Bäche, Schluchten, Moore - Westallgäuer Wasserweg 9 - Einstieg Oberreute

From the village square in Oberreute, we start along the main road towards Sulzberg until we reach a riding stable on the right-hand side. Shortly before the riding stables, we cross the meadow in the direction of "Obere Hausbachklamm/Bächen". We follow the signpost "Bächen/Obere Hausbachklamm" and after a while we reach the forest. Here, a playhouse with a slide and climbing rope and a rope slide leading over the Hausbach stream await adventurous children.

The path leads up the stream via Schnellers into the spring area and on to the romantic Wildrosenmoos. Here the large bog pile invites you to rest. Moor birches and mountain pines are reflected in the water of the abandoned peat pond. As the plants in these habitats are very sensitive to trampling, the path must not be left here. From Wildrosenmoos, the trail continues to the Austrian municipality of Sulzberg.

Variant: If you split the circular hike into two stages, you have enough time for a short detour to the "Kalten Brunnen" fountain. The trail leads from Wildrosenmoos first to the Hochstrand, at 1041 meters above sea level the highest point of the elongated Sulzberg ridge. There is an old border post here, a reminder of the times when the border between Austria and Germany was still more heavily patrolled by customs officers. Continue to the „Cold Fountain“. A protective hut, forest hammock, balancing tower, hideaway and spider's web await little adventurers. A wooden fountain with cold water offers cooling. The circular trail returns from the Kalten Brunnen back towards Wildrosenmoos and then on to the 1,015-metre-high Austrian municipality of Sulzberg.

The descent from Sulzberg to Thal offers fantastic views of the Rothachtal valley, the Rhine valley beyond and the mountains of the Pfänderstock and the Säntis massif. From Thal, the circular route continues via Eyenbach and Salmers with its pretty eye chapel to the Rothach. A bridge leads across the river to the old well house in Siebers. The spring in Bad Siebers is one of the oldest bathing and healing springs in the Allgäu. A few meters further on is the new fountain house of the Siebers spring. Here, 60 liters of naturally pure mineral water are pumped every minute. The path leads across green meadows and through a species-rich alluvial forest along the Rothach to Bremenried.

The barbecue area directly on the Rothach is a great place to take another break. In Bremenried, you pass the wastewater treatment plant of the Rothach wastewater association, which, like all wastewater treatment plants in the catchment area of Lake Constance, has to provide a particularly high level of purification. At the confluence of the Rothach and Hausbach rivers, there is a small power station for generating energy. From there, the trail continues along the Hausbach stream to Weiler.

The entrance to the Hausbachklamm gorge begins again at the parish church in Weiler. After just a few meters, you are immersed in a shady ravine forest. Smaller waterfalls and weirs give you a first taste of the wild middle section of the gorge. A view from the Kapfmühlenbrücke is worthwhile: here the Hausbach stream makes its way through a narrow passage cut deep into the sandstone. The path leads steeply uphill to the impressive „Hohe Wand“. The local stream rushes downhill here in deeply washed-out channels. Continue uphill via the Tobelbachbrücke to the Trogener Brücke. Directly above the bridge is a nice rest area for families with children: At the barbecue area, the little ones can romp around in the shallow, gravelly stream bed. The path is no longer quite so steep. We now follow the path to our starting point in Büchen from where we walk back to Oberreute.