Castles in Hegau W3

Remember to buy your Hohentwiel Fortress ticket from the information centre.

This hike starts at the information centre on the Hohentwiel estate (688 m). If travelling by public transport, first climb up to the estate. To do so, walk along the access road to the foot of the mountain. There, you will find the entrance to the Widerholdweg, which leads to the estate. We buy our tickets for the Hohentwiel fortress ruins at the information centre, as we will be visiting them at the end of our hike and will not be able to pass the ticket office again. We walk to the start of the volcano trail, following the gravel path behind the farm buildings to the first junction. There, we turn right. The two villages of Ebringen, high up on the Heilsberg, and Hilzingen, down on the plain, lie ahead of us. We then come to a tarmac road, where we turn right at the next junction. Follow this road until you reach a second junction with a gravel path. There, we turn left and head up into the forest. At the next three junctions, turn right each time. When we reach the edge of the forest, we turn left and follow the road until we reach a tarmac path.

From there, the Staufen ruins (599 m) are within reach. Our route then continues downhill on the tarmac road. En route, Plören is on our left and Heilsberg is on our right. We then continue along Staufenstraße towards Hilzingen (465 m). At the large lime tree, turn left into Lindenstraße. Then, we turn right into Hauptstraße and follow it to the church. Opposite is Hilzingen Castle, which has a museum. After visiting the castle, we walk back along the main road. We then continue straight ahead into Hohentwielstraße. This road leaves the village and, far outside Hilzingen, we turn left at a crossroads. There, we walk uphill, keeping to the right at the next junction. Then, we turn left onto a gravel path and right at the next junction. The volcano trail then takes us to the ruins of Hohentwiel Fortress. After exploring the fortress, we continue downhill to the right and hike back to the car park at the Hohentwiel estate, where we started our hike.

It is recommended that you wear sturdy footwear.