Hohenwarte Dam – Saalesteg Pedestrian Bridge loop from Kaulsdorf (Saale)

Hiking trails & Routes

Landkreis Saalfeld-Rudolstadt

Kaulsdorf

Hohenwarte Dam – Saalesteg Pedestrian Bridge loop from Kaulsdorf (Saale)

Moderate

4.7

(61)

165

hikers

Hohenwarte Dam – Saalesteg Pedestrian Bridge loop from Kaulsdorf (Saale)

04:38

16.1km

380m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: August 6, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Naturpark Thüringer Schiefergebirge/Obere Saale

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

4.90 km

View of the Hohenwarte Pumped Storage Plant Pipes and Saale Valley

Highlight • Viewpoint

Here nature and technology merge in an interesting way. Display boards provide information about the pumped storage power plant.

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6.12 km

View over the upper reservoir

Highlight • Viewpoint

The upper basin is impressive; this is the only place where you can look out over the water from the upper basin.

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7.93 km

View of the Hohenwarte Dam and the Saale Valley

Highlight • Viewpoint

Beautiful descent with occasional views of the Saale. I recommend good shoes.

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8.21 km

View of the Hohenwarte Reservoir

Highlight • Viewpoint

A great place with a very nice view of the dammed Saale.
It just makes me sad when places are or have been wiped out because of mining or, as here, a dam.

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10.1 km

Hohenwarte Dam

Highlight • Monument

This 75 meter high and 412 meter long dam was built between 1936 and 1942. This required 250 people to give up their homes - an entire village was flooded …

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10.4 km

Turbine at the Hohenwarte Dam

Highlight • Monument

There is also an information board and a parking lot at the Hohenwarte dam.
An ideal starting point for hiking tours.

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11.0 km

Saalesteg Pedestrian Bridge

Highlight • Bridge

Absolutely 😎 Footbridge over the Saale with a view of the dam wall.

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16.1 km

End point

Train Station

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

10.3 km

4.62 km

805 m

363 m

< 100 m

Surfaces

6.78 km

5.27 km

1.86 km

1.78 km

414 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (540 m)

Lowest point (230 m)

Weather

Sunday 11 October

12°C

3°C

19 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 9.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

September 8, 2024,Rundwanderung vom Bahnhof Kaulsdorf hinauf zum Pumpspeicherwerk Hohenwarte - zurück vorbei an der Hohenwarte-Staumauer 08-09-2024

Sunday hike from Kaulsdorf/Eichicht up to the Hohenwarte pumped storage power station. An impressive building. Lots of great panoramic views with a very beautiful view of the Thuringian Slate Mountains - Upper Saale Nature Park.

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March 10, 2024,Naturpark-Region - Thüringer Meer

A great hike that I'm really excited about.
From the heights of the mountains you have wonderful views of the dam and the adjacent mountains.
A real reward for the constant climb 😀

The Saale, dammed in the Hohenwarte reservoir, winds its way through the Thuringian Slate Mountains over a length of 27 km and with a water content of …

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June 7, 2022,Von Bucha über Eichicht nach Hohenwarte...Teil 2

...through the forest to the Eichicht dam, from there to Eichicht Castle. This is privately owned and no longer accessible... but there is a #ThuringianForestShop there. Meter by meter we climbed up to the upper reservoir of the pumped storage plant via the international mountain hiking trail and the European long-distance hiking trail E3. We continued over the pipe bridge …

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March 28, 2026,Hohenwarte: Rund um das Pumpspeicherwerk

I parked in the car park at the dam wall for €4 for the whole day. There are also public toilets there and the place is clean and well-maintained.
Right at the beginning, it goes moderately but steadily uphill. A first lake view invites you to linger with a bench - already occupied today.
The sun doesn't show itself, but …

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April 21, 2022,Kaulsdorf - Hohenwarte Stausee

During our short break in Kaulsdorf, we started walking around noon today, actually without a fixed destination. But it was a nice circular hike around the Hohenwarte reservoir. The ascent to the upper dam wall was exhausting, in order to then reach the Rohrbahn crossing and hike back towards Kaulsdorf.

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