On this hike, you will wander through more than 600 years of rural and agricultural history as you discover the area around the Perlenbach and Fuhrtsbach valleys, which have been nature reserves since 1976. Today’s hikers here will discover pockets of extensive agriculture embedded in virtually pristine nature. This hike passes through the natural habitat for many threatened species of plants and animal, and the diverse and cheerfully coloured flora and fauna make hiking here an experience to remember. Once, the quality of the waters of the Perlenbach was so good that it allowed freshwater pearl mussels to establish themselves here. Today, the freshwater pearl mussel is virtually extinct, but from the 17th to the 19th centuries there was a flourishing trade in farmed pearls from the valley (from which the stream takes its name, literally “pearl stream”). You will also find traces of more recent history in the Fuhrtsbach valley. The hike takes you past several of the bunkers of the “Siegfried Line” built in 1938, grim testaments to the Second World War and the heavy fighting around Höfen in the winter of 1944-1945. Two of these bunkers remain quite well-preserved despite being dynamited by Allied forces. The larger of the two broods at the foot of the steep slope just a few steps away from the lower bridge. Another highlight of the area is the Perlenbach Valley Dam, built to create a reservoir of drinking water, and with a capacity of 800,000 m³.

Highlights on your route:

- Daffodil fields in spring

- Perlenbach Valley Dam

- Siegfried Line bunkers

- National Park Gate Exhibition