Forêt de Haguenau
Stretching over 13,000 hectares north of the city, the Forêt de Haguenau is the largest lowland forest in France and one of the most ecologically significant in central Europe — a vast, cathedral-quiet expanse of Scots pine and oak laced with cycling trails, Bronze Age tumuli and wild boar tracks.
Cycling and Walking the Forest Trails
More than 200 km of marked trails thread through the forest; the most popular loop from the Carrefour du Chêne Sec car park covers 12 km through ancient oak stands and past moss-covered tumuli mounds that date to 800 BC.
Rent a bike from Haguenau's city centre and follow the Route Forestière de la Zinsel for a flat, effortless ride alongside the amber-coloured Zinsel du Nord stream, stopping at the étang (pond) clearings where herons fish in total silence.
Wildlife, Seasons and Hidden History
Autumn transforms the forest into a painter's palette of copper and gold; the mushroom season (September–October) draws foragers from across Alsace and the German Pfalz, and you'll smell the chanterelles before you see the pickers.
Scattered through the undergrowth are more than 600 Bronze Age burial mounds — the largest such concentration in western Europe. The tourist office provides a free map marking the most accessible tumuli, some of which yielded the artefacts now on display in the Musée Historique.
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