Le Markstein
Le Markstein is a winter sports station in the Vosges mountains in France situated at an altitude of between 1,020 m (3,346 ft) and 1,268 m (4,160 ft) which is located on the Route des Crêtes. It forms a set of cross-country skiing with the Breitfirst ski-station and the Grand Ballon. The highest point is the summit of the Jungfraukopf. The station staged World Cup skiing in 1983 and 1987 and World Cup Paragliding in 1999. The roads through the station are also used from time to time by the Tour de France cycle race, including twice in 2014 and again in 2023 and 2026.
Introduction from the English Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 322 French resorts we cover — 5 stars means “among the best in France on this point”, not “perfect”. Nobody types these in.
- SnowCan you count on the snow?1.5 / 5
Top of the ski area: 1,261 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,032 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 51 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 1%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?2.5 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 9 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 9 km · Lifts: 9 · Balance between piste levels: 97%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: “adult day pass” is missing from this page.
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?1.5 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 60% · Magic carpets: 0 · Sledging runs: 0 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 0
- AccessIs it easy to get to?2.5 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 6 hr 04 · Nearest railway station: 29 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 0 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 10
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?2 / 5
Bars and pubs: 0 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 7 · Upcoming events: 3 · Collective tourist beds: 0 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?1 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 0 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 0% · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 0 — index: what the map and the listings publish
“Atmosphere” and “Luxury” are indexes: they count what OpenStreetMap and the event listings publish within 2.5 km (bars, nightclubs, rated hotels, spas, upcoming events), not what you experience there. A zero means “nothing mapped”, not “nothing there”. Sources per criterion: snow (altitudes (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata), snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (OpenStreetMap pistes and lifts, linked area (Wikidata)) ; value (the resort’s official price list) ; families and beginners (OpenStreetMap pistes, price list, ESF ski school, Famille Plus label, OpenStreetMap leisure) ; access (OSRM drive times from 20 cities, SNCF stations, GTFS shuttles, airports) ; atmosphere and après-ski (bars, nightclubs and restaurants within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap), upcoming events (OpenAgenda), collective tourist beds (INSEE)) ; luxury and comfort (rated hotels within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap) and by category across the commune (INSEE), spas and boutiques (OpenStreetMap), day pass price).
Open pistes and lifts will appear here during the season, as published by the resort. Out of season we show nothing rather than a misleading zero.
Right now at the MARKSTEIN CRETE station (1,184 m)
7-day forecast
Village 1,100 m · top 1,261 m
Forecast corrected for altitude; fresh snow = forecast total at the top; UV = peak of the day. Beyond 3 days, check the resort’s own report. Source:Open-Meteo.
Snow actually measured, winter by winter
31 complete winters measured, from 1989-1990 to 2025-2026 — on average 51 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec16 cmInsufficient · 22 %
- 16-31 Dec24 cmInsufficient · 31 %
- 1-15 Jan29 cmInsufficient · 40 %
- 16-31 Jan39 cmVariable · 51 %
- 1-15 Feb45 cmVariable · 54 %
- 16-29 Feb50 cmVariable · 58 %
- 1-15 Mar43 cmInsufficient · 46 %
- 16-31 Mar25 cmInsufficient · 29 %
- 1-15 Apr9 cmInsufficient · 11 %
- Best winter of the series
- 2005-2006 — 136 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 1989-1990 — 1 day at 30 cm or more
Snowfall: no long enough record of fresh snow at this station. Rather than an estimate, we show nothing.
The ski area
Compare with another resort →15 pistes, by level — 9 km
- Skiable vertical
- 229 m (1,032 m → 1,261 m)
- Lifts
- 9 drag lifts
- Cross-country skiing
- 5 named trails — 41 km of marked loops (23 km of distinct track: the loops overlap) · Caisse du Domaine Nordic area, 600 m from the resortOpenStreetMap, lengths measured on the geometry, surveyed on 12 September 2026. A trail with no difficulty tag is shown as "n/a" — never guessed.
See the trails(5)
Trail Level Length Le Breitfirst red 14 km Hofried · Caisse du Domaine Nordic easy 9.8 km Les Deux Chalets red 6.5 km Judenhut n/a 6.2 km Les Trois Vallée black 3.8 km - Snowpark
- 1 mapped zone — Snowpark (intermediate)
OpenStreetMap, surveyed on 12 September 2026. OpenStreetMap does not map individual features (kickers, rails): what is counted here are the named zones. - Without skis
- 7 km of snowshoe and walking trails
- Piste aspect
- N 50% · E 45% · S 0% · W 5% (descent direction of 16 OSM pistes, terrain model)
Pistes and lifts surveyed on OpenStreetMap within 4 km of the resort — for a resort in a linked area, the figure may include neighbouring pistes.
Lift passes detail →
The price list for this resort is being collected: most resorts publish winter prices between September and November.
The ski area in figures
Measured on 9 September 2026Measured on OpenStreetMap (altitudes: IGN RGE ALTI), not taken from the brochure. The vertical above is that of one piste, not of the whole ski area. Population: INSEE municipal population via geo.api.gouv.fr.
Source: national register of mechanical lifts (STRMTG, CAIRN), fleet as of 1 January 2025 — lifts attributed to Le Markstein only (“MARKSTEIN (LE)”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in Le Markstein
We compare the partners that cover this resort. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Stay & accommodation
Live webcams
All webcams (5) →Official players of the resort, live image.
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Pistes coloured by level, lifts as lines. The resort’s official map is the reference in season.
Base map © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · pistes © OpenSnowMap (CC-BY-SA) · data ©OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Getting to Le Markstein
From Paris: 5 hr 47 (467 km) by road.
By road
- From Strasbourg: 1 hr 51 · 126 km
- From Nancy: 2 hr 17 · 145 km
- From Besançon: 2 hr 17 · 165 km
- From Dijon: 3 hr 03 · 247 km
- From Genève: 4 hr 11 · 330 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Lyon: 4 hr 40 · 405 km
- From Annecy: 4 hr 42 · 374 km
- From Chambéry: 5 hr 09 · 416 km
- From Grenoble: 5 hr 26 · 492 km
- From Saint-Étienne: 5 hr 28 · 465 km
- From Valence: 5 hr 45 · 505 km
- From Paris: 5 hr 47 · 467 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 6 hr 05 · 548 km
- From Montpellier: 7 hr 48 · 706 km
- From Marseille: 7 hr 54 · 716 km
- From Nice: 8 hr 48 · 726 km
- From Perpignan: 9 hr 10 · 854 km
- From Bordeaux: 9 hr 38 · 885 km
- From Toulouse: 9 hr 42 · 889 km
- From Pau: 11 hr 39 · 1081 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Kruth station
halt · then 29 min drive (19 km)
Nearest main station: Mulhouse, 57 min by road.
No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables (checked on 13 September 2026): ask the resort about a private shuttle or a taxi.
Shuttles and buses from the station: see the resort’s official website.
By plane
- Bâle-Mulhouse (BSL): 1 hr 10 by road · 71 km
- Strasbourg-Entzheim (SXB): 1 hr 44 by road · 116 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Le Markstein as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
No freely accessible charge point is declared within 2 km of the resort (checked on 9 September 2026). Covered car parks in the resort may offer chargers reserved for their customers: those are not listed here.
Freely accessible charge points read from the French national EV charging database (data.gouv.fr ↗, operators’ own declarations), checked on 9 September 2026. Check availability before you leave: the database says what is installed, not what is free tonight.
Road conditions
From 1 November to 31 March, snow chains or winter tyres are compulsory in most mountain areas (French “Loi Montagne II”).
Driving times computed on the OpenStreetMap road network (OSRM), SNCF stations (open data), airports (Wikidata). Indicative, not a timetable: allow extra time in snow.
Off-piste & ski touring
The resorts for off-piste skiing →Named itineraries: Les Combes
Itineraries surveyed on OpenStreetMap within a 4 km radius (7 September 2026): “marked” means an itinerary exists on the map, not that it is open or safe on the day.
Ski touring routes described
Resorts for ski touring →12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Le Markstein — up to 3,400 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Markstein · Par les pistes fermées | 2.1 · E1 · F | 327 m | 1,080 → 1,268 m | NE | 0.6 km |
| Trehkopf · Par Gommrueken | n/a · PD | 800 m | 572 → 1,266 m | NW | 1 km |
| Les Vosges (Grande Traversée) · Du Ballon d'Alsace au Hohneck | n/a · PD+ | 3,400 m | 560 → 1,305 m | n/a | 3.9 km |
| Grand Ballon · Depuis le Monument Brun | n/a · F | 911 m | 513 → 1,424 m | N | 6.1 km |
| Grand Ballon · transvosgienne Grand Ballon - Lac Blanc | n/a · PD | 900 m | 1,340 → 1,424 m | n/a | 6.1 km |
| Grand Ballon · Versant N | n/a · F | 800 m | 660 → 1,424 m | N | 6.1 km |
| Grand Ballon · Depuis Altenbach | n/a · F | 680 m | 749 → 1,424 m | SE | 6.1 km |
| Grand Ballon · Grand Circuit | n/a · PD- | 1,800 m | 834 → 1,424 m | n/a | 7.2 km |
| Grand Ballon · Depuis la Glashutte | 2.1 · PD | 590 m | 834 → 1,424 m | E | 7.2 km |
| Rothenbachkopf · Depuis le pont de Blanchemer par le Rainkopf | n/a · PD+ | 1,130 m | 836 → 1,316 m | n/a | 8.6 km |
| Rothenbachkopf · Depuis le col de Bramont par Ronde Tête et descente sur Steinwasen | n/a · E1 · AD- | 750 m | 956 → 1,316 m | n/a | 8.6 km |
| Drumont · Par la Combe | n/a · PD+ | 500 m | 700 → 1,200 m | E | 8.8 km |
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 September 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Beyond skiing at Le Markstein
Toboggan runs
- Luge sur rail au Markstein · Linthal · 0.6 km away
- Luge sur rail · Linthal · 0.6 km away
- Tuby Gliss · Sondernach · 6.5 km away
Spa and thermal baths
- Chalets de la Wormsa : Espace bien-être & spa · Metzeral · 9.2 km away
Paragliding
- Switch - Parapente · Lapoutroie · 0.2 km away
- Site de parapente · Sondernach · 6 km away
Museum
- MicroFolie de la Vallée de Saint-Amarin · Fellering · 5.3 km away
- Le Parc de Wesserling - Ecomusée textile · Husseren-Wesserling · 5.4 km away
- Musée Serret · Saint-Amarin · 6 km away
Source: DATAtourisme (open data), within 10 km of the resort; places in a large town of the valley are left out. Checked on 12 September 2026. Opening times and prices are the operator’s — check before you go.
Practical information
Collective accommodation
- 1 hotel · 11 rooms (1 × 3★)
- 1 campsite · 40 pitches
Commune: Oderen · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
In case of accident
112 — the European emergency number, free of charge, triggers mountain rescue. On the pistes, the ski patrol number is printed on the piste map and at lift ticket offices. Piste rescue is charged: check your insurance or take the option sold with the lift pass.
What's on around Le Markstein
All events →-
17 September 2026 – 1 November 2026
Festival des Jardins Métissés 2026
Parc de Wesserling · Husseren-Wesserling
Du 7 juin au 1er novembre 2026, plongez au cœur de l'Odyssée d'Ulysse pour la 24ème édition du Festival des Jardins Métissés au Parc de Wesserling !
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Parc de Wesserling” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Rouge Gazon (6.4 km), Larcenaire (9.7 km)
-
17 September 2026 – 1 November 2026
Nouveau Parcours Écomuséal
Parc de Wesserling - Ecomusée textile · Husseren-Wesserling
Vivez 250 ans d'Odyssée Textile dans les Jardins de la Manufacture !
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Parc de Wesserling” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Rouge Gazon (6.8 km), Larcenaire (10 km)
-
20 September 2026 · 10:00
Journée Européenne du Patrimoine au Parc de Wesserling
Parc de Wesserling · Husseren-Wesserling
Venez découvrir le patrimoine alsacien !
Source: OpenAgenda, agenda “Parc de Wesserling” · View on OpenAgenda ↗
Also near: Rouge Gazon (6.4 km), Larcenaire (9.7 km)
Events published on OpenAgenda by the agendas named above, kept when they take place within 10 km of the resort. We organise nothing: times, prices and cancellations are the organiser's.
Nearby resorts
Frequently asked questions
How high is Le Markstein?
Le Markstein sits at 1,100 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 1,261 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Le Markstein have?
Le Markstein has 9 km of pistes served by 9 lifts (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Le Markstein?
The longest piste is Steinlebach: 1 km (blue run), for 169 m of vertical. Measured on the OpenStreetMap map, segments of the same name and level joined end to end, altitudes from the IGN RGE ALTI terrain model — a resort sometimes advertises a longer run by chaining several pistes.
How high do the lifts go in Le Markstein?
The highest lift, Bambi Kid (rope tow), tops out at 1,201 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does Le Markstein have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 9 installations at Le Markstein (9 drag lifts), for an authorised capacity of 6,770 people per hour, of which 900 for Fédérale 1 alone. The fleet spans 1967 to 2007, an average age of 39 years. This count covers the resort itself, magic carpets included, not the whole linked ski area — a resort brochure often announces a different number. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How do I get to Le Markstein?
By road, Le Markstein is 1 hr 51 from Strasbourg (126 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Kruth, 29 min by road from the resort. No direct bus line from the station to the resort appears in the open-data timetables. The nearest airport is Bâle-Mulhouse, 1 hr 10 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Le Markstein?
5 hr 47 for 467 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is Le Markstein good for beginners and families?
60% of the pistes are green or blue: a rather easy area.
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