Kurtscheid K5 - circular route through the Seifen

Description

The circular hiking route (4.7 km) leads through the Kurtscheid district, which lies below the village. Starting point is the parking lot at the church in Kurtscheid.

On the higher part of the route, there is a great view of Wied/Rheinhöhen as well as a part of the Siebengebirge.

After a moderate descent towards the Fockenbach valley, the path mostly leads through deciduous forest. Through the Seifen and the wonderful forest, you can recharge with cool and energizing fresh air, especially on hot summer days.

This area is also under special protection of the "Natura 2000 Rocky Valleys of the Wied".

Approach

Coming from Neuwied, take the B256 (towards A3) through Rengsdorf to exit L257 towards Wiedtal, in Kurtscheid to the Catholic church. (on the right side at the edge of town)

Public transport

From Neuwied station with bus line 101 (towards Straßenhaus/Horhausen via Kurtscheid) to Kurtscheid.

Parking

Free parking at the Kurtscheid observation tower / Catholic church on L257

Directions

From the parking lot at the church, we walk past the cemetery out of the village, heading towards the Wied valley. The path takes us along a meadow alongside L257 to a sharp left curve. We now walk on the field path parallel to the small forest "Bills-Heck" and follow part of the route of the main hiking trail No. 2 of the Westerwald Association and the premium hiking trail, Klosterweg.

Before the path leads steeply down, we see beautiful meadows in the area called "Im Hagert" which are bordered by the forest edge. The meadows mostly lie on Niederbreitbach territory but belong predominantly to Kurtscheid families. From here, there is a very beautiful view of Wied and Rheinhöhen and a part of the Siebengebirge. On a small hill, the site of the former Hagerthof can be recognized on the meadow.

We now follow the K5 signs down into the forest. After a few curves, we reach a fork. To the left, the Klosterweg branches towards Neuerburg. We keep slightly right and continue following the K5 signs. After a few more bends, the view opens to the left over a valley and many hills. Opposite on the ridge is the village of Glockscheid. The path continues downward. To the left, we look down a steep slope, to the right into the hillside. The route crosses two districts: one is Kurtscheid, the other Niederbreitbach. The owner in this area is mostly the Wied principality. We reach a spot that is somewhat wider and suitable for timber loading, where we also find a shady spot.

Then the path leads us slightly uphill again. Now it goes right, semi-circular around a steep slope. If we step to the edge, we see far below a small stream. It is the Ohmbachseifen, which further down merges with the Burgseifen and flows into the Fockenbach. We now reach another wide spot. If we look up the steep slopes to the right, we see above us the Steinhahn, the area of the former shooting range. We then cross a small watercourse (drain from the Steinhahn slopes) and continue downhill along the rocky terrain. First, we cross the Hähnenseifen, which flows somewhat further below into the Ohmbachseifen; after another bend, we see the Ohmbachseifen run over the path, shortly after we step over it. Now the path makes a sharp turn and runs sharply right for quite a stretch almost straight uphill. Now, at the left bend, there is a spot from which at least in winter you can see houses in the Tannenstraße towards Ohmbachseifen. After a short ascent (westward), the route leads away from the Ohmbachseifen and continues after a few bends across the slope further uphill. We can now see the lower path section we came along. The route is now almost level until the path makes a strong right turn again.

At the bend, we should visit a nice viewpoint, the "Schmitte Höhe," on the left! The view from there over the Fockenbach valley to the opposite heights is definitely worth it.

After that, we follow the K5 uphill for a good stretch. If you remain quiet here, you can often see red deer on the right or left of the route with a bit of luck. The path continues through partly strong firs and we arrive by turning right onto the access road to the Schützenhaus.

We continue hiking over the turning area to the left onto the forest path, reach the forest street via the forest road, continue over Wiedhöhenstraße to the small forest near the water tower.

At the forest edge, there are nice hanging benches and a relaxation bench with a fantastic view over the Wiedhöhen, the St. Kathariner Höhe, the Siebengebirge with a view of the state border of RLP. We should definitely also look at the panorama board next to the hanging benches. Here we find out what can be seen on the horizon. If we want to go back to the parking lot afterwards, we pass the small forest along the parish house and the cemetery area.

Tips

Barefoot path at the water tower, viewing platform water tower with fantastic wide view 

Destination

Parking lot at the Catholic church Kurtscheid

Starting Point

Parking lot at the Catholic church Kurtscheid