Why this ride
274 km from Schmitten to Schmitten, about 4 h 50 of riding. On the way it passes Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f, Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 and back through Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg and Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 274 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 50
- 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
Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg → Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to
61 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it — speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 66 km
Moselle Wine Route
For about 72 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 72 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg
If you want to know what a Roman frontier fort actually looked like, this is the place. The Saalburg, on the ridge of the Taunus above Bad Homburg, is the only Limes fort in Germany rebuilt in full: walls, gates, towers, granary and the headquarters building, all standing again on their original foundations. The reconstruction was ordered by Kaiser Wilhelm II around 1900, who liked his Romans grand and imperial, and while archaeologists today debate some details, walking through the main gate is still a jolt.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f.
2. Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f
North of the Taunus ridge, the Limes crossed a high, open plateau between the Rhine and the Lahn, and the stretch with watchtowers 2/23 to 2/26 runs through the farmland and woods near Miehlen and Singhofen in the Rhein-Lahn district. The remains here are subtle, mostly low banks and the traces of towers in fields and forest edges, but the line of the frontier is marked by the long-distance Limes trail and information boards. This is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, a stretch of the line that few visitors ever see.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f comes up about 66 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10.
3. Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10
Rheinbrohl is where the Roman frontier of Upper Germany began. Here, on the east bank of the Rhine between Bonn and Koblenz, the Limes left the river and struck off inland, running across hills and valleys for more than five hundred kilometres to the Danube near Regensburg. The first watchtowers, numbered 1/1 onwards, stood in the hills above the town, and the stretch from 1/3 to 1/10 climbs from the Rhine valley into the forests of the Westerwald. The Römerwelt museum in Rheinbrohl, at the start of the Limes, brings Roman frontier life to life with reconstructions, hands-on exhibits and a reconstructed watchtower nearby.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 138 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10. Next is back through Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f.
4. back through Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f 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 WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f, late in the day. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg.
5. Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg to Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f
Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg → Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f to Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10
Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f → Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 to back through Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f
Watchtowers WP 1/3 to 1/10 → back through Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f to Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg
back through Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f → Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.