Bad Schwalbach is a spa town that never quite lost its nineteenth-century manners: a long, leafy valley, a Kurpark with pavilions, and iron-rich springs that once drew the fashionable from across Europe to take the waters. Just above it, on the high ground of the Taunus, the Roman frontier ran through the forests, and the stretch catalogued as watchtowers WP 2/50 to 2/55 passes within a few kilometres of the town. Here the Upper German Limes followed the ridge, with wooden and later stone towers set at intervals within sight of one another, a palisade in front, and a ditch and bank added later. In the beech woods you can still trace the low line of the bank in places, a quiet scar running through the trees for kilometre after kilometre.
The Taunus is an old mountain range of slate and quartzite, worn down into rounded ridges and deep valleys, and its forests are among the most extensive in Hesse. The Aar and other small rivers cut their way north toward the Lahn, while to the south the land drops steeply to the Rhine and the vineyards of the Rheingau, one of Germany's most famous wine regions, known especially for Riesling. Wiesbaden, the state capital, lies just beyond the ridge, with its own hot springs and grand spa architecture.
The roads around Bad Schwalbach are a favourite with riders from the Rhine-Main area. The B260, known as the Bäderstraße, winds through the valleys toward Schlangenbad and Wiesbaden on one side and toward the Lahn on the other, with plenty of curves, climbs and descents through the forest. The roads down to the Rheingau, through Schlangenbad or over the ridge toward Eltville and Kiedrich, are steep and twisting, with great views over the Rhine. Weekend traffic, including many bikes, can be heavy, and speed controls are common. Mist and wet leaves make autumn riding slippery under the trees.
Bad Schwalbach, about three kilometres away, has fuel, cafés, bakeries and restaurants, and Taunusstein is close by too. If you have time, ride down to the Rheingau for a glass of Riesling at a wine tavern, but only at the end of the day. A coffee in the Kurpark is an elegant alternative. Stop in the woods near the Limes line, walk a few hundred metres along the bank, and listen to the wind in the beeches. It is a peaceful place, and its history runs deep.