At around 1,200 metres, the Grand Ventron is one of the high rounded summits on the main crest of the southern Vosges, where Lorraine meets Alsace. To the west lie the valleys of La Bresse and Ventron; to the east the ground falls steeply into the Thur valley above Kruth. The top is open, grassy and wind combed, a classic Vosges hautes-chaumes landscape of summer pastures, bilberry and granite boulders, with beech and fir forest closing in below. On a clear day the view runs across the Alsace plain to the Black Forest, and on rare exceptional days the Alps show as a pale line far to the south.
The road up is the experience. From the Ventron side a narrow lane climbs past the small ski area of the Ermitage du Frère Joseph and on through forest to the high ground; from Alsace the climb to the Col d'Oderen links in from the Thur valley. Expect single track tarmac in places, broken edges, gravel on the bends after rain, and cattle or walkers round blind corners. It is a ride for patience and low gears, not speed, and it is at its best on a weekday morning in June or September. Snow can linger up here well into spring, and the upper lanes are not cleared in winter.
The high farms of the Vosges have an old tradition of the ferme-auberge, summer farm inns serving the repas marcaire: meat pie, smoked pork, potatoes cooked with onions and bacon, Munster cheese and a slice of tart. There has long been one near the summit of the Grand Ventron, and in season it is the reason many riders make the climb; check before relying on it, as farm inns keep their own hours. The Munster cheese itself comes from these pastures.
Below the crest, the Lac de Kruth-Wildenstein fills the head of the Thur valley, with the ruined Wildenstein castle on its rock. The valley road toward Thann and Mulhouse is a pleasant fast ride with good surfaces. Westward, La Bresse is the main town, a resort of about five thousand people with fuel, supermarkets and cafés, and it is the safest bet for a fill. Kruth and Oderen on the Alsace side are smaller villages. All of this sits inside the Ballons des Vosges regional nature park, so watch for chamois on the steeper slopes and keep noise down near the farms.