Spessartbogen Etappe 1: Langenselbold - Freigericht

From Langenselbold to Horbach. The Spessartbogen starts with a gentle ascent at the "Buchberg" hiking parking lot above Langenselbold train station. Through a mixed forest dominated by beech trees, the trail climbs up to the Buchberg, where the old stone observation tower beckons with its first magnificent panoramic view over the wooded Spessart. The view above the trees extends much further west to the skyline of Frankfurt and the low mountain ridges of the Taunus behind it. The trail continues past Oberrodenbach and leads past the "Dicke Tanne" forest playground before the forest opens up towards Freigerichter Bucht. Following the trail of the old trade route "Birkenhainer Straße", you hike across the open landscape with a view of Somborn. The Trages farm is located in the immediate vicinity of the trail. Its history dates back to the Middle Ages. Where the Wehmig meanders out of the beech forest as a small stream, the Spessart arch disappears again under the fresh canopy of leaves, and the "Fernblick" observation tower above the Rodfeld provides the second magnificent view on this stage. The view stretches as far as the Wetterau lowlands and the volcanic massif of the Vogelberg. As the trail continues, hikers can expect a variety of changing landscape impressions. At one point, sections of the trail lead along small streams, then back to open, wide-ranging forest edges, before finally leading through a beech forest flanked by thick oaks to the idyllically situated gondola pond in Horbach.

Tips and further information

Rest stops: Langenselbold (Buchberggrill), NFH Oberrodenbach, Vogelschutzhütte Somborn, Freigericht-Neuses (Hof Trages, Rodfeld: Fernblick), Albstadt (La Baita, Giggelsalm), Geiselbach (Frohnbügel), Kneippanlage Horbach