Schäferweg (Shepherd’s Path)

Beautiful hike through the Nördlinger Ries, very varied, with highlights worth seeing such as the Ofnet caves, the excavation site of the Roman estate, the witches' rock ... From many places you have a wonderful, wide view over the Ries. I can imagine that this circular hiking trail has its own special charm in every season. Important to know: Please make sure to bring your own food, there are no places to stop for refreshments. I've already decided: In autumn, when the leaves on the trees have changed color, I will do this tour again 🤩👍🏻😁

While the Albverein made this area unsafe on November 6th, 2022, we couldn't take part. So... we made up for it today... We hope Roland & Liane find (five, on purpose) hidden deviations from the original round 😉 In the "haze" of visibility we started our round. The sun hid behind the thicket of clouds. The temperatures were a bit changeable: sometimes fresh 🥶, sometimes pleasantly warm 🫠. Here and there it blossomed on our way. Unfortunately, the following often applies to me: You want to take a photo?! Then I let the wind blow🌬️💨💨😬🤣 In Kleinerdingen we saw the first red giant balls hanging on the tree. Interesting idea🤔 In the settlement is an imposing residential building (former castle complex?). Definitely something unusual in the middle of a residential area (just a photo from Google Maps attached). Last effort were the last meters up the hill to the parking lot 😅 Luckily in time before the drizzle 🙄🌧️

Wonderful, varied circular hiking trail with a stop for refreshments. Maybe not for very hot days because a large part of the route is in the sun.

Luckily the November weather was dry and no rain. Today we hiked the Schäferweg Nördlingen with 19.5 kilometers. Very varied paths Asphalt, gravel, meadow paths everything is offered by the circular hike. The altitude difference is manageable and easy for experienced hikers. Finally, we went to stop at our starting point in the "Alte Bürg" inn, very highly recommended, super friendly and delicious on the menu, even a lot for vegetarians..

The weather forecast promised uninterrupted sunshine, especially in the east. So we drove to the Ries region – there, autumn is often quite foggy. The "Shepherd's Trail" had been on my wish list for a while, and today it finally worked out. Highlights along the route include, of course, the Ofnet Caves, the Riegelberg, the Adlersberg, the Geopark Linden Tree (below it is the Literature Café with delicious cakes), and, of course, the "Alte Bürg" hunting lodge (unfortunately, it's not open). I loved the paths through the juniper heath with its abundance of meadow and parasol mushrooms.

Wonderful autumn tour in the beautiful Donau-Ries. From the parking lot at the Marienhöhe outdoor pool in Nördlingen, we reach the Adlersberg via the Witches Rock. Along the way we repeatedly encounter geological features of the Ries meteorite crater and are informed on event boards about the geology, settlement histories and the heathland landscape typical of Ries. From Geotope Lindle it goes through beautiful forest paths to Alten Bürg. Of the abandoned castle complex only the late Romanesque castle chapel St. Hippolyt is preserved. Right next to it is the Altenbürg quarry. Then it goes to the Riegelberg with the remains of a Roman manor and the Ofnet caves. We walk past Utzmemmingen and Nähermemmingen along the Eger and through Kleinerdlingen back to Nördlingen.

Once a year it has to be the Ofnet Caves. And with three herding professionals (two Aussies and a Border mix) we had no choice but to take the Shepherd's Trail. 🐶🙂 As complete as possible, but still doable for everyone. So we saved ourselves the detour to the Bürg. But since we got lost quite a bit at the Ofnet Caves, it ended up being 20km.🙂 The Shepherd's Trail is well signposted, very varied and very doable with dogs. They do have two suggestions for improvement, however: 1. How about doggie stations outside of Nördlingen? 2. Why are all the sheep fenced in? How are you supposed to herd them?

We didn't always follow the original Shepherd's Path! At around 5.5 km we took a shortcut (off-grid)! We included the Albuch in the tour, the Shepherd's Path doesn't go there. Towards the end of the tour at Ederheim (after around 18.4 km off-grid) the path ended in front of a fenced pasture, the black path in the Komoot map doesn't exist! Since the bull 🐂 wasn't in the pasture yet, we were able to climb through the fence, so please don't follow this section from around 17.8 km onwards!