On the way to the lynxes

Short Description

Scenic circular tour with the option for refreshments and cable car ascent to the lynxes of the Harz Mountains.

Directions

With the cable car, you float from the valley station at the Kurpark to the 483 meter high Burgberg. Alternatively, the ascent on foot is possible. A short detour to the Canossa Column offers a beautiful view of Bad Harzburg and the Harz region to Goslar. In good weather, you can see Braunschweig, Helmstedt, and Salzgitter on the horizon. Through the ruins of the Harzburg, you reach the old powder tower and the castle well. It is said that Heinrich IV escaped through this well during the siege of the castle by the Saxons in 1073. We then follow his escape route, the old imperial path, from Antoniusplatz to the Säperstelle. At the Säperstelle crossroads, an old term for a wood bark peeling site, we hike on the Stations of the Cross path to the Cross of the German East. The cross, erected in 1950, was destroyed by a strong storm in 1998 and re-erected in 2000.

Continuing along the path, we reach a crossroads. From here, we follow the path towards the Lynx Enclosure / Rabenklippe. The National Park Lynx Enclosure at Rabenklippe is reached after about two kilometers. With some luck and perseverance, you can observe the lynxes during their daily grooming or feeding. The lynxes living here are no longer released into the wild. They are here in the enclosure as ambassadors for the lynx reintroduction program in the Harz National Park, which began in 2000 and is supported by the Lower Saxony Hunting Association. Here, National Park visitors can observe these very shy animals found in the wild.

From the National Park Forest Restaurant Rabenklippe located at the lynx enclosure, you can enjoy a view of the highest mountain in Northern Germany, the 1,141-meter-high Brocken, while stopping for a meal in good weather.

For the more adventurous, the journey continues on the Firstweg to the Tiefen Kohlstelle, an old charcoal burning site. In the mining era, charcoal was produced there using beech or spruce wood. After about 10 meters, the path leads us past the Reusschen Pond down to the Kalte Tal. After a short stretch on the asphalt road, we can continue hiking on an idyllic forest path at the Sennhütte junction. The Ministerweg follows the Kalte Tal stream to the Schweineteich. From there, it is only about 800 meters until we complete our circular route in Bad Harzburg.

Parking Information

Paid parking lot at the Burgberg Cable Car station