All circular hiking trails in the Westerwald

From Flammersfeld, the Westerwald-Steig trail continues on a via ferrata and past the viewing point at Döttesfeld to the Grenzbach Valley. The roughly 12 kilometre long valley connects the districts of Neuwied and Altenkirchen. Here, at the Hölderstein mountain, advanced climbers will find another highlight of the Westerwald-Steig trail – a climbing route which leads to an idyllic vantage point overlooking the Grenzbach Valley. Alternatively, you can take another steep path down into the Grenzbach Valley.

Follow the yellow marked path to the starting point. The first destination is the Christköppelchen. From here, you pass quiet ponds in the direction of the Westerwald trail. First through sparse forest down to a sunny clearing below Rodenroth, a short time later through the village itself. The half-timbered building of the Lutheran parish is worth seeing. Across the meadow slopes above Rodenroth, the trail climbs up to Rasenberg, which is rich in views. Tip: Turn around and enjoy the great view of Greifenstein Castle, which seems to hover above the Westerwald. Across lush green meadows and fields you stroll further through a beautiful valley hollow near Rotestein. Soon after crossing the K91, the Nenderother waterfall awaits, conjuring up a picturesque backdrop in the middle of the forest. Close to the clearing above Nenderoth the path leads to a beautiful view of Arborn. From now on it goes steeply up, the 605 m high knot, as the highest point of the Greifenstein loop, wants to be conquered. Past the playfully designed tree nature trail, you reach the beautiful Adolf Weiss monument halfway to the knot. The local poet once created the famous Westerwald greeting "Hui! Wäller? - Allemol!". A narrow path leads first to the 605 m high summit of the Knoten (where Faulbach, Ulmbach and the Kallenbach - all three tributaries of the Lahn - have their source) with a resting bench, then along the edge of the forest to the summit of the Oberroder Knoten (583 m) with a summit cross and book as well as a comfortable tree bench. This is followed by a forest passage and a forest edge with a beautiful view of pastures and meadows with old hute beeches. The beautiful Krombachtalsperre at the end of the tour sets the successful final accent of the Greifenstein loop.

From Nistertal, the trail leads through beech forests to Hardt and past Langebach to Bad Marienberg. The spa town of Bad Marienberg in the High Westerwald is the ideal place for a long relaxing break. Refresh your tired feet on the bare foot path made up of 18 different ground coverings – from ticklish pine cones, smooth bark, round river pebbles to rough tree grates. Enjoy the pleasant fragrances wafting from the flower and herb gardens on either side of the path. More than 100 different plants, from mullein to lavender, grow in the nearby apothecary's garden.

From Bad Marienberg, the trail runs through the basalt park and on to the Bad Marienberg wildlife park. It continues over the Kleiner and Großer Wolfstein mountains towards Stangenrod, passing a game reserve on the way. The trail then follows paths through meadows, with great views of the Monsberg mountain, past Stangenrod and into the Wäschbach Valley. Take the 'Philosophenweg' path in the direction of the Hachenburg town forest to reach the Jewish cemetery. In Hachenburg, visit the lovely museum of natural and cultural history and the fascinating town centre, which is dominated by the Baroque castle.

The trail leaves the town through the gardens of Hachenburg Castle. It continues down into the second Holzbach gorge on the Westerwald-Steig trail. The trail follows the edge of Nister to the mill, which Konrad Adenauer used as a hiding place during the Nazi era. Following the river, the trail soon arrives at Marienstatt Abbey. It then passes Streithausen to reach the Kleine Nister River, which follows the path as far as Limbach, where there is a local museum to visit.

Where castle dwellers lived, colourful meadow valleys proliferate and glittering water surfaces seduce. Hidden beauties. I stroll through the narrow streets of the upper town and discover masterful half-timbered houses, such as the beautiful Burgmannenhaus, or the stained glass windows in the choir of the old castle church. In the museum of traditional costumes of yesteryear, I encounter the simple and hard life of times gone by, and I am glad that I am walking on foot out of desire and not out of necessity. My detour to the nearby Wiesensee immediately gives me holiday feelings. The lake is pure idyll! I will follow the train of fair-weather clouds in the sky and look forward to being accompanied on my hike again and again by the quiet blue of numerous ponds and lakes. The landscape now shows the charm of gentle mountain tops, extensive meadow valleys and sparse deciduous forests. A nature with a special charisma! Perhaps it is precisely because of this that numerous places of pilgrimage have developed here in the Westerwald. Not far from Westerburg, a pilgrimage church has been built in honour of the Virgin Mary. The Liebfrauenkirche puts me in a cheerful mood and I discover the beautiful interior. I will encounter a piece of heaven on earth here again and again. Heavenly beautiful, but of a completely different nature, is the Westerwald lake district. A real stroke of luck for summer visitors, bathers and nature lovers. Here I just want to drift, forget time and play in the water with my bare feet. Please note that there are currently no refreshment stops or hotels in Freilingen! We recommend Gasthof "Zum Seeweiher" in Dreifelden (Tel. 02666/643, www.zumseeweiher.de), which is another approx. 4 km from Freilingen.If these additional kilometres are too long for you, we recommend leaving the WesterwaldSteig shortly after Himburg and following the main hiking trail II (white II on black background) to Dreifelden.

This stage of the trail begins at Freilingen, passing the Postweiher lake and leading along the Dreifelder Weiher lake on its way to Dreifelden. At Linden, the Westerwald-Steig arrives at the source of the River Wied. It continues through beech forest over the Großer Weißenstein mountain to the Gräbersberg mountain. Have a rest at the Alpenroder hikers' hut and enjoy the panoramic view from the viewing tower. A particular jewel of this stage of the trail is Stöffel Park, a geological and industrial theme park, situated between Nistertal, Enspel and Stockum-Püschen. It's worth giving yourself plenty of time to visit the theme park.

Passing the Fuchskauten-Scheune restaurant and guesthouse, the trail leads downhill along the slopes at the edge of the forest until it reaches Rehe and the recreation area at the Krombach dam. It then follows a disused railway line as far as the Alsberg military barracks, passing the Hexenbaum, the Botterweck basalt boulder and the three emperor oak trees, before reaching Rennerod.