditions. June and September offer the best balance: pastures in bloom or autumn colour, clear summit car parks, and stopovers not yet full. July and August stay busy at weekends — paragliders, motorcyclists and cyclists share the road from 10am on the Grand Ballon's slopes — so aim for early mornings or weekdays.
The real budget
Budget €85–160 a day for a converted van, the size best suited to the range's hairpin bends. Over five days out of Mulhouse: €425–800 for the rental, €40–60 in fuel on a fairly compact route, and €0–60 for overnight stays if you mix municipal stopovers with free nights at France Passion farms, which are well established on the Alsace side.
Where to sleep: stopovers, farm-inns and the limits of the high pastures
The Hautes-Chaumes high pastures that line the Route des Crêtes are protected by the Ballons des Vosges regional nature park: these are classified summer grazing grounds, and overnight wild camping there is banned, as it is everywhere in France outside a campsite or a dedicated stopover — our wild camping rules in Europe guide covers the line between tolerated parking and banned camping. The municipal stopovers at Gérardmer, La Bresse, Munster or Cernay (€8–14 a night, services included) are more than enough to string the stops together; the full how-to is in our motorhome stopovers guide. Another option unique to the Vosges: the farm-inns on the high pastures sometimes take in a van for the night in exchange for a Munster-and-blueberry-tart meal — arrange it on the spot, since it isn't organised the way France Passion is.
The stop that actually does you good: walking in the forest
The range is also one of the most heavily forested in France, and the Route des Crêtes repeatedly crosses the GR5 long-distance trail and the Sentier des Roches, below the Hohneck. It's not just a feeling: a study by Park, Tsunetsugu, Kasetani, Kagawa and Miyazaki, published in 2010 in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine (Google Scholar page), found that walking in a forest significantly lowers salivary cortisol and blood pressure compared with walking in a city. That's reason enough to turn a leg-stretch into a proper stop on the trip: the Hohneck and Grand Ballon car parks are enough on their own for an hour's walk without even moving the van.
Which vehicle suits the Vosges?
The Route des Crêtes itself stays wide and well maintained, but the hairpins climbing from the Munster valley or up to the Col de la Schlucht are tighter: a converted van or semi-integrated RV under 23 ft (7 m) feels noticeably more at home than a large A-class, and engine braking quickly becomes second nature on the descents toward Gérardmer — our mountain driving and engine braking guide covers the right technique. To weigh up sizes for your group, see our which RV for which trip guide.
Compare before you book
Van-Comparator searches Yescapa, Goboony, Roadsurfer and Indie Campers in one go for pickups in Mulhouse, Strasbourg or Nancy, total price shown upfront. On a destination still rarely compared like the Vosges, the gap between platforms is often substantial for the same model on the same dates — enough to fund an extra farm-inn dinner.
Free checklist: your first campervan trip
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