Premium route P1 Hoher Meißner

From the Schwalbenthal parking lot, the recommended starting point, you get the first view down into the Werra Valley with the Eschwege Basin. The premium route takes you up to 720 m to the Kalbe, which offers a beautiful view, often as far as the Harz. After a look at the Kalbe lake (a remnant of a surface mine, now reclaimed by nature) and the Stinksteinwand (sulfur odor in the air), you descend to the Frau Holle pond, the old place of worship of a pre-Christian mother goddess. The pond is said to be the entrance to Frau Holle's underground realm. Via the romantic Owl's Trail it goes back up to the plateau. After a forest-rich section, you reach the Viehhaus hut. Time and again, you encounter species-rich mountain meadows and needle grass pastures. At the Kitzkammer you see five- to six-sided columnar basalt. The path here leads relatively steeply downhill and soon the next ascent over the Hausener Hute follows. Enjoy the view westward from there before you plunge back into the forest! Here you will also find the two guesthouses. You pass the memorial stone of the Free German Youth who made the Meißner into the High Meißner. A switchback path winds down through the forest to the basalt blocks of the Seesteine. Let yourself be inspired by the Forest Thought Path before it goes uphill one last time. You almost have to climb through the Seesteine under the mighty beeches. Be careful on wet natural stone steps! Now you still touch parts of the Miners' Path, which is dedicated to historical mining, before you return to the Schwalbenthal parking lot.

In snow, the P1 is interrupted in the area of the cross-country ski trail and can only be used on partial sections. The P1 can be well combined with the premium route P8 Heiligenberg (7 km), for which you use the Ludwigstein-Meißner (LM) connection trail that links both.

Refreshments:
NaturFreunde Meißnerhaus, Regina-Fahrenbach-Str. 4, 37235 Hess. Lichtenau, Tel. 05602 2375, www.meissnerhaus.de

Overnight stay: directly on the route:
NaturFreunde Meißnerhaus, Regina-Fahrenbach-Str. 4, 37235 Hess. Lichtenau, Tel. 05602 2375, www.meissnerhaus.de
Holiday apartment Zur Kitzkammer, owner Annette Volland, Meißnerbergstr. 26, 37235 Hess. Lichtenau, Tel. 05602 914872, www.kitzkammer.de

Overnight stay nearby:
Youth and hiking village Hoher Meißner, Hoher Meißner, 37290 Meißner, Tel. 05542 303-9012, www.jugenddorf-hoher-meissner.de
Further overnight accommodations: www.naturparkfrauholle.land

Please observe the current notes at www.naturparkfrauholle.land/

The path is not recommended in winter. Closed in places due to ski trail operation when there is more than 10 cm of snow.

Nearest Deutsche Bahn station: Eschwege city station or Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe
Route planner for the North Hessian Transport Association: www.nvv.de

Nearest Deutsche Bahn station: Eschwege city station or Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe
Route planner for the North Hessian Transport Association: www.nvv.de
Call shared taxi line 229.1 to Hoher Meißner Schwalbenthal, Hoher Meißner Naturfreundehaus, Hoher Meißner Frau Holle pond. Bus line 290 to the stop Hoher Meißner Schwalbenthal, Hoher Meißner large parking lot or Hoher Meißner mountain guesthouse.

Open all year round, best time April to October.

Information about accommodation, excursion tips, guided hikes, and news from the Frau Holle Geo-Nature Park: www.naturparkfrauholle.land, Tel. 05657 64499-0 or 0561 1003-1382.

Here you can book an experienced nature park guide who will accompany you on your route.