The Wilde Weide adventure trail starts at the entrance gate and combines creative seating, four exciting adventure stations, the Wilde Weide observation tower and the information pavilion on a short 600 m route. The way back is via the summer pastures of the sheep and goats. The Wilde Weide adventure trail is particularly aimed at families with small children and people who want to walk a short loop.
The Wild Pasture Adventure Trail starts at the Kindel hiking parking lot, directly on the B 84 between the towns of Großenlupnitz and Behringen. From the hiking parking lot, you can learn more about open land and grazing in the Hainich National Park from the large information boards. Together with the Nightingale Trail, the trail first leads through the large visitor gate.
Adventure stations on the General Trail
The first section of the trail leads in a straight line for around 250 meters to the viewing tower. However, two adventure stations on the way there and two on the way back offer climbing fun, puzzles, seating and nature knowledge. The first is located directly behind the large gate. Here, young and old can climb through the middle of the shrub wilderness. A few meters further on, the cow resting station invites you to calculate. Here you can determine your own pace. If you then count your steps to the viewing tower, you can calculate the distance between the resting station and the tower quite accurately.
If you are surprised that the first half of the trail runs along a paved path, which is quite unusual for a national park, you are right. The so-called Generalsweg was once used by tanks. The surrounding areas were used for military purposes as early as 1870. In the 1930s, the Wehrmacht acquired the land and in 1945 the Red Army took over the area. The areas used for military purposes were continually expanded. In the 1960s and again in the 1980s, the military cleared large areas to create firing ranges. The size of the Kindel military training area was 2540 hectares. Units from all over the GDR came to train here. Military use ended in 1991 and the disposal of military waste began in 1992.
Today, the path is lined with pasture fences: on the left is the summer pasture for sheep and goats and on the right is the year-round pasture for cows and horses.
There is a toilet block just before the junction to the viewing tower.
Wilde Weide observation tower
We reach the Wilde Weide observation tower, where the solution to the distance puzzle is displayed right at the entrance. It is worth climbing at least a few steps to the terrace of the tower. A somewhat narrower climbing passage leads to the second floor of the tower. A grating protects you from falling down. From here, there are beautiful views to the north, east and west. To the north, you can see the forest areas of the national park as well as the reforested areas of the Kindel. To the west, you can see the famous Wartburg Castle. The grazing areas are located around the observation tower.
Information boards at the observation tower provide information about the year-round grazing project Wild Willow in the Hainich and the cross-border NATURA 2000 network of protected areas.
Seating around the tower, both covered and open-air, offers protection from the weather and invites you to spend a little more time here.
On the pasture
Back on the Generalsweg, you now go through the visitor gate to the sheep and goat pasture. A sign at the entrance informs visitors about the correct behavior on the pasture. For example, dogs must be kept on a short lead and the grazing animals must not be fed. The path now runs straight ahead for a while across meadows that are beautifully colorful in summer. After a few meters, the Wilde Weide adventure trail branches off to the left. We pass the goat resting station and can already see the exit gate through which we leave the pasture again.
Stream meadow and information pavilion
After leaving the pasture, we walk through a stream meadow with a small willow grove. Water still gurgles and stands in this area long into the spring. Afterwards, there is one last opportunity to sit down at the Metamorphosis resting place. The information pavilion provides comprehensive information about the grazing animals, the grazing projects, NATURA 200 and also about current events in the national park. Now it's just a few more steps and we reach the Kindel hiking parking lot.