Between the Forests Dream Loop

The Idarbach is a typical low mountain range. It rises immediately above the intersection of the B 422 and B 269; the so-called "Idar Bridge". This headwaters is about 4 kilometers southwest of Allenbach. The source area is a moor-like slope break and is under nature protection. The source is at an altitude of almost 700 meters above sea level. The Idarbach is a total of 20 kilometers long and flows into the Nahe in Idar-Oberstein. The mouth lies at an altitude of approx. 280 meters above sea level. The Idarbach overcomes approx. 400 meters in altitude. Due to its great gradient, the Idarbach was very well suited for the installation of water-powered mills and loops. As part of flood protection programs, attempts are being made to enable the brooks to develop naturally again in as many sections of water as possible. The water outflow in the upper reaches is delayed. The flood peaks in the lower reaches can thereby be reduced. At the same time, with increasing structural diversity, the water offers a habitat for more and more native animal and plant species.

The dream loop "Between the Woods" owes its name to an ancient name of the area in which the hiking trail runs today. The book of the same name "Between the Woods" (August Keller 1958) describes the region of the former office in a sensitive and detailed manner Kempfeld with its villages. According to Keller, the closed landscape of the so-called Idar plateau was already given the name "Between the woods" in medieval documents, as the characteristic location between high wooded mountains is immediately apparent. In fact, you can experience the name at almost every point on the dream loop. The high forest rises from the southeast with its distinctive heights, rising slightly towards the west. Beeches, spruces and oaks, interrupted only by the deep incision of the Idarbach near Katzenloch, form a closed forest area. In the north, the Idarwald also extends slightly to the southwest rising with its large forest area. Both mountain ranges unite in the west and form with the Erbeskopf the highest mountain in Rhineland-Palatinate. As at the end of a funnel, embedded between the two large mountain ranges of the Hunsrück, lie the villages of Wirschweiler and Allenbach with their meadows and The hiker is always on his way "Between the woods".

This part of the dream loop "Between the Woods" leads in the valley through the meadows of the Idarbach, which is partly cultivated, but partly also has a moor-like character.