Kaiserstuhl Trail from Endingen to Ihringen

https://www.wanderbares-deutschland.de/wege/alle-wege/kaiserstuhlpfad-a41e0fbccb

Hello, dear hiking friends. The weather in the mountains isn't supposed to be particularly nice, so I've chosen a hike in Germany. Since my father was recently in the Kaiserstuhl and his pictures looked pretty good, I immediately put together a hike. The Kaiserstuhl as it looks today was created between the 1950s and 1980s through what is known as land consolidation. This means that the terraced landscape was created by human hands. It was converted to viticulture. Before that, the Kaiserstuhl somewhat resembled the beautiful Fricktal valley. Despite this massive intervention, the Kaiserstuhl is simply beautiful and always worth a visit.

ᵂᴱᴿᴮᵁᴺᴳ My last of seven peaks in Baden-Württemberg is in the Kaiserstuhl – a small mountain range in the Upper Rhine Plain between Freiburg and France, which has been permanently inhabited by humans for over six thousand years. And to this day, the nature of the Kaiserstuhl is strongly influenced by the cultural landscape. Vineyard and orchard terraces meet wild meadows and deciduous forests – all of this together creates not only a beautiful picture, but also an extremely species-rich habitat. 🦎🦜🦋 I think I've rarely seen so many, and especially so diverse, butterflies. There are also plenty of bright green lizards, buzzing bee-eaters, and colorful flowers – around 35 different orchid species alone are found in the Kaiserstuhl! Species that prefer a Mediterranean climate thrive here. And the grapevines, of course, feel the same way. The comparatively warm and dry region is somewhat less suitable for hikers – at least on hot and sunny days. I happened upon one of those 🫠 and so I boarded the train extra early in Freiburg, only to get off again in Endingen about half an hour later. This is where the Kaiserstuhl Trail begins, crossing the entire ridge of the low mountain range from north to south. It climbs gently through the old town of Endingen, then along an old chestnut avenue. This is followed by a somewhat longer climb up to St. Catherine's Chapel – including the first small panoramic view (and a potential place to stop for a bite to eat). After a short descent, I leave the forest for the first time and look out over the vast meadows adorned with butterflies and flowers. I can already see the Totenkopf (Totenkopf) with its distinctive antenna in the distance – at 556 m, it is the highest elevation in the Kaiserstuhl (which the hiking route also crosses). For a bit, the trail climbs gently up and down along the edge of the forest, then follows the ascent to the Eichelspitzturm, a steel observation tower that also serves as a radio mast. If the climb here is too airy for you, don't despair - there's another, much less challenging tower with a great view! ☝️The stone Neunlindenturm stands directly at the Totenkopf. On the way there, you descend slightly across meadows and then climb quite steeply through the forest to the summit. The Black Forest, the Vosges, and in clear weather, the Alps... and you're like sitting on a small grandstand right in the middle of it all. The view from up there is truly something special. 🙏 I hike a bit downhill from the Totenkopf through the forest, then the most strenuous part of my day begins, at least in terms of temperature. On the second half of this tour, there's hardly any shade, no water, and no places to stop for refreshments. 🙃 This is definitely something to keep in mind when planning your hike (and in sunny and hot weather, it probably makes more sense to walk the trail in the opposite direction and start early, so that the shadier part of the tour falls in the middle of the day). The route now leads over the terraced vineyards with increasingly scenic views, often practically walking among the vines. A highlight are the loess hollow paths Eichgasse and Lenzberggasse, where many bee-eater nesting holes can be discovered – and the colorful birds themselves also flutter through the air in large numbers on this section during the summer months. (It's a shame my telephoto lens didn't fit on my bike anymore. 🥲I've uploaded a photo I took in South Africa a few years ago.) The vineyards accompany me all the way to the wine-growing village of Ihringen, from where there's a train connection back to Freiburg. I'm definitely enthusiastic about the Kaiserstuhl and the path of the same name. 💛 Mission "7 Summits of Baden-Württemberg": Accomplished. 🫡7️⃣🏔️✅ ---------- 🥾 Continue hiking: If this tour is too long for you, there are of course many shorter tours and circular trails in the region. // https://www.naturgarten-kaiserstuhl.de/de/kaiserlich-erleben/wandern

Bee-eaters, poppy blossoms and actually great views. It could have been so beautiful. 😅 But it had to pour, sometimes more like buckets and sometimes less. At some point even the best hiking boots were soaked... In Vogtsburg a woman felt so sorry for us that she ran to the street to stop a bus for us. That was sweet and touching. But we wanted to finish the tour, which had been on my bucket list for years, on foot. It was "only" seven kilometers back to Ihringen. The big wine festival was taking place there and we leaned on the Baden delicacies, hungry. But wet feet and muddy trousers didn't invite us to linger. 😂

Great hike from Ihringen through the Kaiserstuhl to Endingen. The start and finish is at the train station. The tour is well signposted and can also be walked in the other direction. Unfortunately, nature was not ready yet, so that with a few exceptions, the dominant color was brown. There were already numerous green lizards 🦎 to admire. At the weekend and on public holidays there is a kiosk at the Katharinenkapelle where you can get delicious soft drinks from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 😉 More information about the tour is available at: www.naturgarten-kaiserstuhl.de Timetable information at: www.efa-bw.de

Now that was a good idea... I'm preparing myself a bit for the mega march and trying to walk routes in a (for me personally) good time. Today I parked the car at the train station in Endingen and took the S-Bahn to Ihringen. The route to Endingen is well signposted, I didn't always have to check my smartphone for directions. Very crisp, hard climbs and then long climbs again but not that steep. Really tough at times and keeping up the pace was a real challenge at times. In the end I managed an average of 4.7 km/h. Komoot shows a faster cut, but I deliberately set Komoot so that the recording also pauses during breaks. However, this is not relevant for the mega march. The clock keeps running during pee breaks 😉😎 I also record with another app and let the recording run through there. So I have a complete overview. 👍

At the end of my hiking week in the Black Forest, I went to the nearby Kaiserstuhl yesterday thanks to the free KONUS guest card and walked the Kaiserstuhlpfad premium hiking trail there (https://www.naturgarten-kaiserstuhl.de/de-de/wege/kaiserstuhlpfad). The vineyards in particular were a nice contrast to the impressions of the last few days.

The eight themed trails in the Kaiserstuhl all have the special feature that they are route tours and the start and end points are easily accessible by public transport. In times of bargain tickets, such route tours are a must 😊 The Kaiserstuhl path, a certified "premium path" with just over 20 km, runs from north to south and over the highest elevations. The start is at the Endingen train station, after crossing the beautiful old town you quickly reach the forest on the Katharinenberg via the venerable Kastanienallee through the Erletal. Before the steepest climb of the whole tour, we recommend a short detour to the Erleloch, a cool underground exploration, especially for children. It is then almost 300 meters in altitude up to the Katharinenkapelle - unfortunately the kiosk is closed this week due to illness, but the picnic area and the view are still very nice 😍 Above Schelingen, the route then leads wonderfully to the Eichelspitzturm, the highlight of the tour in terms of views. The Bötzingen winegrowers' cooperative strategically positioned itself at the Vogelsangpass on summer Sundays - of course you can't get past it at such temperatures 🙈 The good drop is then immediately sweated out again on the short but steep ascent to the Neunlindenturm. From here at the Totenkopf you could actually head straight for Ihringen, possibly with a small arc over the Liliental, then the tour would end comfortably at 16-17km. After all the forest, the organizers naturally wanted to include a piece of vineyards and sunken paths in the tour - it makes sense too, you should have seen the Eichgasse before. However, things go as far as Bickensohl and then above all out of the valley and along the terraces to Ihringen - you shouldn't underestimate if you have to catch a train 😅 I suffered a bit from the heat at the end, but overall it was a very nice and well-signposted Kaiserstuhl crossing.