Why this ride
A 168 km round trip from Wehrheim - roughly 3 h 04 in the saddle. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP, Fortlet Adolfseck, Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 and back through Fortlet Adolfseck.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 and Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 168 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 04
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 → Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 25 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 32 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456
The Saalburg is the Roman fort that Germany rebuilt. On the crest of the Taunus north of Bad Homburg, where the Limes crossed a pass, archaeologists excavated the remains of a fort in the nineteenth century, and between 1897 and 1907, with the enthusiastic support of Kaiser Wilhelm II, it was reconstructed with walls, gates, barracks and a headquarters building. Today it is a museum and archaeological park, and the civil settlement, or vicus, that grew up outside the fort lies east of the B 456 road. It is part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP.
2. Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
On the western side of the Taunus, the hills are lower and the forest gives way more often to farmland, with villages in the folds of the valleys. Idstein, a small town with a remarkable old centre, sits on this side, with Waldems and Glashütten nearby. Through the woods above them ran the Roman frontier, and the stretch of watchtowers numbered WP 3/24 to 3/40 followed the ridges here, part of the Upper Germanic Limes and of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire site.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fortlet Adolfseck.
3. Fortlet Adolfseck
The Aar is a small river that winds north from the Taunus towards the Lahn, through a narrow, wooded valley that has served as a route through the hills since ancient times. Where the Roman frontier crossed the valley near Adolfseck, today a district of Bad Schwalbach, the Romans built a fortlet to control the crossing, a small, square fortification with a garrison of a few dozen soldiers. The remains have been excavated and are marked on the ground, and the stretch of frontier nearby is part of the World Heritage frontiers of the Roman Empire. Above the valley, the ruins of a medieval castle, also called Adolfseck, add another layer of history.
Read the complete Fortlet Adolfseck write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 62 km into the recorded legs you reach Fortlet Adolfseck. Next is Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22.
4. Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22
A few kilometres west of Miehlen, the Limes crosses the Einrich, a high, open plateau of fields and meadows between the Rhine and the Lahn, and the stretch with watchtowers 2/20 to 2/22, near Singhofen and Holzhausen an der Haide, is one of the quietest parts of the whole frontier. Nearby, the fort of Holzhausen is one of the best-preserved Roman forts on the Limes, with its stone walls, gates and corner towers clearly visible in the forest, a rare sight on a frontier where most remains have vanished into the fields. The whole line is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22, about halfway. Next is back through Fortlet Adolfseck.
5. back through Fortlet Adolfseck
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fortlet Adolfseck write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fortlet Adolfseck sits at 100 km, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP.
6. back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP comes up about 141 km into the recorded legs. Next is Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456.
7. Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 to Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 → Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP to Fortlet Adolfseck
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → Fortlet Adolfseck is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlet Adolfseck to Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22
Fortlet Adolfseck → Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 to back through Fortlet Adolfseck
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 → back through Fortlet Adolfseck is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fortlet Adolfseck to back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
back through Fortlet Adolfseck → back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP to Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456
back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.