Leisel: Cycling Routes, Sculptures and Hiking Trails

If cycling, hiking and cultural attractions are important to your trip, Leisel offers specific options to explore. Two cycling routes have different highlights: National Park Cycle Route 6 passes named stops on its way to the Erbeskopf National Park Gate and describes the terrain and gradients. The RadLust HimmelReich Loop runs through fields and woodland and passes several sights. Four circular hiking trails offer additional ways to explore on foot. You can decide whether the route, cultural attractions or hiking should shape your stay in Leisel most.

Cycling from Leisel

National Park Cycle Route 6 starts at the Leisel sports ground. From there, it runs via Jagdhaus Leisel, Hüttgeswasen and Hängende Birke to the Erbeskopf National Park Gate. The surface is mostly coarse gravel, with a short paved section. The route also includes steep climbs and descents. Bikes suitable for off-road terrain or mountain bikes are recommended for the National Park cycle routes. These route features give you specific information to help choose your cycling tour.

Jagdhaus Leisel offers a viewpoint along the route for a short break. The route to the Erbeskopf National Park Gate follows a forest track through the Idarwald Forestry Office area. There is a bistro at the destination. The cycle route thus combines a clearly defined course with a viewpoint and somewhere to stop for refreshments at the end.

Fields, woodland and sights

The RadLust HimmelReich Loop runs via Oberbrombach through fields and woodland before continuing to Leisel. The Kipp burial mound, Götterallee and Heiligenbösch Church are directly on the route. These features set it apart from the National Park Cycle Route’s information about surface and gradients: the HimmelReich Loop focuses on the landscape and sights along the way.

Sculptures and history along the way

The 2.5-kilometre Götterallee, also known as the Sironaweg, runs between Leisel and Schwollen. Ten colourful, life-size figures of Roman deities stand along it. As a stop on the RadLust Loop, it connects the route with a distinct cultural theme. Heiligenbösch Church offers a different historical connection: it stands on the ruins of an ancient villa complex. The surviving walls and room layouts belong to the villa’s bath wing. The cultural attractions along the route are therefore quite distinct: on Götterallee, you’ll encounter depictions of Roman deities, while the church site is associated with the structural remains of an ancient villa.

Hiking around Leisel

Four circular hiking trails around Leisel add walking options on the sunny side of Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park to the cycling routes. Alongside the cycling routes described, designated hiking trails offer another focus for a trip. You can therefore choose Leisel based on the mix of cycling, hiking and cultural attractions you’re looking for.

More to explore in the wider Birkenfeld destination

As a cultural attraction in the wider Birkenfeld destination, the Birkenfeld State Museum has permanent exhibitions on the Celts and Romans; Birkenfeld and the Wittelsbach family; the iron industry in Birkenfeld district; a period classroom from around 1930; and the Oldenburg period. This museum focus differs from the cultural attractions on the RadLust Loop: there, sculptures and the ruins of an ancient villa are the main features, while the museum covers several historical and regional topics. This helps distinguish the local route-focused attractions in Leisel from the wider range of cultural topics in the Birkenfeld destination.

Discover more destinations: Idar-Oberstein, Neubrücke, Mackenrodt, Kirschweiler, Hammerstein, Vollmersbach, Sensweiler, Hattgenstein.

Go to the wider travel overview: Birkenfeld.