9.8 Bretten - Pforzheim

The Panoramic Trail above Bretten-Rinklingen offers a magnificent view of Rinklingen in one direction and a beautiful view of the rolling hills of the Kraichgau in the other. The tour passes the Rinklingen Grill Hut and heads into the Rinklingen Forest. The markings with the horizontal green cross are, with a few exceptions, clear and helpful. The sections where the trail gets a bit “tricky” are noted in the description.

The trail through the Rinklinger Forest is very easy to walk, despite a few minor inclines, and doesn’t end until about 2.5 kilometers before Stein. Once you emerge from the forest, a small bench offers a good spot for a first rest. Here, you’ll need to be careful to interpret the trail markers correctly. A glance at the map helps here. It shows that while the correct path must lead straight out of the forest, it does not follow the edge of the woods. The route continues along a path between the fields. However, the next marker doesn’t appear again until about 1.5 kilometers later, which is slightly confusing because markers have been visible at regular intervals along the route so far.  A magnificent view opens up, illustrating why the Kraichgau is also called the “Tuscany of Germany.” The only thing missing are the cypress trees typical of Tuscany.

We come across a trail marker that also features the blue EU star symbol. Now the trail leads us to the charming little village of Stein, which belongs to the municipality of Königsbach-Stein. There, Café Faulhaber https://www.cafe-faulhaber.de/ invites you to stop in for a spontaneous break. This lovely café, with its fantastic cake bar, is the perfect place to mark the “halfway point” of the route. 

After Stein, the route follows a stream for a while. But things get serious soon after: the climb near Kämpfelbach – which is also visible on the elevation profile around the 15-kilometer mark – is steep and takes you right through the blazing sun. Still, it’s precisely this section of the route where the vastness of the fields and the huge meadows are truly inspiring. It’s a relief, though, that the route heads back into the forest toward the end, which the E1 doesn’t leave again until Ispringen.

The trail leads downhill again through Ispringen. The trail passes by an S-Bahn station. If you don’t feel like walking any further, you can take a shortcut here for the last 4.3 kilometers to Pforzheim. The S-Bahn takes hikers two stops to Pforzheim Central Station. Not far from there is Lehners https://pforzheim.lehners-wirtshaus.de/, a restaurant that has something for everyone.

Last text update: 12.10.2021

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