Warndt Loop

Directly at the parking lot by the Rossel mouth, the Saarland cycle route and the VeloRoute Saar-LorLux branch off from the Saar and lead in a wide arc through the Warndt and over the Saargau to the Moselle. From the start, we follow the yellow Saarland logo and the green logo of the VeloRoute towards Geislautern.
After just a few hundred meters, the route becomes very quiet in the lower Rossel valley and takes us past a fishing pond for a short section directly along the Rossel. Immediately afterwards, we reach the junction of the Saarland cycle route/VeloRoute and the Warndt loop in Geislautern. We follow the Saarland cycle route towards Großrosseln.
Along the forest edge, we reach the former Felsen pit. We cross the Rossel and are immediately led left onto a newly built path for cyclists along the edge of the coal storage down to the Rossel and further to the French Petite Rosselle. At the roundabout, turning right, we return to the German Großrosseln. Well signposted, we are led through the town and reach a very beautiful meadow valley at the outskirts. We gently ascend into the forest. It gets a bit steeper for a short section, but upon reaching the connecting road between Großrosseln and Dorf im Warndt, we have completed the first climb of our Warndt loop.
The descent leads effortlessly into the idyllic valley of the Grohbruchbach. A wide meadow landscape with marshy areas opens up before us. Beautifully guided, our path winds along the forest edge to the parking lot shortly before Emmersweiler. An old road, now closed to traffic, serves as the optimal cycle path through a beautiful meadow valley and leads us to St. Nikolaus. At the St. Nikolaus pond, a nicely located garden restaurant invites you to rest. The route continues along the pond and then on a footpath up to the forest path towards Karlsbrunn (about 50 m bicycle pushing). Here is the next rest stop: A beer garden tempts with cool drinks before the ascent to the next highlight of the route.
Almost 100 m must be climbed up the Steinberg directly at the German-French border. At the start, we cycle through the Karlsbrunn wildlife park, a welcome opportunity to pause and observe the animal world before the final ascent.
Then, unbelievably, the sensational views possible here in the Warndt:
A viewing platform over a vertical abyss induces dizzying awe. Deep below, the huge pit of Freyming-Merlebach opens up, and far into France we can let our gaze wander. Reddish and yellowish shimmering vertical rock walls recall the rock formations of the Northern Vosges and the Palatinate Forest.
For several kilometers, the route now goes downhill to Lauterbach. Unfortunately, we have to cycle on the main road through the town until we turn right towards Überherrn. We pass directly by the Warndt cathedral, an impressively large church for the small town of Lauterbach, which is worth admiring.
Through quiet local streets, the route gently ascends past the sports field and a few hundred meters along a small country road. Our path soon turns onto Kreuzwalder Weg, leading us to the Warndtweiher with its restaurant and garden restaurant. Here, the Saarland cycle route and the VeloRoute diverge towards Überherrn with the Warndt loop, which leads us to Ludweiler-Warndt. From now on, we follow the blue logo of the Warndt loop and cycle gently downhill through the Werbelner Bachtal.
But be careful: Suddenly, our path branches right, and we have to overcome the last significant climb of 50 m. Above Ludweiler, we leave the forest, and beautiful views over wide parts of the Warndt compensate for the effort. At a brisk pace, we now ride down to Ludweiler. We cross the main road and initially cycle on a quiet side street through the town. We cross the main road again, and our route leads us along the Lauterbach once more, completely quietly and away from all traffic, to Geislautern. Here we meet again the Saarland cycle route and the VeloRoute SaarLorLux, which we already know from the start of our route from Völklingen. We return to the Saar by the same way.

Several sections of forest trails are unpaved but well to very well developed as gravel paths and easily accessible with standard touring bikes. Four climbs between 40 and 100 meters must be mastered either on forest trails or on quiet local roads in Lauterbach. This is only feasible for experienced children with multi-gear bikes.