Why this ride
From Waldems it runs 113 km to Waldems; allow about 2 h 05 of riding. On the way it passes Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg, Watchtower WP 4/17* and back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP and Watchtower WP 4/17*
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 113 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 05
- 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
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → Fort site and civil settl
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 18 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 23 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg.
2. 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 comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 4/17*.
3. Watchtower WP 4/17*
The Limes crosses the Wetterau, the fertile plain north of Frankfurt, in a long arc, and Watchtower 4/17 is one small point in it. The Wetterau is loess farmland, rich and flat, with wide fields of wheat and sugar beet, and the Romans valued it as an agricultural region, planting farms and estates beside the frontier. The tower itself, as at most of these sites, is represented today by a low mound or a marker, and a short walk will let you see the line of the frontier running across the fields.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/17* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 51 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 4/17*. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg.
4. back through 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 through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP.
5. 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 at Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP to Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg to Watchtower WP 4/17*
Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg → Watchtower WP 4/17* is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 4/17* to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg
Watchtower WP 4/17* → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg to Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg → Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.