Forests and rocky cliffs

Our cycle tour starts at the railway station in Pirmasens, which spreads its almost 40,000 inhabitants over the seven hills that give it its name. We cycle to Schlossstraße, which leads us southwards through the town centre. We pass the parade ground (1), where the beautiful town hall of the former "shoe metropolis" is located. The twin towers of the church of St. Pirminius rise up opposite. We cycle on to Kaiserstraße, which leads us westwards to Berliner Ring, on which we leave the city area. The route then descends steeply to the tranquil Bittschachen, followed shortly by Niedersimten. Here the Westwall Museum (2), which is offset a little to the left, is worth a short visit. We then cycle through the idyllic Felsalbe river valley. We pass the Littersbachermühle and the Rehmühle before we reach the Schelermühle. Here the route turns left and follows steep serpentines that lead us up through the forest to Vinningen. The village is beautifully situated on a small plateau, which we cross in the direction of Kroppen. The steep descent to Trulben follows, where we continue through a beautiful river valley to the Trulbermühle (3). From there we keep south following the Eppenbrunner Bach stream. The route is flat throughout and leads to Eppenbrunn, which is situated in a hollow. From the Mühlweiher we then follow the signs to the Altschloßfelsen (4), which we reach after a steep climb behind the Krämereck. After visiting the imposing red sandstone wall, we return to the pond along the same path, which we now follow along its northern bank. Afterwards, we continue for a bit along the Wüsteichelsbach stream, which we finally cross on the Klosterbrückel (5) and then start the long climb to the plain around the tranquil Kettrichhof. We continue on the country road that takes us past the Teufelsfelsen (Devil's Rock) (6) to Erlenbrunn. We pass through the former monastic estate on the Erlenbrunner Straße and reach the urban area of Pirmasens in a slightly undulating descent. There, at the junction with Kaiserstraße, we rejoin the route we knew from the outward journey, which now takes us back to the station where we started our tour.