Nahesteig - long-distance hiking trail along the Upper Nahe River

If you come to Neubrücke by train, start walking to the right in front of the station. Walk along the main road a few metres in the direction of Hoppstädten (the railway station is in the district of Neubrücke). Immediately after the town sign, a road leads to the right into the countryside.

Those arriving by car should drive to the Hoppstädten hikers’ car park and then join the trail here as well.

Just after the Hoppstädten town sign, a road leads to the right into the countryside towards the river. The path leads under a railway bridge and finally over several stepping stones across the Steinaubach stream.

When water levels are high, there is a short diversion here from the car park. The Nahesteig leads from here along the Upper Nahe water adventure trail. On the banks of the Nahe, numerous inhabitants of the floodplain landscape are explained at play stations and display boards.

After around 1 km, the Nahe is crossed over big stepping stones. There is some nice water playground equipment all around - time for a first rest! The path continues past the parish church of St. Markus in Bleiderdingen and finally up “Auf Werdenstein” and into the forest.

The Celtic tree circle makes it worthwhile to search for your own birth tree.

The trail following the historic church path towards Heimbach. Now begins a very natural passage in forest and floodplain landscape: through a steep slope, the trail first goes downhill almost to the bank of the Nahe and then through forest and meadow up to the old cross in the Scheidtwald. From here down to Heimbach and immediately at the entrance to the village uphill again in the direction of Heimbacher Höfe.

Attention: If you don’t want to walk the trail in one go, you can stop here: In Heimbach there are regular chances to take the train from the station to Idar-Oberstein or the bus back to Neubrücke station.

If you continue walking, you will reach the heights above the Heimbacher Höfe after a somewhat more strenuous climb. A magnificent “almost 360° view” is compensation for the climb. Further on, the trail leads to a viewpoint called “Railwayman’s Luck”, the name says it all!

Again, we descend into the valley and continue on a picturesque old fishermen’s path to Nohen. The trail now follows the route of the Nohener Nahe-Schleife dream loop for a short distance. In Nohen you may once again stop the hike and take the train back to the starting point. Nohen is also a great place to stop for a bite to eat; an inn and a café look forward to welcoming hikers.

The trail now continues through the village to the nearby edge of the forest and finally into a shady hollow way, in the direction of Kronweiler. In a narrow valley, the Rohrbach is crossed and another circular trail is reached, which the Nahesteig now follows for a short distance. The “Odels-Uwe-Path” is named after a cave along the way. Finally, the local community of Kronweiler is reached, where you may once again cut the hike short by taking the train. In Kronweiler, a small grocery shop provides food for the hikers (open weekday mornings, on Fridays also in the late afternoon).

In Kronweiler, the trail leads uphill again and finally through the so-called Iron Lay via a forest path towards Sonnenberg-Winnenberg. This used to be a mining area, hence the term Iron Lay.

The trail runs beyond Sonnenberg towards Winnenberg. In Sonnenberg, there are refreshments on offer at Gasthaus Sonnenberg, approx. 500 m from the trail. Past the Winneberg cemetery, the Nahesteig now leads downhill again towards the river and meets the "Countess Loretta" dream loop, whose course it now follows for a while. When you reach the Nahe, the dream loop turns right and the Nahe Trail continues straight ahead to the Oberbrombach fishing hut. This is a wonderful place for a rest, tables and benches are ready and waiting and often the association opens its fishing hut and the hiker can get cool drinks.  Here you also have the opportunity to dip your tired feet into the cool waters of the Nahe - in several places you have direct access to the river here. After the rest, the route goes uphill again to one of the most beautiful views on the route - from Naheblick you have a great view of the river and of Hammerstein, a district of Idar-Oberstein.

We continue through the forest and then go down into the valley on an ancient path. For a few metres, the trail leads directly along the main road 41 - behind the crash barrier and only for a few steps. Then it goes further down into the valley, under one of the huge bridges of the main road. In a moment it becomes quieter again, the mouth of the Siesbach into the Nahe is reached. The Siesbach is crossed over a small bridge and right at the mouth there is another nice place for a rest on the rocks. Through Enzweiler (also a district of Idar-Oberstein), the trail finally leads up to the dream loop “Around the Kama”. It now follows this for the remaining 3 km or so through the magnificent floodplain landscape of the Nahe, outlined by spectacular cliffs.

The tour ends at the Kammerhof. If you want to return by train, you can reach Idar-Oberstein railway station from here via the access road after about another kilometre.