ALBTAL.Aussichten | Stage 1 | Leisure variant

We start our tour at Schlossplatz in Ettlingen. Behind the castle, we cross the S-Bahn line and follow the street to Horbachsee. We turn left and follow the Horbachtal to the Horbachquelle. From there, the path gently ascends, rewarded with fantastic views over the Rhine Valley and as far as the Palatinate Forest, Odenwald, and the Vosges. Via Wagenhohl, Hannesberg, Dreimarkstein, Sommerberg, Redoute and Benjeshecke we reach the forest edge to the heights near Spessart. From here, our view looks east towards Spielberg and Etzenrot. We continue initially through the village of Spessart and then downhill across the Windwiesen, Windwiesenklinge, Fruehbusch and Roemerstrasse to the legendary Toter-Mann-Stein near Fischweier. At the Toter-Mann-Stein, we cross on the Moosalb bridge. On the opposite side of the Moosalb, we ascend at Hornkopf to Burbach / an der Linde. Above Burbach, we pass the Wiesenhof Icelandic horse stud farm, from where there is an unparalleled view over Dobel and Pforzheim to Stromberg and the Zabergäu. Via Mittelberger Wegle, Klosterwald, Breithofweg and Kreuzweg, we reach the Metzlinschwander Hof, the last remnant of the village Metzlinschwand, likely abandoned in the 16th century due to water shortage. The last part of the path leads us via Küblerschlag, Am Glockenweg, Klostersteige, Lickbrunnen and Bernbacher Steige to our today's stage destination in Frauenalb.