Karlstal Hike in Trippstadt

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May 10, 2016 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

We hiked the Karlstalschlucht in Trippstadt.

It’s a pretty little river and hiking area.

There’s not really any parking. We’ve always been lucky to have room on the side of the road. There is more parking in town and you can walk down.

The Karlstalschlucht is a great family hike and lovely for photo opportunities.

A square, black iron sign at the entrance to Karlstal reminiscent of an important visitor: “King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse, and Archduchess Hildegard of Austria together with high wake dwelt on 9 August 1862. Karlstal.”

The kids enjoyed the sound of the water and looking at leaves and moss, and BIG ROCKS.

Lots of great photo opportunities! Every time we go, we see girls in impossibly high heels and pretty clothes trying to pose while not getting dirty or sinking into the mud.

It’s a nice easy walk for families. The path is mostly even and safe, though strollers might be difficult.

There are benches to rest or sit and watch the world go by.

Trippstadt Karlstalschlucht is about 30 minutes from Ramstein AFB and 1.5 hours from Spangdahlem.

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Geroldsauer Waterfall

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December 11, 2015 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

The Geroldsauer Waterfall is also known looks like it should be in the Hobbit Shire since it looks so dreamy and magical like Hobbiton.

We walked the easy 1.5 km-long footpath to view the 9 m-high waterfall. Hundreds of rhododendron bushes bloom in late spring and early summer.

Soon, we heard the sound of babbling water and saw this delightful covered bridge.

Further on, as the river rushed by, we saw lots of cairns along the way.

We saw these happy little birds everywhere.

Wild raspberries and blackberries grew along the trail.

The waterfall could be viewed from several vantage points.

We loved the wild orchids along the path.

We always have to collect rocks as souvenirs.

We built our own cairn on the way back.

See our entire Black Forest Weekend Itinerary.

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Triberg

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December 10, 2015 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

We visited Triberg for the waterfall and Oli’s Cuckoo Clock Shop.

The parking garage is right beside the river and these fun tikis with Bollenhut hats guard the area.

There’s a free public restroom across the bridge there.

To the right of the waterfall entrance, we found Oli’s Cuckoo Clock shop tucked away.

Oli’s is open from Easter until November every day from 10.00 a.m. till 6.00 p.m. In the winter months they are open irregular days and hours, so contact first!

We had a lovely tour of the shop and explanation of cuckoo clocks.

They explained that the “made in China” clocks have a little plastic button on the side. They are not handmade.

The workshop is amazing.

My favorite clocks were made with real mushrooms!

It was a difficult decision to choose a clock!

We finally all liked this one:

We got the family ticket to the Triberg Waterfall. There are several viewing platforms at different intervals and three different trails to follow.

Make sure to buy some popcorn for the birds and squirrels!

The path zigzags up to the top of the falls.

There’s a gazebo with seats for resting or taking pictures.

We watched the birds and squirrels for quite a long time.

This nutcracker bird cracked us up!

There’s this platform to stand on if you climb up this huge rock. It’s the perfect opportunity for a lovely scenic waterfall backdrop.

Waterfall Information:

Monday to Friday
09:00 to 17:00

July – August
Saturdays and Sundays
10:00 to 17:00

There is a parking lot near the waterfall entrance.

Waterfall Tickets:

Adults: €4,00

Children 8-17: €3,50

Family ticket: €9,50

See our entire Black Forest Weekend Itinerary.

Triberg is about 3 hours from Ramstein and 3.5 hours from Spangdahlem.

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Partnach Gorge

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September 3, 2015 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

We all really enjoyed hiking through Partnach Gorge.

We are so glad we fit this in our plans for our Bavarian trip! It’s just beautiful.

The rushing river before we reached the entrance.

We saw all kinds of snails and slugs and some lovely wild orchids on the way.

Magical waterfall

We loved the beautiful rock formations and waterfalls. Great opportunity to discuss erosion.

We made it through!

Looking back:

We had to explore the river bank.

Getting there:

It is best to park in front of the Olympic Ski Stadium and walk to the entrance of Partnach Gorge. It’s quite a long way and there is no sidewalk or path or sign. The ticket booth is even farther down a wooded sidwalk, again with no signs.

Things to know:

The path is 700 meters long and the gorge walls are about 80 meters above the river. The hike takes about 30 minutes. Then you have to return the way you came.

There are lots of hiking paths that go through the mountains and above the gorge.

It is not stroller friendly. Wear your babies. Hold children closely and go very slowly. It is slippery and dangerous with the rocks and water spray. There is hardly any railing in some places!

I suggest wearing raincoats and bringing flashlights. We used the lights on our iPhones for the darker places. Umbrellas aren’t very useful, but we saw lots of people using them.

Opening times:

May-June and October: 8:00 – 18:00
July-September: 8:00 – 19:00
November-April: 9:00 – 18:00

Prices:

Family ticket € 9.50
Children up to 17 years € 2.50
Family ticket € 9.50

See our Weekend in Bavaria.

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Adam’s Canyon Hike

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September 25, 2012 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

Our church youth group went on a hike up to a waterfall. I came along too since it was just our pastor, the youth pastor, another man, and a boy. Liz would’ve been the only girl!

Looking at the map of the trails.

It was very steep and sandy and getting hot quick!

at the bridge about 1/3 of the way up

I just look…pink.

Lunch break. These two are currently our youth group.

A fun “cave” to explore.

lovely purple flowers…they’re nightshade.

the rocky surface of the waterfall area

The waterfall just trickles down over the rocks, but it’s still really pretty.

Liz at the base of the waterfall. slippery!

The view from the waterfall grotto.

and I only fell twice coming back down. It was sandy and I skidded. No injuries.

And was I sure sore the next day!

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Adam’s Canyon Waterfall

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July 21, 2012 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

A great day for Adam’s Canyon Hike

Well, we took all seven younguns on a 4 mile hike to Adam’s Canyon on Thursday morning. It says on the website that it’s about 2-3 hours. It took us from 8ish to about 1:30. ugh

But we did see some amazing plant life and some awesome waterfalls. It smelled good and piney and fresh.

There were lots of little scrub oaks with these guys on them. I think they’re gall wasps?

hey y’all!

Stair steps: Liz@11, Reygan@almost9, Ben@7, Tori@6, Katie@5, Ty@4, Alex@2.

And then there were these hard little orangey pink galls on the oak leaves: gallflies.

ants. You’d think the kids never saw them before.

pretty yellow wildflower

black chinned hummingbird…see him? right in the middle on the end of the dead branch?

cactus

view of the mountains down southeast and a pretty look at town on the first leg of the hike

Fun in the creek

crossing the creek…see how Alex won that battle?

my son, the rock climber

a pretty little waterfall

yellow columbines

wild raspberries!

The jackpot: 40 foot waterfall at the end of the trail!

snack time! (on trail mix, not the raspberries…)

of course, I had to go into the waterfall, not all the way, but almost

that water was COLD

Alex thought this was the greatest thing in the world! (so did I…)

It was rough heading back. There was lots of whining and we were so. very. tired. Thank God we had four adults, but it was barely enough. Aaron carried Alex almost the whole way back. Katie is crazy and she wanted to hop on rocks and she stepped off the trail a couple times, almost toppling off the mountain. Special thanks to my sister-in-law, Krista, for saving her life.

I do love hiking and all that, but it is stressful with little kids. I think I’ll stick to the nature center and parks and our backyard until they’re a bit older. I’m still sore!

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