Nahetal-Waldau: Hiking Trails, Local History and Ski Touring Trails

Nahetal-Waldau combines marked hiking trails and mountain views with historic sights and ski touring trails in winter. The five districts are located in the Thuringian Forest Nature Park and the Vessertal Biosphere Reserve. To help plan your trip, distinguish between hiking and cultural interests and seasonal winter sports. Silbach lies on the edge of the Vessertal Biosphere Reserve.

Hiking and navigation

Many kilometers of well-marked hiking trails offer views of mountain scenery. One named route is the Schwarze Kuppe Nature Park Trail: it connects Hinternah and the Nahetal with Waldau in the Schleuse valley, running around the Schwarze Kuppe. This gives you a named trail and its connected places to plan your hike around.

Waldau and Hinternah are connected to local public transport by regular bus services; the stops there are right by the hiking trail. If you are planning a hike, you can check the timetable for your chosen travel date. The municipality of Nahetal-Waldau’s Nahetal project also includes an information board on the Nahetal Cycle Path.

Churches and local history

In Waldau, the church built in 1624 is a notable sight. Hinternah has a Protestant late Gothic church with a Crucifixion group from the Franconian woodcarving school of the Riemenschneider era, dated 1614. The dates provide two successive points of reference: first the group from 1614, then the church from 1624.

Hinternah’s historic center includes a moat dating from 1353, which extends as far as Schleusingen. Hinternah is also home to a still-functioning village mill in the village’s second-oldest house, which was first mentioned in 1575. The moat and the mill draw attention to different aspects of local history.

Silbach also has its own sights, including a village fountain and a bell house that was once the home of the writer J. Knappe. The chapel in Oberrod, dedicated to Saint Wolfgang, is another sight. Together with the churches in Waldau and Hinternah, these offer several stops for visitors interested in religious buildings and local history.

Seasonal activities and choosing a hotel

In the Glasbach valley near Schleusingerneundorf, there is a forest swimming pool with an open-air stage. This adds a place with a stage and swimming facilities to the hiking trails and historic buildings.

In winter, groomed ski touring trails are available in Schleusingerneundorf. This is a clear seasonal distinction from the hiking and cultural activities described above: if the ski touring trails are important for your trip, check the conditions for your planned dates. This lets you choose your travel dates according to your main interest without treating different activities as interchangeable.

This way, your choice remains focused on the destinations you actually want to visit.

Discover more destinations: Silbach, Bischofrod, Heldburger Unterland, Gießübel, Schleusegrund, Erlau, Eisfeld, Römhild.

For the main travel overview: Hildburghausen-Suhl.