Fricktaler Höhenweg: from Rheinfelden to Bad Säckingen

From Rheinfelden Badischer Bahnhof, we walk down the Therese-Herzog-Weg to the banks of the Rhine at Haus Salmegg. In front of the restaurant is the St. Anna sculpture with two bronze figures, which refers to the dangerous St. Anna Hole in the middle of the High Rhine under the Old Rhine Bridge: a mermaid mourns a drowned child lying next to her. Crossing the bridgehead in the Rhine, we reach the Swiss town of Rheinfelden and follow the Interregio hiking trail to the SBB railroad station. From there, the Fricktaler Höhenweg is clearly marked. The route initially leads through an avenue towards the highway with a view of the Feldschlösschen brewery castle.

The actual high-level trail starts at the Eremitage, a ridge of Nagelfluh rock close to the highway. People lived here in a small cave in the Mesolithic period around 10,000 years ago. From the hiking parking lot (312 m) at the foot of the wooded Steppberg, the blue sign points to the Steppbergweg, which runs parallel to the freeway for another 500 meters before bending to the southeast. An information board at the edge of the forest explains the different types of use in the Sunneberg forest reserve.

From the top of the Magdener Galgen (449 m), we have a view of the village of Magden below. The Schauenburgflue can be seen to the west and the spire of St. Chrischona church rises out of the forest next to the transmission tower to the northwest. To the east, we then climb up to Sonnenberg (632 m), two kilometers away, with its observation tower visible from afar - old boundary stones along the way separate the cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Aargau. Under the motto "On the trail of nature", a nature trail with numerous information boards leads us up to the Sonnenberg with its permanently accessible viewing tower. After climbing 99 steps, we reach the roofed platform at a height of 22 meters and enjoy the magnificent panoramic view. There is a large rest and barbecue area at the foot of the tower. The Möhliner Naturfreunde also open their Turmstübli on Sundays and public holidays.

We then descend in serpentines to Zeiningen (340 m). Worth seeing here are the St. Agatha church, the vicarage dating from 1560 and the inn sign at the Gasthaus Traube dating from 1800. After the ascent to the Burgacherhof, we continue above the village to the edge of the forest on the Zeiniger Berg, which offers great views over the vineyards.

At Spitzgraben (518 m), we leave the Fricktaler Höhenweg at the Jägerhütte and descend via Schönegg and Mumpf railroad station to the Hochrhein. After the Fridolinsbrücke bridge, we cross the covered wooden bridge that connects Stein with Bad Säckingen.

On Münsterplatz in front of Fridolinsmünster, we end the varied hike in one of the many pubs before heading for Bad Säckingen railroad station.