Tour M2: Three Valleys Loop

Our hike starts at the fountain in front of the parish church of Marialinden. Looking towards the two cathedral towers from the front, we walk to the RIGHT, cross the main street and go into the street "An den Sieben Linden". We follow her. After almost 5 minutes we reach a small roundabout. There we turn LEFT into "Franziskanerstraße". About 400 m further on, before the "Franziskanerstraße" merges into the main street (Pilgerstraße), we turn RIGHT at the glass containers into the street "Auf dem Steinacker". We follow the road for about 200 m (see below). Map in the flyer). Shortly after the highest point, we walk to the RIGHT between the meadows into the dirt track. For orientation: The road "Großoderscheid" branches off to the left. From here we can enjoy the view of the Bergisches Land region. A little further on, to the right, there is a bench that was put up by the Marialinden citizens' committee. We walk between the meadows and later down into the forest. After some time, we are in the valley of the small Naafbach stream, and we cross an asphalt road. We continue walking STRAIGHT AHEAD through the forest and follow the course of the small Naaf stream to its source in Krampenhöhe. At Krampenhöhe we reach the road and turn RIGHT uphill. After just 100 m, at the last houses, we turn sharply LEFT into the paved farm track (not the dirt road!). To the right, a beautiful view of the Heckberg. Passing some horse meadows, we reach Lorkenhöhe 5 minutes later. Continue straight ahead through Lorkenhöhe until you reach the main road. Turn right there for a few meters and then go down into the forest on the other side of the road. This path is also signposted as a bridleway. Ignore the left turn in the forest, we keep to the RIGHT. Attention: Continue following the main path for a short distance as it curves to the right, ignoring the turn to the left. 15 minutes later we reach a crossroad. There we go LEFT, downhill and then come to the Schlingenbach valley. We come across a solitary building on the Schlingenbach stream. At the junction to the left, a bench invites you to rest. From there, we turn LEFT and climb steeply up the mountain to Dahl. The path is marked (see below). Map in the flyer). Already in Dahl at the first buildings, where the wayside cross stands, we leave the marked hiking trail and turn RIGHT into the forest. The path is marked as a bridleway. After 10 minutes we reach Kleinoderscheid: Another bench invites us to rest. We walk on the LEFT there. We hike uphill to the intersection in Linde. There we meet the trail markers again and follow them to the RIGHT. Continue 200 meters further, at the next intersection, turn RIGHT again. We continue for another 300m and turn LEFT (see below). Map in the flyer). The busy road is thus bypassed for a short distance. We hike through the hamlet of Siefen, keep to the right at the bottom and after a small climb reach the road again. We now follow it 200 m to the LEFT. At the edge of the forest, we leave the road to the LEFT. ATTENTION: The trail leads along the edge of the forest, across the meadow (!!) and only then into the forest; follow the hiking signs. Not straight ahead into the forest, where a path is also visible. WARNING: Orientation can be a little difficult, always keep an eye out for the trail markers! After a few minutes, the path descends. A small wooden bridge crosses the stream that originates in Siefen. After that, it's uphill for a few meters until we reach the farm track. From there we continue slightly downhill to the RIGHT. After a few minutes we reach the Lombach stream, which comes from the left out of the valley. Here it meets the stream from Siefen. There is a fork in the road there. We hike uphill to the LEFT along the Lombach valley. When the first houses come into view after some time, we continue uphill to the RIGHT. In the hamlet of Höhe, at the crossroads, we turn LEFT. About 5 minutes later, after 2:40 hours of pure walking time, we are back at our starting point, the Marialinden Cathedral.