Discover Hochtaunus: Romans, castles and hiking trails

A Roman fort, a castle perched on a rocky spur and an open-air museum offer very different ways to explore Hochtaunus’s history and landscape. There are also short circular walks and longer routes.

Experience history: from the open-air museum to the castle

The Hessenpark Open-Air Museum is located in Neu-Anspach in the Hochtaunuskreis district. A family trail shows children and adults together how people used to live and work. For the journey there, bus route 63 connects Wehrheim and Neu-Anspach/Anspach station with the Neu-Anspach/Anspach Hessenpark stop. Check the timetable before travelling. The museum also has six charging stations for e-bikes. At a bicycle service station, visitors can carry out minor repairs and maintenance themselves.

At the Saalburg Roman Fort in Bad Homburg, guided tours cover the interior of the fort, the outer settlement and the Limes. The “extra muros” tour takes you through the settlement and the outer area, including the fort baths, hostel, ramparts and Limes. When planning your visit, you can choose between a tour that offers insights into the interior of the fort and a walk focusing on the outer area.

Kronberg Castle stands on a rocky spur on the southern slopes of the Taunus. It was probably built in the 12th century as an imperial castle on Staufer crown lands. Since 2008, the Museum at Kronberg Castle in the north wing of the Middle Castle has presented a permanent exhibition on the castle’s history. The nearly 44-metre-high freestanding tower offers sweeping views of the surrounding area and, on a clear day, as far as the Spessart and Odenwald. Important for planning your visit: the museum and the castle’s interior can only be visited as part of a guided tour.

In Kronberg, Opel Zoo also offers different ways to enjoy a visit. At the petting zoo, visitors can touch and stroke the animals and feed them with food available at the zoo. The zoo’s educational programme can be booked individually: qualified biologists and educators provide information about animals and species and nature conservation. It is suitable as a supplement to classroom learning or as a shared leisure activity; an appointment is required. In Oberursel, meanwhile, the Vortaunus Museum opened as a modern regional museum in the summer of 1987, following extensive renovations.

Hiking routes with different distances and terrain

The Hochtaunus Health Climate Park covers around 20 square kilometres and spans five towns and municipalities: Schmitten im Taunus, Glashütten, Königstein im Taunus, Kronberg im Taunus and Oberursel (Taunus). The park has 12 trailheads and nearly 30 routes. One specific example is the Windeck health-climate hiking trail (WE2) in Königstein im Taunus: this easy circular route is 3.33 kilometres long and starts and ends at the Windeck car park. It runs mostly sheltered from the wind and sun around the Großer Feldberg, the highest mountain in the Taunus.

For a longer option, the Weiltalweg covers a total of 47.5 kilometres. It starts near the source of the Weil at the “Rotes Kreuz” car park near Schmitten, follows the Weil through Weilrod and continues to Weilburg on the Lahn. The Hochtaunus Limes Adventure Trail follows the Limes hiking trail or the Limes cycling route and runs for more than 30 kilometres from Glashütten to Ober-Mörlen. Another way to explore culture and nature is the Hochtaunuskreis Anniversary Trail: established in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Hochtaunuskreis district, it links cultural and historical sights with views of the natural landscape. Check the current conditions on each route before setting out.

Choose your base after deciding what to explore

For hiking days, other starting points come into play, such as the Windeck car park in Königstein or the “Rotes Kreuz” car park near Schmitten. Bus route 63 is one of the listed travel options for a visit to Hessenpark; for the hikes, the starting point depends on the chosen route.

Discover more destinations

Usingen, Friedrichsdorf, Neu-Anspach, Kronberg, Grävenwiesbach, Wehrheim, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Weilrod, Königstein im Taunus, Glashütten, Oberursel, Steinbach, Schmitten.

Back to the main travel overview: Hesse.