Hilly Route

The hilly route starts at the Alter Markt in Diez. Via Altstadtstraße, then Wilhelmstraße, you follow the here signposted Aartal cycle path towards Holzheim/Hahnstätten. You stay on Wilhelmstraße, which passes under the railway bridge and turn left at the roundabout behind it into Bismarckstraße. At its end, turn left onto Schläferweg, follow it past allotment gardens and then turn right.

Under the L 318 bridge begins the climb via Fuchsenhöhler Straße, which runs parallel to L 318. Passing a station of the Diez waterworks, you finally go up through the fields to the edge of the forest. Beautiful views over Limburg with the cathedral as well as the heights of the Taunus, where you now cycle, and the Westerwald on the left.

At the forest edge, turn right; if you have forgotten the panoramic view until then, you will no longer miss the wide vista. You quickly roll down the first hill on a sometimes somewhat bumpy forest path, past the SC Birlenbach football ground.

Careful, brake! You cross the L 318, continue through the forest and carefully cross K 25 again, go straight ahead into the fields and immediately see the next, but also last hill to be mastered ahead of you. On the asphalted path, it is however easy to ride. Like a silhouette, on the left, the Schaumburg seems to rise from the forest on another hill.

Then the last climb is done, and you roll down to Hausen in a swooping ride. On the right, you can already spot the course of the Lahn valley in the wooded slopes. Through Hausen, it continues downhill – the Schaumburg appears once as the "crown" of the small village – and further down serpentine bends of the narrow K 32, where, due to the partially poor and dangerous road surface, you should reduce speed. At the end, turn right onto K 25, which leads down to Balduinstein.

In Balduinstein, you immediately hit a small hill to the right with the ruin of Balduin Castle. You roll over bumpy cobblestones past the church of St. Bartholomew, see a town wall tower on the left behind the houses, and follow the road along the Lahn valley to the right below. If you don't want to continue immediately, you can take a break in the green area by the river or use one of the refreshment options here.

In front of Balduinstein station, you cross the Lahn bridge and turn immediately right onto the now signposted Lahn cycle path. Very close to the river, mostly shaded under a leafy canopy, you go effortlessly and without hills up the Lahn valley, past Fachingen and its mineral water bottling plant, finally through the allotment gardens of Diez and at the end over the historic Lahn bridge back to the Alter Markt, the starting point of the hilly route.