Schmetterlingspfad

Family-friendly circular hiking trail through the charming red sandstone area of the Kirkel forest. Fantastic paths lead you through the forest from the Kirkeler Taubental to the Kirkel core zone and back again. A longer detour in the direction of Kirkel Castle is easily possible in this part of the forest.

The approx. 11 km long butterfly trail starts with the new route, at the hiking parking lot in Taubental, near Homburg-Beeden. If you hike the trail in a clockwise direction, you will first pass through a young pine forest in the Fuchsental and Taubental valleys and a few kilometers further on through a beautiful, more open section of forest with beech and oak trees as well as along old, bizarre rock formations of the Bundsandstein. The butterfly trail runs along many small bends, which are reminiscent of a butterfly's wings - hence the name of the trail. Over the so-called "Hohe Kopf", the tour continues through a beautiful forest area, which is part of the core zone of the Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve. Here, the forest is left to its own devices so that the flora and fauna can recover and thrive. The hiking trail leads past the Gengelsberg meadow on the way back and ends after a few hundred meters at the entrance to the official hiking trail. The circular tour ends back at the Taubental hiking parking lot via the asphalt path along the so-called sand pit.If you want to walk longer than 11 km, you can take a longer detour to Kirkel Castle halfway through the circular tour. Here you can climb the castle tower and enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of Kirkel and the surrounding area. Numerous events are held around the castle throughout the year for young and old "knights", such as the Kirkel Castle Summer or the "Kirkel Castle Night". Restaurants around the castle serve mainly Saarland cuisine - another reason why the Romans and knights once loved it here.