Circular Hiking Trail No. 5 (Schuld-Wershofen-Schuld)

The varied hike leads from the Ahr valley over narrow forest paths, wide meadow trails and rocky climbs to the heights of the Hocheifel. From the high plateau Kottenborner Cross, there are fantastic views of the highest peaks of the Ahr mountains such as the distinctive Aremberg and Michelsberg.

Numerous benches and resting places invite nature lovers to take small breaks and dream into the wild romantic Hocheifel landscape.

Highlights on the way:

• Panoramic view Kottenborner Cross
• Kottenborner Chapel
• Section AhrSteig: Hunter's Path

We start our hike in the town center in front of the bridge at the information board "Hiking Paradise Schuld"

At the beginning, we follow a short section of Ahrstraße into the district "Deistig" and then turn left into Martinsstraße. After 140m we reach Bergstraße, which we now follow straight ahead to the next junction. Here we turn left into Martinshöhe. We follow the village street uphill until about 500 m after a sharp left turn, going straight ahead across a meadow path to the edge of the forest. Now we ascend a small path steeply between the forest edge and meadows. At the top, we follow the path straight through the so-called "Branderhardt", a slope scattered with rubble and rocks that we traverse.

From here, you can see the district "Bahnhof". In the middle, only the station building remains of the once large station. Above the meadows runs the already known AhrSteig. Following the Steig, past some weekend houses, we reach a single wooden house and a path which we follow left towards a road intersection.

! Attention ! Here we have to cross Münstereifeler Straße. On the other side, we first keep left, then right over the small bridge, and follow country road 73 towards Antweiler. After about 250 meters, we turn right onto the path "Auf Weiher", which we follow past some houses. After about 300 meters, after a right curve, we walk about 3 km uphill on a steadily ascending forest path. The path leads us first through mixed forest and later through a beautiful fir forest uphill towards Wershofen.

After a short steep section, we reach a cross path which we follow to the left. After about 200 m we leave the forest and walk past meadows and fields on a high path with magnificent panorama. About halfway along this path, our route leads us right uphill to Kottenborner Berg, which at 494 m is the highest elevation of our tour. Here stands the Kottenborner Cross and the Kottenborner Chapel, inviting for a short rest. From here, we have a fantastic panoramic view. This should not be missed.

After a extended rest, we leave the chapel and follow the path downhill for a bit to a fork where we meet a paved agricultural road. We turn left and follow the path for one kilometer. Where the paved road ends, we reach a crossroads which we cross. We are now on a meadow path which we follow downhill, always past the meadow. At the end of the meadow, which is surrounded on three sides by fir forest, once lay Kottenborner Hof. Here we turn right and walk past a game field to a crossroads which we cross straight ahead. Then we follow the path down into the valley until we meet the district road leading to Wershofen.

Past this road, we go left until we reach L73 at the bridge. Along the way, we meet the AhrSteig, coming to the road from the right side. We now cross the bridge and then hike on the other side, following the AhrSteig, past Streitenau and continue until we reach the starting point in Schuld again.

The route is consistently marked in one direction with the trail logo Circular Hiking Trail No. 5 Schuld.