recommended route
Stage 16
Westerwald-Steig Stage 16: Waldbreitbach - Bad Hönningen (East - West)
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/ Malberg mit Malberg-HüttePhoto: Dominik Ketz, Westerwald Touristik-Service -
/ Ausblick vom Malberg ins WiedtalPhoto: Dominik Ketz, Westerwald Touristik-Service
This stage of the trail passes through the grounds of the St Joseph House in Hausen, continues to the 'three abbey view' and leads up to the hikers'/ski hut on the Malberg mountain. We then pass some Roman watchtowers before descending into the Middle Rhine Valley to the RömerWelt, a living Roman history museum.
difficult
Distance 12.3 km
4:30 h
398 m
448 m
The Westerwald-Steig trail passes the St Joseph House in Hausen and heads over the Malberg mountain to the Rhine. The 373m high Malberg looks like a crater, but its lake is not volcanic – it was created by the former basalt mine here. You can ski here in the winter, but the ski hut is open all year round to cater for hikers. The Westerwald-Steig trail ends in Rheinbrohl with one more highlight – the RömerWelt living Roman history museum.
Author’s recommendation
For families with children: visit the RömerWelt (living Roman history museum)
Author
Michael Sterr
Update: August 17, 2020
Quality route according to "Wanderbares Deutschland"
Difficulty
difficult
Stamina
Experience
Landscape
Highest point
364 m
Lowest point
78 m
Best time of year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Rest Stop
Malberg-HütteNassen's Mühle - Restaurant & Pension
Hotel zur Post Waldbreitbach
PRIMA Hotel Vitabalance
Hotel Zur Engelsburg
Gut Arienheller
Hotel St. Pierre
Safety information
- Aufgrund der feuchten und relativ warmen Witterung der vergangenen Wochen muss entlang des Steigs mit nassen und stellenweise matschigen Wegeabschnitten gerechnet werden. (Stand der Meldung: 13.01.16)
- Tragen Sie festes Schuhwerk sowie witterungsangepasste, zweckmäßige Kleidung, die Sie vor Kälte und Nässe bzw. Hitze und Sonne schützt.
- Nehmen Sie ausreichend Flüssigkeit mit. Es sind nicht überall Einkehrmöglichkeiten vorhanden.
- Bitte ziehen Sie dem Weg angemessene Wanderschuhe an, welche Ihnen ausreichend Halt auch auf schlüpfrigen und steilen bzw. felsigen und unebenen Wegen geben.
- Sollten Sie bei bestimmten Wegeabschnitten der Meinung sein, dass diese für Sie nicht begehbar sind, dann sollten Sie diese umgehen. Gerade bei widrigen Wetterverhältnissen kann es bei naturnahen Wegen zu matschigen und rutschigen Passagen kommen.
- Besonders im Herbst ist auch darauf zu achten, dass das am Boden liegende Laub Unebenheiten, Wurzeln, Steine oder Löcher im Weg verdecken kann. Mit Wegebeeinträchtigungen dieser Art müssen Sie rechnen, wenn Sie eine Wanderung unternehmen.
- Obwohl der Weg durchgehend sehr gut markiert ist, sollten Sie aus Sicherheitsgründen immer eine geeignete Wanderkarte dabei haben.
Tips and hints
www.wiedtal.dewww.bad-hoenningen.de
Start
Waldbreitbach (114 m)
Coordinates:
DD
50.552067, 7.412081
DMS
50°33'07.4"N 7°24'43.5"E
UTM
32U 387509 5601218
w3w
///hugger.sobered.silliest
Destination
Bad Hönningen
Turn-by-turn directions
The last stage of the Westerwald-Steig trail takes us into the Rhine Valley to Bad Hönningen. At 13km, the stage isn't too long and leaves you enough time to visit St Marienhaus, above Waldbreitbach, before you begin your hike. The monastery, with its neo-gothic church and its herb garden with plants from the Biblical times which is looked after by the Franciscan nuns, can be reached via the Klosterweg path and should not be missed.
Immediately after the start of the stage, we walk right past the St Joseph House, the main house of the Franciscan monks in Hausen. We climb on narrow paths to the Malberg, where a ski hut (open all year round) with a magnificent view of the Wied Valley tempts us to stay for a while. The trail soon comes to the first Roman watchtower and offers a view across the Rhine Valley and the Eifel region. In Arienheller, between Rheinbrohl and Bad Hönningen, the Westerwald-Steig trail meets the Rheinsteig trail (which runs for 320 kilometres from Wiesbaden to Bonn). Here, you can also visit the RömerWelt, a living Roman history museum. The Roman limes, 550 kilometre-long defence walls between the Rhine and the Danube, begin in Rheinbrohl. The Upper Germanic Limes has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2005 and is an outstanding archaeological monument. The Roman historian Tacitus called the beginning of the Limes Romanus 'Caput limitis' – head of the limes.
Access paths (marking: green W on a yellow background)
Immediately after the start of the stage, we walk right past the St Joseph House, the main house of the Franciscan monks in Hausen. We climb on narrow paths to the Malberg, where a ski hut (open all year round) with a magnificent view of the Wied Valley tempts us to stay for a while. The trail soon comes to the first Roman watchtower and offers a view across the Rhine Valley and the Eifel region. In Arienheller, between Rheinbrohl and Bad Hönningen, the Westerwald-Steig trail meets the Rheinsteig trail (which runs for 320 kilometres from Wiesbaden to Bonn). Here, you can also visit the RömerWelt, a living Roman history museum. The Roman limes, 550 kilometre-long defence walls between the Rhine and the Danube, begin in Rheinbrohl. The Upper Germanic Limes has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2005 and is an outstanding archaeological monument. The Roman historian Tacitus called the beginning of the Limes Romanus 'Caput limitis' – head of the limes.
Access paths (marking: green W on a yellow background)
Note
all notes on protected areas
Public transport
Train to Neuwied, continue with bus no. 131 to Waldbreitbach town centreReturn journey from Bad Hönningen/Arienheller to Hausen/Waldbreitbach: bus no. 137
www.bahn.de
www.vrminfo.de
Getting there
A3 to the Neustadt (Wied) exit (35), then take the L270 towards Asbach/Neustadt/Obersteinebach/Niedersteinebach/Hümmerich/Krunkel, and continue on the K88 and K90 towards WaldbreitbachFrom Neuwied or Neustadt: L255 to Waldbreitbach
Parking
Waldbreitbach, market square (Marktstraße)Coordinates
DD
50.552067, 7.412081
DMS
50°33'07.4"N 7°24'43.5"E
UTM
32U 387509 5601218
w3w
///hugger.sobered.silliest
Arrival by train, car, foot or bike
Book recommendation by the author
- Abenteuer Westerwald-Steig, hiking guide with detailed route outlines and elevation profile, 224 pages, ISBN 978-3-93569-064-5, €12.80
- Westerwald-Steig, Schöneres Wandern Pocket, 17 half-day and full-day walks in a pocket-size map, publisher: ideemedia-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-934342-25-5, €10.95
- Rother Wanderführer Westerwald-Steig, publisher: Bergverlag Rother GmbH, from Herborn to Bad Hönningen, 112 pages with 58 colour illustrations, 16 elevation profiles, 16 1:50 000 scale hiking maps, 6 street maps and one small-scale map, ISBN 978-3-7633-4376-8, €10.90
Author’s map recommendations
- Wanderkarte-Leporello Westerwald-Steig, hiking map with GPS data and tips for day trips, rest stops and leisure activities, map size (w x h): 18 x 20 cm, 39 pages in total, including 29 pages of maps, ISBN 978-3-89920-461-2, €8.95
- Official WesterWaldSteig trail map for hikers and holidaymakers, 1:50 000 scale map, LVermGeo Rheinland-Pfalz, ISBN 978-3-89637-406-6, €8.50
Equipment
Hiking boots/shoesSuitable weatherproof clothing
Statistics
2D
3D
Maps and trails
Duration
: h
Distance
km
Ascent
m
Descent
m
Highest point
m
Lowest point
m
Questions and answers
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Rating
Photos from others