Col du Haut Jacques

France, France

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Col du Haut Jacques is a mountain pass located at 606 meters (1,991 feet) altitude along the RD 420 road between Saint-Dié-des-Vosges and Brouvelieures in the Vosges department of Grand Est in northeastern France, at the crossroads of the Rouges-Eaux, Taintrux, and Mortagne territories.

The pass is easily accessible by car or bicycle (including electric bikes) and features a large parking area. Its most notable feature is the Arboretum du col du Haut-Jacques, a 10-hectare arboretum created in 1962 by the Office National des Forêts to collect and conserve both indigenous and introduced tree species representative of the Vosges Mountains, containing conifers and deciduous trees as well as regional herbaceous plants, and developed after World War II when Nordmann fir trees were first planted to mask the ravages of the conflict.

The arboretum offers a free 45-minute marked pedestrian botanical trail with no difficulty for visitors, starting in 2004 for discovering native flora and exotic species. The col also features two notable pink sandstone monuments honoring history and memory: a column inaugurated in 1948 with a Lorraine cross inscribed "The Vosges forest to its resistance fighters," and a stele paying tribute to the sacrifices of the 3rd US Division whose combatants participated in liberating the area.

From the pass, hiking trails lead to the Roche de la Biche (1 hour 15 minutes walk), Roche des Hauts-Champs (1 hour 15 minutes), and the Roche Belle Jambe via the 7.5-kilometer Jéal circuit (2 hours from the Cholotte lodge), and visitors can continue by car or bike to Saint-Dié or Bruyères for meals, rest, and visits. The area is also popular for cycling climbs, with routes from Les Trois Scieries (4.3 km, 248 m vertical ascent) and Maillefaing (5.4 km, 195 m vertical ascent).