Needle Gin Path

The "Needle Gin Trail" starts at the car park next to Oppenau railway station. It first leads to the starting point of stage 2 of the Renchtalsteig, to the Hugenhöfe farms, following the yellow rhombus. The tour now runs steadily uphill, following the Renchtalsteig signs past the Schellenberg and the Vorderbühlhof with its farm shop on to the Vorderbühl. After a few metres, the path reaches Bühlmatt, where it continues uphill to the right following the yellow diamond. After approx. one kilometre, the Needle Gin Trail passes the Unterm Bühl site and changes back to the "des Oppenauer" signposting, which it leaves again at the next site, at the so-called Hölle, changing to the yellow diamond and following the path to Höllwegle. At this point, the hiking trail turns left along paths to the Holiswald hunting lodge. There you have a wonderful view of Oppenau and the Renchtal valley. A beautiful path leads along the Kranzweg via Sod to Kalikutt.

Here you can visit the St. Josef chapel and stop off at the Höhenhotel-Restaurant "Kalikutt". You also have a great view of the Hornisgrinde from there. After a short break, the trail follows the Renchtalsteig for a short stretch along the tarmac road to Börsgritt. There it turns sharp right, crosses the farm property and follows the gravel path. This then changes to a beautiful path and finally leads from Holiswald via Hugeneck, where it again follows the signs for "des Oppenauer", past the Black Forest Association's rest area at Guckinsdorf (Renchtalsteig signposting from here), back to the Hugenhof. From there, the Needle Gin Trail leads back to the starting point in Oppenau, as it did at the beginning.