The best family-friendly hikes and walks in Steinbach

Idyllically nestled in the landscape, on the banks of the Preßnitz, between Steinbach and Schmalzgrube, you will find the "Andreas Gegentrum" mining field. Discover on a hike, whether on foot or by bike, along a mining educational trail, remnants of the over 800-year-old mining history of the Ore Mountains in its original state. In the 18th and 19th centuries, silver and cobalt were mined in the Andreas-Gegentrum adit. Today, the adit is maintained by the association Altbergbau Andreas-Gegentrum-Stolln and is being restored as a visitor mine. On public holidays and weekends, drinks and food are often offered at the visitor center. Then, the association members also gladly tell stories about "their" Andreas-Gegentrum adit. (https://www.erzgebirge-tourismus.de/familienzeit/poi/andreas-gegentrum-stolln/poi.html )

The Wolkenstein–Jöhstadt narrow-gauge railway (also Preßnitztalbahn) is a Saxon narrow-gauge railway with a track gauge of 750 mm in the middle and upper Ore Mountains. It ran from Wolkenstein to the Saxon-Bohemian state border near Jöhstadt. From Wolkenstein, it initially ran for about two kilometers in the Zschopau valley, to Schmalzgrube in the Preßnitz valley, and then in the Schwarzwasser valley. The line, which was closed in two stages in 1984 and 1986, was rebuilt between 1992 and 2000 on the Steinbach–Jöhstadt section as a museum railway. In 2023, the reconstruction of the Oberschmiedeberg station was completed, which is to be connected to Steinbach in the coming years. On June 1, 1892, the K.Sächs.Sts.E.B. inaugurated the line with a celebratory event. In the early years, operations were handled with three pairs of trains daily. Locomotive treatment facilities were available in both Jöhstadt and Wolkenstein. (Wikipedia)

Karl Stülpner from the Ore Mountains is a folk hero due to his adventures as a poacher. He died in Großolbersdorf in 1841!

The Stengelhaider Moor is definitely worth a visit. Free parking is available at the "Moor Nature Trail Parking Lot." An educational trail, partly on boardwalks, leads through the moor and features information panels explaining the vegetation, peat extraction, and renaturation measures. The highlight of the route is a viewing platform.

a very nice corner

A wooden viewing point at the edge of the boardwalk offers hikers an impressive view of the surrounding moorland.

The two-and-a-half-kilometer-long Stengelhaide Moor Nature Trail leads through an Ore Mountains raised bog near the village of Kühnhaide. The Stengelhaide, a valley-deep bog fed by the Stinkenbach stream, has a peat layer up to six meters thick. Peat has been mined here since the Middle Ages. Peat mining ceased in 1990. Since then, efforts have been underway to revitalize the peat mass. The nature trail, mostly on 1.20-meter-wide paths made of oak planks, leads through the bog. Information panels explain the vegetation, peat extraction, and restoration measures. The highlight of the route is a viewing platform.

The bridge over the Schwarze Pockau (also Schwarzwasser, Czech: Černá) marks the border between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Czech Republic. It separates Reitzenhain in Saxony from the former town of Böhmisch Reizenhain. It is also considered the oldest existing border in Europe. It was established by Emperor Charles IV in 1372 and reaffirmed in 1459 with the Treaty of Cheb.