Kleiner Wäller "Wolfsteine" - hiking trail

Parking at the Wildpark, Wildparkstraße

From the car park at the Bad Marienberg Wildlife Park, I walk past the Adventure Playground of the Wildlife Park and the Climbing Forest straight ahead into the forest. After 500 metres, I keep to the right and walk a short distance uphill to the first basalt formation, the "Kleiner Wolfstein". There I take a short rest on a rustic oak bench in the forest church, an open-air place of worship, and enjoy nature. Then I follow the narrow path uphill for 100 metres, winding between basalt stones and trees. At the crossroads I come to, I turn left and follow the path for just under a kilometre through the forest to the "Großer Wolfstein" natural monument. An information board informs me about the legend of the wolf stones, which the devil supposedly lost in flight. Climbers, of which I am not one, can try their hand at the huge basalt boulders.

I continue on a wide forest path to the Marienberger Höhe and the juniper heath, from where I enjoy the view over Bad Marienberg. Then I follow a field path downhill, turn right after 400 metres and head towards the town centre. I walk around a residential area for a short distance until I reach the street "Unter den Eichen". There I turn left and walk about 300 metres to Kirburger Straße. I follow this to the right and continue straight ahead over a roundabout. Then I turn right into Büchtingstraße and follow it for 200 metres. From there, my path leads me to the right through the spa gardens, past the listed half-timbered house of the Tourist Information and to the "Park of the Senses" with barefoot path and pharmacy garden. I take off my walking shoes and treat my feet to a detour on the circular path with 16 different surfaces. Then I take a quick look at the apothecary garden with 100 different plants before continuing my way across the market square into Bismarckstraße with its shopping and refreshment facilities.

The last third of the way takes me along Bismarckstraße and Rauscheidstraße to the Basalt Park open-air museum, where display boards give me an insight into the volcanic activity of the region some 25 million years ago. From there I walk steeply uphill towards the Wildpark and use the remaining energy to enjoy the panoramic view of the Westerwald from the Hedwig Tower.