Dollberg Loop National Park Dream Loop

The starting point of the tour is the Köhlerhütte at the foot of the Dollberge. From here, the trail initially heads southwest along the edge of the forest above Neuhütten. After a short section of forest, the L 166 is crossed and the path turns northwards. We descend across meadows into the valley of the Altbach stream. We follow the course of the stream through the narrow valley, cross the water over a newly built wooden bridge and walk through the forest for a while.
Shortly afterwards, we reach the "Züscher Hammer" industrial monument. This ironworks was the largest of its kind in the Hunsrück in the 17th century. Driven by the water of the Altbach stream, the hammer can now be made to "strike" again for demonstrations. We continue along the course of the stream and pass the forebay of the Nonnweiler dam.
A short time later, we catch sight of the dam. With a surface area of one square kilometer, the lake is an important drinking water reservoir. The route continues for around 2 km along the southern lakeside path, which is wide at this point. After a large loop, our path leaves the lakeshore. We walk past the Kloppbruchswiese natural monument and follow a narrow path around the Kloppbruchweiher pond of the same name. We then reach the Hunnenring Otzenhausen forest parking lot, which can also be chosen as the starting point for the tour. We cross the L 147.
Here, on the other side of the road, there is a 2.5-hectare Celtic park with a Celtic village and the Otzenhausen National Park gate. We continue along a forest path that initially climbs only slightly and reach the Mannfelsen, a high wall of Taunus quartzite. Here begins a steep climb over the rocks up to the Celtic ring wall. On the way, a sensory bench offers a magnificent view of the reservoir. The strenuous uphill section covers around 200 meters in altitude.
The path leads through the middle of the hill fort, which was built in the 1st century BC as one of the most important Celtic fortifications or oppida in Europe. The rampart, built from 240000 cubic meters of stones, is still preserved today at a height of around 10 meters and can be walked through. Numerous information boards take us back to 2500 years ago. We leave the site via the mighty northern rampart and reach the ridge of the Dollberge via a gently ascending forest path. After a long straight stretch, we take a sharp left turn and after 800 meters return to the Köhlerhütte, our starting point.