- promising
- Fauna
- Round trip
- Flora
Buchenwalds at the Einsiedelei - nature trail east of Olpe
Beech and quarry forests far away from civilization - on the ridges between Veischedetal and Olpetal, only the small hamlet of Apollmicke and an old forester's lodge interrupt the dense forest.
Tour starting point:
Hikers' parking lot above the "Einsiedelei" forester's lodge
Tour destination point:
Hikers' parking lot above the "Einsiedelei" forester's lodge
Properties:
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Additional Information
Via the B 55, it is only a few minutes' drive to the Biggesee and its many leisure activities. Notfar away is the community home museum in Kirchhundem-Silberg, which opens its doors every second Sunday
of the month (in the afternoon).
Category
WanderungLength
5.7 kmTime
1:45 Std.Elevation ascent
114 mElevation descent
114 mLowest point
512 mHighest point
599 mCondition
Difficulty
Adventure
Landscape
Recommended seasons
The nature reserve comprises one of the largest contiguous beech forest complexes in the central and western Sauerland. Particularly valuable in the area are the up to 190-year-old Buchenwald forests, the embedded spring hollows and the small streams with their bog forests and stream-side alder forests.
The cave-rich beech groves are home to breeding populations of great horned owls, black and grey-headed woodpeckers. Since 2004, the impressive black stork has regularly raised its young here. If you visit the area early or late in the spring, you can watch the woodcock on its mating flights. The bog woodlands and alder forests along the streams are characterized by the presence of bog birch, ribbed fern, marsh violet and various species of peat moss. The area's greatest botanical treasure, however, is the heart-leaved two-leaf orchid, an endangered orchid in Germany, which has its only North Rhine-Westphalian habitat here. This rare plant can only be found in southern Lower Saxony and Thuringia.
Information
Directions
The area is located directly on the "Hiking Trail of German Unity" (Aachen-Görlitz, X 8). A 5.6-kilometre circular trail leads along well-maintained forest paths. From the parking lot, the route first follows the X 8 to the northeast, then the X 5 to the southwest to the old forester's lodge. The upside-down "T" then points the way up to Wolfhardt and back downhill towards Rahrbach. Halfway up, turn north on the white triangle. The path runs along the "Rahrbacher Weidekamp" until you reach a refuge on the ridge. There you can enjoy a beautiful view over the forest areas of the Bilstein uplands to the foothills of the Ebbegebirge. The trail then heads north-east again along the X 8 towards the parking lot.
Getting there
GPS (UTM): 32 U 428788, 5657602 Google coordinates: 51.065514, 7.983699
Parking
The hiking parking lot above the "Einsiedelei" forester's lodge can be reached both from the B 55 (junction north-east of Oberveischede), and from the B 517 (junction north-east of Welschen Ennest) via a narrow, asphalted access road.