Jammertal Loop Trail

Starting at the Herold Village Community Center, we take a leisurely hike down through the village along the Mühlweg. Where the trail bends at the edge of the village, we continue straight ahead into a quiet sunken path and emerge onto a grassy trail between rows of trees. Passing pastures, the trail leads us further into the valley and sets the mood for the rest of the hike.

Shortly after the pastures, we turn right and now hike down the right side of a small stream into the Dörsbach Valley. Another 500 meters or so, and we come to the larger Dörsbach stream. We follow it downstream. The scenery becomes increasingly wild and romantic; passing tall cliffs, we make our way to the first mountain hut.

Here, we turn left, cross a small bridge, and follow the trail to a slightly wider path, which we continue along to the left. This brings us to a small meadow and the Kördorf shelter. The foundation walls of the Jammertalsmühle once stood at this spot. To see the remains of the mill, we cross the Dörsbach via the bridge. An information sign on site explains the history. Back on the right side of the stream, a picnic area and a shelter offer a good opportunity to rest.

Behind the shelter, we continue along the path to the right of the Dörsbach. We pass two fords on our left and climb a few steps along a railing. The trail leads briefly downhill between rocks, then a bridge and more steps take us back uphill. At the top, we keep to the left of a rock and are now noticeably above the Dörsbach. The view opens up. While the Dörsbachmühlen hiking trail branches off to the left toward the Neuwagenmühle, we see the observation pavilion on the Winkelei in the distance to the right, toward which we now ascend. Slowly but steadily, with charming views of the Jammertal, we reach the Winkelei rock and the pavilion. Here we enjoy the view of the Dörsbach and the forested valley. We read the information sign and learn interesting facts about the two mills located almost directly below us.

After our break, we descend a few steps from the pavilion and then turn left onto the path leading uphill. At the edge of the forest, we cross a four-way intersection straight ahead and shortly thereafter reach the Jewish cemetery in Kördorf. Emerging from the forest, we have an unobstructed view of the village of Kördorf and turn right onto a dirt road. At the next opportunity, we follow the path to the left toward the isolated spruce farm and continue uphill toward Kördorf. We pass the first three houses, turn right onto an agricultural and forestry trail, and pass a horse farm on our left. Continuing along the paved dirt road, we reach Herold after about one kilometer at the corner of Gartenstraße and Am Schäferhaus, and walk straight ahead onto Am Schäferhaus. At the next intersection, we turn left onto Hauptstraße and then right onto Backesweg. We pass the old bakery and return to the village community center via the street Im Sayen. To wrap up the walk, we recommend stopping for a bite to eat at Gasthof Dörsbachhöhe.

For better orientation, it’s helpful to download the GPX track. We also recommend the free Rhineland-Palatinate app for this purpose.