Water route unthinned 1

The hike begins in Altenberg. Here rises the imposing Gothic church of the former Cistercian abbey. Opposite the cathedral portal, the path leads through the Baroque archway to the right onto the Fairy Tale Forest Trail towards the Fairy Tale Forest. To protect the monastery from the annual floods, the monks built a dam here, creating a small lake, the first Dhünn reservoir. Passing the Fairy Tale Forest, the hiking route turns left into the woods shortly before the Dhünn bridge.

A narrow path leads along the Dhünn and the Eifgenbach streams to the Eifgen ford. Here, cross the Eifgenbach via a bridge, continue hiking to the main road, and follow it to the right until you reach the Schöllerhof hiking parking area/recreation garden. From there, the Black Powder Route and the Water Route run together along the Dhünn through the Helenental valley to the Dhünn Dam. The two routes only diverge again in Loosenau, below the dam of the Große Dhünn Dam. From the former Loosenau powder mill, a short, steep climb leads to the dam of the Große Dhünn Dam. With a maximum capacity of 81 million cubic meters, the Große Dhünn Dam is the second largest drinking water reservoir in Germany. Due to the damming of the Dhünn, numerous villages, farms, and mills had to be demolished during the construction period.

After crossing the dam, the marked trail leads hikers into the forest. Continuing straight ahead, the winding path passes below the village of Bömberg and descends to the shelter at the Bömericher Bach stream. Here, take the upper right-hand marked hiking trail, which leads uphill to Kochshof. First mentioned in 1149, this farmstead has been extensively renovated in recent years and is now the headquarters of the German Migratory Bird Association. The beautiful ensemble of half-timbered buildings provides a good impression of what most farmsteads in the Bergisches Land region looked like in the 19th century. From Kochshof, turn left and follow the paved road back uphill. At the end of the road, turn right and after about 800 meters you will reach Groß Grimberg. Here the path forks; take the right-hand fork into the forest. Now follow the forest path down into the Dhünn valley. Shortly before reaching the valley floor, the path turns left and continues above the meadow until it reaches a fork in the path in the forest. At the fork, take the upper right-hand path and after a short distance, turn right again onto the marked hiking trail. The path now follows the course of a small stream along the edge of the mixed forest, offering a view of the valley floor. In the distance, you can see a beautiful half-timbered house that originally served as the residence of a gunpowder manufacturer. After a gentle climb, you soon reach the main road. Here, continue on the footpath to the left along the road towards Altenberg. After a few minutes' walk, you'll see Altenberg Cathedral in the distance. After crossing the main road at the junction to Altenberg, a gap in the monastery wall leads through a beautiful avenue back to the cathedral square, the starting point of the hike.

Parking lot at Altenberg Cathedral

The hike starts in Altenberg and follows the course of the Dhünn river to the Große Dhünntalsperre reservoir, then returns to the starting point via Oberodenthal. It is marked with a white rectangle on a black background.