The Taunus is a range of wooded hills north-west of Frankfurt, rising to 878 metres at the Großer Feldberg, and it has long been the city's playground, with forests, spa towns and winding roads. Through these hills ran the Upper Germanic Limes, the Roman frontier that stretched for over five hundred kilometres across Germany, and one of its watchtowers, numbered WP 3/38, stood near the village of Glashütten, close to Waldems and Königstein im Taunus.
The Limes in the Taunus was a line of palisades, ditches and banks, with watchtowers every few hundred metres and forts behind. The towers were made of wood at first, later of stone, and soldiers in them kept watch over the frontier and signalled to each other. Today, the line of the Limes can be followed through the forest as a low bank and ditch, with the foundations of towers marked or reconstructed in places. The Saalburg, a Roman fort near Bad Homburg, has been fully reconstructed and is one of the best places in Germany to understand the Limes. The whole frontier is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire site.
Glashütten takes its name from the glassworks that operated here in the Middle Ages, using wood from the forest as fuel. Königstein, nearby, has an impressive castle ruin and is one of the most exclusive towns in the Frankfurt area, with grand villas.
The riding in the Taunus is excellent and popular. The roads that climb to the Großer Feldberg and wind through the forest around Glashütten, Königstein and Oberreifenberg are twisting, with good surfaces and great views over the Rhine-Main plain. On weekends, they are packed with motorcyclists, and the police are often present, with speed checks and sometimes noise restrictions; certain stretches have been closed to motorcycles on weekends in the past, so check the current rules. Weekdays are quieter.
Glashütten, about one kilometre away, has basic services, and Königstein and Idstein have fuel and food. The local apple wine, Ebbelwoi, is a Frankfurt speciality. Spring and autumn are the best seasons.