The temperature difference between the Grand Ballon and the neighboring plain (Mulhouse area) usually ranges from 7 to 10 °C (13 to 18 °F) and is higher in summertime.

[6] The well known Route des Crêtes (French for "route of the peaks") circumvents the mountain top around east, crossing a mountain pass at an altitude of 1,343 m (4,406 ft), between Le Markstein winter sports station and Hartmannswillerkopf, a rocky spur.

The road over the pass to the north of the mountain is occasionally used in the Tour de France, the first crossing being in 1969.

[7] Near the radar station or air traffic control centre, there are two First World War (1914–1918) memorials called, Memorial Diables Bleus Grand Ballon, commemorating the French troops, in particular the Chasseurs Alpins, whose nickname is Les Diables Bleus (Eng: The Blue Devils), who fought there in World War I.

The original single monument was erected in 1927 but was dynamited, by German troops, in July 1940 during World War II and rebuilt in 1960.