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Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Germany

Rhineland-Palatinate

Palatinate Forest

Landkreis Bad Dürkheim

Wachenheim an der Weinstraße

View from Wachtenburg – Wachtenburg Castle Ruins loop from Wachenheim an der Weinstraße

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Germany

Rhineland-Palatinate

Palatinate Forest

Landkreis Bad Dürkheim

Wachenheim an der Weinstraße

View from Wachtenburg – Wachtenburg Castle Ruins loop from Wachenheim an der Weinstraße

Easy

4.6

(213)

1,060

hikers

View from Wachtenburg – Wachtenburg Castle Ruins loop from Wachenheim an der Weinstraße

01:50

6.07km

200m

Hiking

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: March 20, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Haardtrand - Am Bechsteinkopf

Biosphärenreservat Pfälzerwald-Vosges du Nord

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

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672 m

Stairs to Wachtenburg Castle

Highlight • Castle

Steep stairs, but the walk is definitely worth it.

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845 m

Picnic Area Below Wachtenburg Castle

Highlight • Rest Area

Rest area directly at the ruins of Wachtenburg.

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957 m

Wachtenburg Castle Ruins

Highlight • Castle

An impressive castle ruin on the Palatinate Wine Trail. There is a place to stop for refreshments and you can climb the tower ruins, beautiful view!

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3.44 km

From the path, the ballast quarry offers an impressive view of the lake that has formed there.
It is located on the Pechsteinkopf, which takes its name from the basalt found there.
The ballast was mined in open-cast mining until the 1980s. In addition to a smaller crater in the southwest, a larger one was created in the northeast, which is 100 m deep and 200 m in diameter. Initially, the rock was transported by a circular cable car to a loading station with a grinding mill on the Neustadt-Bad Dürkheim railway line. The cable car was more than 2 km long and ran between Forst an der Weinstraße and Deidesheim across the German Wine Route.

After basalt mining was stopped, the grinding mill and cable car were dismantled and the edges of the craters were cordoned off to prevent access. Because the water escaping in the mining area is no longer pumped out as it was during mining times, two ponds formed on the bottom of the mining craters, which are now natural biotopes.

Translated by Google •

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