Black Forest Northern Edge Trail 2: From Pforzheim to Langensteinbach

From Pforzheim main station, go through the pedestrian underpass towards Nordstadt, cross the railway tracks via Ebersteinstraße up to the large intersection with Hohenzollernstraße. On the other side, the stairs continue straight through a passage following the blue diamond up the hill to the location "Felsenkeller". Here you meet the Nordrandweg. At a sharp angle, continue past the southern edge of the cemetery heading west. However, a small detour via Pforzheim's main cemetery is worthwhile, which, like a park with many old trees, including mighty giant sequoias and many historic graves, gives the hiker a glimpse into the past. Exiting the main gate slightly to the left, you are back on Hohenzollernstraße and thus on the Nordrandweg again. Slightly uphill you reach the large roundabout and turn left along Hachelallee. Shortly after, instead of turning left, continue parallel to Hachelallee to reach the Hachelturm. Here the hiker has a magnificent view over Pforzheim. Continue in the same direction to the location "Wilferdinger Höhe". Here you cross the major federal road B10 and the path leads toward the hospital "Siloah". Leave the hospital on the left and go straight over the small stairs and across the street into a residential street. After about 100 m, follow the sign Wallberg, first left, then immediately right to the location "Wallberg". Usually, you continue straight ahead below Wallberg, but a detour to the summit of Wallberg is worthwhile. There is a memorial of the air raid in February 1945 that almost completely destroyed Pforzheim. After the summit, sharply turn right at the pavilion over a path back to the Nordrandweg, then slightly downhill to the location "Kurze Steige". Continue to the right along the street. Before the industrial area, the path turns left and after about 500 m on the street you reach the Pyramid, a monument commemorating the members of the Schwarzwaldverein Pforzheim-Brötzingen who fell in wars. Continue past the shooting house straight west through old gardens and a forest-edge path to the district road. Cross this road and a parallel street and head right up, shortly after the first gardens turn right past the radio tower. Along the fence of the quarry the path continues to the location "Steinbruch Dietlingen". From there the path goes straight ahead along the field path, after 200 m half-right and immediately left towards a small forest. After about 500 m at the junction with five paths, go left down the wide path to the old vineyards of Dietlingen. After about 200 m the path goes right uphill into the forest. At the end of the forest, turn left and you reach the paved road past the forest car park to the location "Sommerhällde". Always with orchards on the right and the Klebberg vineyards on the left, the path gently descends passing Dietlingen to the old press house in Ellmendingen. Here grow, among others, the varieties Müller-Thurgau and Riesling from Dietlinger Klebberg as well as Schwarzriesling and Spätburgunder from Ellmendinger Keulebuckel. At the old press house is also the location "Heimatmuseum". From here go right slightly uphill, passing above the cemetery then slightly left uphill to the location "Unterwald". Here the path goes left downhill to the road but immediately turns slightly right into the forest parallel to the street until it crosses the street after about 300 m. Here you are in the Pfinz valley. You can already see the Dietenhauser mill which you pass by. After crossing the Pfinz, you see the small village of Dietenhausen. Before the inn "Zum Drollinger" go uphill to the old press house of Dietenhausen and the location "Dietenhauser Kelter". Continue past the church and the cemetery through orchards to the forest edge. Before the forest, turn left and now for quite a while always along the forest edge. The hiker always has orchards to the left and in the distance the places Ellmendingen, further behind Niebelsbach and later Weiler in view. After about 1.7 km you reach the district road and opposite is a field path. Keep this direction and cross the main road. Immediately after crossing the path turns right, first parallel to the main road, then again along the forest edge to the location "Strut". Here the path turns right into the forest, gently uphill straight ahead, then lightly downhill to the location "Allmendweg" and further after about 150 m to the location "Auerbacher Steg". Following the wide path you reach after about 500 m the location "Köpfle". Before the hiker, the landscape opens up. In the distance, the first houses of Langensteinbach can be seen. The path then leads through fields first to the cemetery, then left through the residential area and then down left to the Langensteinbach town hall and location "Langensteinbach Rathaus". This ends the second stage of the Nordrandweg. The third stage continues via Stupferich to Karlsruhe Durlach.