Railroad Workers' Path

We’ll follow the red “Lokomotive” trail marker down the valley along the Flößerpfad, past the cozy “Vogtsmichelhof” inn, to the bridge near the “Untere Mühle.” Here, we cross the Kinzig River and walk uphill along the “Untere Mühle” inn toward the state highway, which we must cross.

We then follow the paved road uphill to the new railroad underpass, always keeping an eye on our red “Lokomotive” sign. Before the railroad underpass, the first sign awaits us, immersing us in the history of railroad construction and operation with stories, photos, travelogues, newspaper reports, and anecdotes. We follow the path under the bridge, keeping to the right the entire way, and after the second sign, we turn right again and walk along the railroad line through the sparse forest. At the hiking shelter, which was built by the Ehlenbogen Volunteer Fire Department, we enjoy our first break and a magnificent view of the Hänslesbauern and Jockels farms. As we emerge from the small grove, we see an original railroad guard’s house that has been repurposed for modern use. An information board tells us more about the area’s history. Our trail then turns right again toward the federal highway, passing through the railroad underpass—here you have the option to take a shortcut*.

*(If you’d like to take a shorter hike, cross the main road again after the underpass and take the road to the right, past the Bachbauernhof, steeply downhill to the Kinzig River; cross the bridge there to reach the Flößerpfad trail. Following this path to the right, back upstream along the Kinzig, past the Schwabenhof, Jockelsbauernhof, and Hänslesbauernhof, you’ll return to the starting point at the Untere Mühle / Vogtsmichelhof—walking time approx. 1.5 hours).

However, just before the federal highway, we turn sharply left over a small bridge and follow the footpath along the federal highway, keeping an eye on our trail markers. After about 300 m, at a railroad underpass, we must cross the state highway again and walk through the parking lot at the Gasthof Adler, then take the footpath to the right of the state highway toward the Gasthof Erlenhof. Now we cross the state highway once more. We pass under a railroad underpass again and turn right, heading uphill toward the “Erlenhof” inn. After passing the “Erlenhof,” we leave the paved road and continue along the gravel path at the edge of the forest toward Alpirsbach, always enjoying beautiful views of the Ehlenbogen Valley. Along the way, we’ll also come across more interesting signs about railway history.

Shortly before Alpirsbach, the trail heads downhill again toward the state highway. Once there, we must cross it one last time. From here, the hiking trail continues for a short stretch along the sidewalk next to the state highway until we reach the bridge over the Kinzig. From here, the

trail

heads back up the valley toward the starting point.

We follow the trail

as it

sharply to the right, passing the large half-timbered building (a former paint mill), and go under the large railroad bridge. Here we’ve now reached the Rafters’ Trail, which we follow upstream along the Kinzig, past the campground and various farms, all the way to our starting point at the “Untere Mühle” / “Vogtsmichelhof.” On this section of our route, we now also have a beautiful view of the other side of the valley, which we hiked through earlier.