Pfalzgrafenweiler Four Castles Trail - hiking in the mystical Black Forest

Today had it all. Eerily foggy, icy and muddy paths, and a wonderful, mystical atmosphere in the beautiful, dense forests. And all of it to myself. Awesome! 👍 I parked for free in town on the main street.

Beautiful, varied hike. More easy than medium.

Unfortunately, this is a below-average tour. The beginning is on a paved path along the road. All that remains of the first castle is a hill. The Mandelberg ruins are somewhat more impressive; you can climb the tower, but the view isn't particularly impressive. Not much remains of the third ruin either, and I couldn't find a fourth. The route partly follows beautiful paths through stream valleys, but there are no worthwhile views along the entire tour. So, it's not recommended.

Today I went in a completely different direction, to Pfalzgrafenweiler in the Northern Black Forest, following the Four Castles Trail. I parked at the town hall and walked out of the village along a sidewalk until I reached a playground, where the path turned left into the forest. From there, I was accompanied by crocheted figures that entertained hikers along the path. There were countless of them; I only photographed a few. At the Nördlinger Hütte, I got a bit lost until I found the right path. What I eventually learned was that this was probably the first castle, namely Vörbach Castle. But I couldn't see anything. From here, the path went downhill and, reaching the valley, followed a stream before rising slightly again to Mandelburg Castle. The keep still stands here, which can be climbed from the outside as well as from the inside. From there, I went downhill again to the Bösinger Wasserhäusle (liquor house) with its impressive water wheel. Uphill on forest paths, I reached a small community with a schnapps fountain and a charcoal kiln with many wooden figures. From here on, things got a bit boring: straight forest paths lined with delicious blackberries and accompanied by countless butterflies of all colors. Finally reaching the edge of the forest, we followed paths through the forest, past a holiday village, then downhill to Ruderberg. There, we reached the ruins of the same name, which aren't particularly impressive. The forest paths then led us back to Pfalzgrafenweiler. Unfortunately, I didn't notice the castle there, but apparently I passed it. Unfortunately, I didn't discover the sign with the directions until the end. Overall, a nice hike, definitely worth doing.

Hello everyone. This morning we met with @Christof 🏔🚶🏽‍♂️🐕🚲 and @Martina for our first tour together. We spent lovely and pleasant hours. With so much to talk about, the time flew by. In glorious sunshine and the pleasant freshness in the forest 🌲🌳 we walked from castle to castle. We took several snack breaks with cool drinks along the way. Start / Finish 🅿️ Pfalzgrafenweiler gymnasium 📍Nördlinger Hütte 📍Ruine Mandelberg 📍Bösinger Wasserhäusle 📍Schnapshäusle Neu-Neufra 📍Familiendorf Waldachtal 📍Burgruine Rüdenberg We couldn't find the other 2 castles or we were too engrossed in dripping off the sweat. See you 👋

What do you do in this weather 😅 Okay then the Four Castles Tour Pfalzgrafenweiler. Beautiful tour through the forest. Nice and quiet and relaxed. We just saw 4 people on the way. Finally we went to Horb and had a delicious meal in the Morgenland restaurant. A great end to the weekend ☺️

The Black Forest didn't seem too mystical to me today. I was very tormented by the forest paths, which were too wide for my taste and which were also flooded with light in the forest sections. It was too hot to walk today. Nevertheless, there were a few nice impressions, e.g. the crocheted figures, the castle ruins... However, I would not go this route again. But hey, inner dog overcome and pulled through 😂

I started my hike at the town hall in Pfalzgrafenweiler and followed the signage of the Vier-Burgen-Weg clockwise. Initially, the path led me in the direction of the Vörbach ruin. There, I took a short break at the Nördlinger Hütte and enjoyed the peaceful surroundings. Afterwards, I continued my journey and hiked to the Mandelberg ruin. From there, it went downhill into the Waldachtal, where I passed the Bösinger Wasserhäusle – an interesting historical structure. The path then led me to Neu-Nuifra. In the small, idyllic village, I was able to take a short rest before continuing my way. Afterwards, it went uphill again towards the Alemannengräber. I continued hiking through varied forest and meadow landscapes to the holiday settlement of Oberwaldach. From there, the path led me to the Rüdenberg ruin, which I reached after a somewhat strenuous ascent. Further on, I passed the site of the former Pfalzgrafenweiler Castle, of which only a grassy mound remains today. Finally, the last section led me back to the town hall in Pfalzgrafenweiler.