Through the quiet Mauchach valley

The circular hike takes us from the Löffingen train station directly to the town hall square with the fountain of Saint Demetrius, the city patron. Before visiting the historic center, we should first visit the tourist office in Kirchstraße.

After the short walk, we leave the pretty little town through the Mailänder Gate on Maienlandstraße towards the "New Land" (Milan). Behind Allenberg, the Löffingen-Dittishausen herbal education trail begins.

Beforehand, a small detour to the left on the station path is worth it to visit the impressive Witterschnee Pilgrimage Church.

Through the underpass of B 31, we reach a hill with a view back to Löffingen and ahead into the Mauchach valley towards Dittishausen. A castle once stood on the "Burg" hill, today it serves as pasture. We descend into the Mauchach valley to the "Oele". The distinctive red half-timbered building was once an oil mill. After crossing the district road to Dittishausen, we follow the meadow path to the right along the edge of the forest. Where the forest path ascends to the left, we interrupt the herbal education trail and take the meadow path parallel to the Mauchach. After 200m, we can make a right detour down to it.

Straight ahead through the forest and along its edge, we reach the Haldenhütte with a barbecue area. Continuing with the yellow diamond on the Mauchach path to Auhalde and always straight ahead towards Unadingen - we ignore the turnoff to the Nantele cave.

On the Kohlhaldenweg to the Night Watchman’s Cross at Kirchhöfle. The quarry path leads further towards Eulenmühle. Along the way, two mighty lime trees tower over Eulenmüller’s Chapel, also known as the "Trinity Chapel". The traditional Eulenmühle in the Gauchach valley was first mentioned in 1540 and was in operation until 1973. In an idyllic location, it is today a privately used residential house.

Along the Gauchach, we continue hiking under the railway bridge and shortly afterwards under the Gauchachtal Bridge of B31 to the Posthaus. Before the 791 m long and 40 m high beam bridge, a wooden sign points to the Mauchach valley. We must take this path as a shortcut if the entrance from Posthaus is not passable.

The Posthaus Inn was built in 1779 as a horse exchange station on the Vorderösterreich postal route from Brussels to Innsbruck. It is now closed.

Only in times of very low water in the Gauchach can we attempt the entrance into the Mauchach valley from here. Otherwise, we must return to the mentioned junction. In the Posthaus curve to the right beside the inn, the narrow and partly overgrown path runs along the Gauchach to the mouth of the Mauchach. It flows under the old B31 right through the dark and damp tunnel, which we must share with it. Directly behind the exit, a stone staircase leads up to the right. The narrow path ends at a farm road which we follow to the left, always along the banks of the Mauchach. At the concrete bridge, we stay on the same side and reach a wooden sign in the open Mauchach valley that remembers the abandoned village of Mauchen.

From here to the Sängerhütte, the water of the Mauchach almost completely seeps away in summer. On a wooden footbridge, we cross the dried-up creek bed shortly afterwards to the left and must immediately watch for the red-white poles in the dark forest that show us the direction to the next footbridge. In the curve of Dittishauser Sträßle, the Sängerhütte with its barbecue area offers a welcome rest stop.

Straight ahead, we pass slightly right under the 30 m high and 150 m long Mauchach Viaduct of the Höllentalbahn between Neustadt and Donaueschingen. The impressive railway bridge has seven sandstone arches, each with an 18 m span.

We cross the Mauchach four more times until the path ascends to the Nanteleloch. The name of the cave likely refers to Nantosuelta, the Celtic goddess of caves and the underworld.

Along the slope, it continues straight ahead and finally turns right up to the well-known junction “Auhalde” and back on the Mauchach path to the Haldenhütte. There we turn left with the herbal education trail. Always straight ahead, the forest path leads us across the Mauchach for the last time and then a paved path upwards to the district road. Mighty lime trees indicate the direction to the final station of the theme trail. Through the underpass of Dittishauser Straße under the B 31, we finally return to the center of Löffingen. Here numerous eateries await us to stop by.