Mysterious Time Signs - The Hochfelsweg in Mehlingen

The approximately 12 km long circular route starts at the heath parking lot between Mehlingen and Fröhnerhof. First, it goes along a field path in the direction of the wind turbines, then left to Fröhnerhof. At the first houses, turn right to a reconstructed "cannon entrenchment," which recalls the events during the Revolutionary Wars in 1794. Following the marking further, past a burial mound, you reach the strange stone avenue on the plateau of Meisenberg. Then continue along the "Uhrweg," an old exposed cobblestone road from Roman times, past the so-called stone line down towards the Eselsbachtal valley to a destroyed menhir. Via a comfortable serpentine path, you descend into the Eselsbachtal to the idyllic Schallbrunner pond. There you learn some facts about the forest district, whose rights, nearly 900 years old, are still valid today. Following the Schallbrunner valley, you reach on the left, on a steep unpaved path, the namesake of this circular route, the Hochfels. From there, it is almost flat, passing a menhir, to the western entrance of one of the largest heath areas in southwest Germany, the Mehlinger Heide. At this point, you can decide whether to continue on the official path via the heath experience trail back to the starting point of the route or take a shortcut across the Mehlinger Heide (flowering time August/September). If you choose the shortcut across the Mehlinger Heide following the heath circular route, you will be rewarded at the end of the hike with a magnificent view of the Donnersberg, the highest mountain massif of the Palatinate.