Herzog Karl II August path

We begin our circular hike at the village square in Bechhofen, where we immediately cross the main street and follow the signs down Ebertstraße. The street ends in a field path which we consistently follow. We ignore the first turn onto the Herzog Karl II August path. This is the junction of the circular route that we pass on the way back. Across meadows, along the edge of the forest, and past the Bechhofen pond, our path leads south through the forest and the Lambsbach valley gradually towards the southwest. Along the way, we first pass the turnoff to Käshofen, then the Schlagberghütte, the Käshofer Water House, and the Karl August spring. At the end of the valley, the path passes through a dense forest passage again before the signposted themed hiking trail bends right and climbs steeply into the forest.

We quickly reach the ruins of the Tschifflik Pavilion, which was built in 1785 in the Karlslust, presumably as a garden house, in the forest. A short way downhill, past the former cascades, we come upon the plunge pool and the Swan Pond, another relic of the Karlslust. The waters were created for visual purposes and to embellish the castle grounds, which at that time were still largely free of trees.

We continue our hike on the Herzog Karl II August path and, after another climb, reach the plant-overgrown stables of the castle complex via the Herzog terraces. The complex, mistakenly called the "bear pit," is arranged in a circle around the island in the middle and originally served as bird aviaries. There is also a small rest area by the stables, inviting us to linger in this surreal spot in the middle of the forest. Shortly behind the "bear pit," we pass the Mohren spring.

The hike now continues steeply uphill. On the ridge, we pass the so-called bird trough. At this spot once stood the gatehouse to Karlslust. We are now on the Apple Alley which leads straight to the former Karlsberg Castle. However, we turn right and, past the natural monument "Herzogskastanien," descend on a narrow path to the romantically located Hirschbrunnen in the forest—another relic of the castle complex.

From the spring, we hike a bit up the slope and finally reach a paved forest road, where we turn left. The path leads through the Ehrenhof of the former castle, of which only the ground plan can still be seen in the forest, to a large forest intersection. Immediately next to it are the ruins of the orangery. The building, like the rest of the castle, was destroyed down to the foundations during the French Revolution.

The hiking path now leaves the wide forest road shortly after the orangery and turns right onto a path. Moments later, we reach the picturesque Karlsberg pond, idyllically embedded in the forest. The Kneipp basin near the shore offers a welcome change on hot days before the last climb up Karlsberg.

Along the forest road on the ridge were the now barely recognizable outbuildings of Karlsberg Castle, such as the kitchen, stables, barracks, and also an inn. Now we leave Karlsberg at the former sheep farm, of which only the location is known, by turning right from the forest road onto a long straight path. After this, we reach another forest road which we follow to a forest parking lot.

Here, we cross the L 215 country road between Sanddorf and Bechhofen. The path winds uphill through the forest, past a spring, and merges onto a farm road running parallel to the summit of Kehrberg. We cross the road and, after a few meters, reach the summit of the large Kehrberg. Here there is the possibility to rest in the Gustav Köhler hut of the Pfälzerwald Association.

After a steep descent from Kehrberg, we pass through the following valley hollow and cross the L 215 country road again. Over the Bechhofer Kopf above Bechhofen and through fields and meadows, the path leads us through a hollow way to the aforementioned turnoff, which we follow to the left and thus return to the village square in Bechhofen.