Rothaarsteig from Jagdhaus to the Giller

The mountain village of Jagdhaus is the starting point for this stage of the Rothaarsteig. In Jagdhaus, there are various places to stop for refreshments, as well as the option to take the Wisent Trail—one of the 14 circular hiking trails along the Rothaarsteig—to the Wisent-Welt Nature Experience Center. Here you can observe a herd of bison up close in a 20-hectare exhibit.

Passing the Margaretenstein, a historic boundary stone, the Rothaarsteig then reaches the Rhein-Weser-Turm. The 24-meter-high tower on the Rhine-Weser watershed offers an outstanding panoramic view. The trail continues downhill into the Schwarzbachtal Nature Reserve. Along an educational trail in the Schwarzbachtal, you’ll gain fascinating insights into life in and along the stream. In summer, you’ll find blueberries along the trail here, and you can also marvel at the pink-and-white blooming heather. Through the Haberg Nature Reserve, the trail now climbs up to the Heinsberg Hochheide, which is home to a rich population of juniper trees. The Heinsberg Aqueduct is located on the Rothaarsteig access trail toward Heinsberg. The Krenkelbach stream, which flows over the aqueduct, supplies water to the fish ponds below. At the Dreiherrnstein, the provincial borders of Nassau, Westfalen, and the Electorate of Cologne once converged. From the Oberndorfer Höhe, it’s not far to the source of the Ferndorf, a 24-kilometer-long tributary of the Siegen. The trail leads through the Ginsberger Heide toward Ginsburg. In 1568, Wilhelm von Oranien, who was born in Dillenburg, gathered his troops here for the struggle for freedom. Today, Ginsburg is a popular destination as a lookout tower. On the final stretch, the Rothaarsteig leads to the Giller (653 m), featuring the 18-meter-high steel Gillerberg Tower as a lookout point. Germany’s largest mountain sports festival has been held here since 1907, and since 1991, one of Europe’s largest tent festivals—KulturPur—has taken place here every Pentecost. The stage’s final destination is the parking lot at the observation tower on the Giller in Lützel, a district of Hilchenbach.