Trails and nature – bikepacking in Germany's Hunsrück

Sankt Wendel is a very well-known place among mountain bikers, because marathons, cross-country world cups and even the cross-country European championships have been held here. The district town in the northeast of the Saarland is a worthy starting point for a mountain bike adventure through the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park. If you have a little more time, you could use it to try out a few of the marked mountain bike routes around Sankt Wendel in advance.The goal of today's stage is another mountain bike hotspot in the region: the Erbeskopf trail park, which is located directly at the highest point of the Hunsrück and therefore also this tour. Before that you drive past the beautiful Bostalsee and straight into the national park. Here you will find peace, idyll and beautiful nature, which has been left to its own devices for several years. And here you can expect a lot of trails that are really fun with the bike.Since you drive up to 816 meters from the start to a height of around 300 meters and the terrain is hilly, more than 1,100 meters of altitude await you, which are mainly distributed over the second third of the stage, i.e. the area that leads you straight through leads the national park. There are no shops and hardly any refreshments here, so you should make sure you have full bottles and a little provisions beforehand. In return, pure natural idyll awaits you. And in the end a big reward: fine trails in the trail park and a long descent down to the stage goal, the idyllic natural camping site Massingsmühle. You can find information about the campsite here: camping.info/de/campingplatz/outdoorcampingplatz-massingsmuhle.

After a wonderfully quiet night on the natural campsite, the second day in the Hunsrück awaits you. Today's tour is a bit shorter and offers enough air to plan additional activities in between.One possibility would be a closer inspection of the Erbeskopf trail park. The route passes near the park, so that a small detour is easily possible. In the trail park, for example, you could buy a half-day ticket and use the ski lift to save energy, or install a few downhill runs of your own accord using the “No buck on lift” ticket. You can find information about the bike park and ticket prices here: trailpark-erbeskopf.de/#TICKETS.After this trail fun it continues. First you drive through the nature reserve of the "Hangbrücher bei Morbach" with its moist spring moorland and shady forest areas, later you pass the small town of Sulzbach into the wildly romantic Hahnenbach valley. There a whole range of highlights can provide variety: You can immerse yourself in the history of slate mining in this area in the Herrenberg visitor's pit and the attached fossil museum. Only around 400 meters further is the celtic settlement Altburg, which you can visit with or without a guide.A highlight in itself is today's stage goal: in the midst of nature you can enjoy pure tranquility on the Schmidtburg nature campsite - a day can hardly end more relaxed. You can find information about the campsite here: naturcamps-hunsrueck.com/naturcamp-schmidtburg.

Stage 3 begins in a tranquil and peaceful manner on the Schmidtburg nature campsite. Remember to bring your breakfast with you, because there are hardly any shops in the surrounding area. Before you start hungry, you can include a detour in the nearby Bundenbach in your tour, there is at least a baker there. In any case, a good breakfast cannot hurt, because the stage starts with a longer climb. From the idyllic Hahnenbach valley you drive up to the forested mountain ridge of the Soonwald in the northeast of the Hunsrück. With the Teufelsfeld, the Blickenstein and the Katzenstein, three interesting rock formations and impressive vantage points await you here, so that the day starts impressively.A nice descent leads you down to Gemünden, where you will finally find a few shops - here you can replenish your supplies or treat yourself to a (second) breakfast. Then it becomes calm and idyllic again. In the middle of the Soonwald and through various nature reserves, you head for Stromberg, a small town on the edge of the Hunsrück, which is particularly known to bikers for its flow trail. That's exactly what you're heading for. If you like and still have enough time, you can take a small, marked tour here. It is around six kilometers long, so it doesn't take too much time.Then the last 15 kilometers of your tour through the Hunsrück await you. The last few kilometers down to Bingen are another real highlight: a wonderfully flowing descent awaits you, which spits you out to the perfect view of the Rhine almost directly in front of the train station in Bingen. The perfect end to a perfect weekend. From here you can start your return journey home or to the starting point of the tour in Sankt Wendel.