Dream Loop Rock Trail

The North Saarland and the Hunsrück live such a niche existence, squeezed between the Eifel, the Ardennes and the Palatinate Forest and all you know about the Saarland are its industrial plants in the south of the country. The geology of the Saarland is extremely exciting. But there is not only coal here. In the north lies red sandstone over shell limestone with quartzite islands. During my time at the environmental agency in Losheim, I learned that and a lot more about my homeland. And I finally had the opportunity to walk the rock path between Scheiden and Waldholzbach, which was laid out some time ago on the subject of geology. I have to send in advance: This is my home community here, these are "my" forests. I know almost every stone and have fallen into every stream. Here we played cops and robbers and also moved far too far from home without permission. Man, that was always stressful 🤭 Everything that I knew in detail inside and out was put together by the municipality to form a wonderful and varied circular route and I have to say: it was a great success! I start my circular route at the Kneipp facility in Scheiden heading south and soon come across the first quartzite formations of Adelsfels and Schlangenfels. Halfway between the two is an interesting rock formation that is believed to be a Celtic place of worship. (Losheim is not one of the "Heim" settlements from the Frankish era, but goes back to an older Celtic and later Roman settlement "Losina - built in reeds". There are also Celtic burial mounds in the Losheim Forest.) The path leads over two medieval castle ruins . Apart from a few knee-high walls, there is nothing to see here. It was a wonderful playground for us children and I photographed a corner of the wall where I used to dig as a child; one made "excavations" 🤫 Further along the path one touches the village of Scheiden and further south towards the Igelsborn, the level opens up and offers a fantastic view. In good weather you can see the Saar polygon and the Ensdorf power plant with its cooling tower...with the naked eye. The next highlight is the path through the cattle pasture and the Lannenbachtal. From a vantage point you can admire the tall forbs growing here. Coming from the south, I soon reach the Waldholzbach barefoot hiking trail. I was involved in nursing back then and it's always nice for me to come back here. Unfortunately he is getting a bit old. The boardwalk is unfortunately closed due to dilapidation. I roamed around a bit, looking for the giant hogweed that grows here...found it too. However, only in the leaf stage. picture x. Caution: extremely toxic. Please keep your distance. (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riesen-B%C3%A4renklau) After Waldholzbach it goes uphill again, and the next quartzite rock "Teufelsfels" invites you to admire it. Afterwards you can refresh yourself at the Kneipp facility in Waldholzbach. However, I think like my dad: never take off your shoes during a hike. And so I'm just refreshing my arms and legs and face a bit. The water of the Hölzbach is always really cold. I shudder to think that as a child I sometimes came to the Kneipp facility in a bathing suit and that it was completely normal to bathe in there. 🥶 I still wonder how I got such a frostbite! Behind the Kneipp facility, I can't find the right path immediately and just walk straight up the slope, which isn't a problem: the ground is non-slip. The path then finds itself again and rises steeply. Then continue on the border path. Saarland on the left, Rhineland-Palatinate on the right. When Saarland became part of France in the post-war period, this was the federal border and it is not without reason that it is also called the smugglers' path. Old boundary stones line the path. From now on it's only downhill. It's easy for your feet. And the head has time to ponder how beautiful my homeland is. I pass the deer fountain. This is a "gas station". There is Lannenbach-chilled Karlsberg. I renounce; I have to be at Grandma's in time for my birthday coffee. The rest of the way is done quickly. I ignore the Kneipp facility in Scheiden and am back to where I started. The cake is calling 🤗

Today we went from our hotel in Kell am See to Waldhölzbach. The Felsenweg (Rock Trail), voted the best hiking trail in 2005 by Wandermagazin (hiking magazine), truly lives up to its name. We repeatedly had to hike over large boulders. And passed rock faces. You cross the Rhineland-Palatinate-Saar border. It climbs to 569 meters. Several pubs and barefoot paths provide variety and relaxation. And so, Bernd B., Peter H., and I had a lovely, varied hike today.

I've saved this loop as a template no less than 10 times. On a scale of @GravelHikeJulez, this hike is rated 6/7. So it should be good. And it was. Highly recommended. The weather was good for hiking today. Paths, lots of streams, a few rocks and rough scree, lots of benches and the like. On the border path, with one foot in Saarland and the other in Rhineland-Palatinate, international understanding was successfully cultivated with a friendly hiking group. A friendly couple sometimes overtook us, sometimes we overtook them. Otherwise, we had the trail to ourselves despite our rather late start. We completed it quite leisurely today at a snail's pace. We both probably had a bit of a cold and still had a bit of muscle soreness to overcome. The Felsenweg meets the 2-Tälerweg at the starting point. Fit early risers could probably rock two loops at once?

Today the start and finish of the dream loop is the parking lot at the fire brigade in Waldholzbach. Waldholzbach is a district of the municipality of Losheim am See in the district of Merzig-Wadern (Saarland). For us the most beautiful circular hiking trail in Saarland! There is a bit of everything here; be it rocks, streams, meadows, forest paths, deep forests, silence, trails and paths, countless benches and places to rest, a great drinking station and much more. June 2022: The Losheimer "Felsenweg" achieves 100 adventure points and is therefore the best premium hiking trail in Germany outside the Alps. We wish you a nice Sunday evening and a great new week 🍀

Wonderful Traumschleif Tour that I had already run once in 2021, so of course I knew that this Ts was beautiful, but I had forgotten that it is "breathtakingly" beautiful 🤩🤩🤩 As a Dutchman, I had to get used to the fact that the kilometers here take a little more time than the flat walks here in the Netherlands 😅 I did have the enjoy button set to full today and deliberately made it a relaxed slow trip. After all, I don't come here every week and I wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. I enjoyed it and I succeeded very well, people 😇🙏

It used to be a great path, but what has been and is currently being cut down is disgusting.

The Felsenweg, starting in Waldhölzbach, is the highest-rated hiking trail in Saarland by the German Hiking Institute, with a whopping 103 points. The route is truly fantastic – lots of paths, some of them rooty and rocky (just the way I like it), with plenty of highlights.

Great way, maybe not exactly in the heat but still great 😁👍 Battery wasn't enough again, definitely took too many pictures.