Hellkirch Ruins – Schmidtburg Castle Ruins loop from Bundenbach

Hiking trails & Routes

Germany

Rhineland-Palatinate

Landkreis Bad Kreuznach

Landkreis Birkenfeld

Bundenbach

Hellkirch Ruins – Schmidtburg Castle Ruins loop from Bundenbach

Moderate

4.9

(748)

2,188

hikers

Hellkirch Ruins – Schmidtburg Castle Ruins loop from Bundenbach

04:55

16.5km

500m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: September 25, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Naturpark Soonwald-Nahe

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

2.75 km

Celtic Settlement Altburg

Highlight • Historical Site

Celtic settlement Altburg
Opening hours:
Easter until 31st of October, daily from 11.00 - 16.00, without break
Guided tours several times a day.
Further information is available from the local community Bundenbach, Tel .: 06544 - 92 72
sgoerner.de/bundenbach/keltensiedlung.html

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4.76 km

View over the Hahnenbach Valley from the Sinsenbach slate spoil heap

Highlight • Viewpoint

Direct nsch the billboard comes a short tricky trail. Beware of the roots!

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6.02 km

Hellkirch Ruins

Highlight • Historical Site

A visit to this legendary little ruin is worthwhile. We even stopped here to rest and enjoy the beautiful view.

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9.98 km

Hahnenbach Tunnel

Highlight • Cave

A narrow tunnel, entering it is something special.

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10.6 km

Schmidtburg Campsite

Highlight • Rest Area

For a relatively small fee and prior registration with the mayor, you are allowed to camp on the castle grounds. Even a small campfire is permitted.

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10.7 km

Schmidtburg Castle Ruins

Highlight • Castle

The Schmidtburg castle ruins are not only an impressive medieval building, but also an official campsite on the Soonwaldsteig trail. As the sun sets in the evening, you can choose …

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11.6 km

Wild Hahnenbach

Highlight • River

For me, this dream loop is one of the most beautiful in the region. Diverse, informative and with many small and large sights, it is very exciting. Definitely worth the trip.

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14.4 km

Rock tunnel

Highlight • Cave

The path leads through two consecutive rock breakthroughs. But be careful, the headroom is very limited.

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16.5 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

9.05 km

4.59 km

1.54 km

663 m

638 m

Surfaces

6.83 km

4.13 km

2.38 km

1.73 km

1.41 km

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (410 m)

Lowest point (260 m)

Weather

Friday 9 October

13°C

8°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 15.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

September 11, 2023,👩🏻‍🤝‍👩🏼👣MONTAGSMÄDELS ABENTEUER...Traumschleife Hahnenbachtaltour plus Extras...🌞⚠️👀⛑️🔦...🔝🔝🔝🔝🔝

Wow, yesterday I was really excited, Tanja back from vacation, nice weather and she drove us to Hahnenbachtal, on the dream loop with adventurous extras. I am blown away by this wonderful tour, with everything my heart desires. The large Schmidtburg ruins were a highlight, the small Hellkirch ruins then up on the mountain, with a great view, summit cross, …

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September 11, 2023,Mädelsmontag...Abenteuer im Hahnenbachtal🚶🏼‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🥾🎒♥️👍

Today we were adventurous in the Hahnenbachtal. The dream loop is always great and this time we were able to cross the stream using the great ox piano.
In keeping with the heat protection program🤣, there were also a few large, cool tunnels that had to be walked.
Manu made me laugh when she accidentally landed in the stream with …

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September 16, 2022,Traumschleife 🎀 Hahnenbachtaltour im Hunsrück 🎀

First of all thanks to the inventors and publishers of the dream loops, a great hiking guide with 114 great inspirations! All dream loops that really more than deserve their name. This e.g. 2012 voted the most beautiful hiking trail in Germany, it is one of the TOP 10 of the highest rated premium circular hiking trails! 94 experience points …

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October 21, 2025,Droomlus Hahnenbachtaltocht - Natuurpark Soonwald-Nahe

It's truly a dream hike, a beautiful route to walk in any season. Good shoes and perhaps walking poles are recommended, and after 11:00 AM, there are two coffee stops.

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September 2, 2026,TS Hahnenbachtaltour - (Früh-) Herbstedition

In our Traumschleifen-Saar-Hunsrück-Steig spring session, we visited the Schmidtburg in the beautiful Hahnenbachtal for the first time and found the ruin complex to be magnificent...
After all, it is the largest and most important castle complex in the Hunsrück.

However, what we regretted a little was the "sparse greenery" at the beginning of April as "castle view decoration" and so …

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September 29, 2023,Hahnenbachtaltour - Traumschleife Nr. 86

The Hahnenbachtaltour was named “Germany’s most beautiful hiking trail” in 2012. This tour is also really varied with two rock tunnels, many viewpoints and highlights such as the reconstructed Celtic hilltop settlement of Altburg, the Hellkirch ruins and the huge Schmidtburg castle complex. You can see relics from mining and how slate was mined in the past.
This old border …

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May 4, 2025,2025-05-04 Traumschleife Hahnenbachtaltour

A truly beautiful hike. Described by "Wanderregion Saar-Hunsrück e.V." as follows: The highly varied tour, often accompanied by the Hahnenbach stream, leads through forests, meadows, and wide open spaces, partly on narrow paths and meadow trails. In between lie cultural highlights: a fossil museum, the Herrenberg visitor mine, the reconstructed Celtic settlement of Altburg, the Hellkirch ruins, and the towering, …

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July 8, 2023,Hahnenbach Traumschleife

Hi Komootler, the Hahnenbach Traumschleife was voted the most beautiful hiking trail in Germany in 2012. A really great hike with many highlights. Various pieces of information along the way report on the varied history of the region. At the end of the hike there is the Forellenhof with excellent food. All together is rightly a premium hike.

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