Karl Bachler Weg

From the landscape garden to the Salzuflen city forest

The 16 km circular tour along the Karl Bachler Trail starts at the large hiking map between the spa gardens and the landscape garden. First, we walk along the western shore of the spa park lake.

At the VitaSol Therme parking lot and the bus stop, the Karl Bachler Trail signpost points to a narrow forest path. We hike gently uphill on soft forest soil. On the right, views of the golf course and into the distance open up.
On the left, a wet stream valley stretches out and leads the hiker to natural ponds.

The Karl Bachler Trail also follows the VitalWanderWeg signposts on this section of the trail. The Bad Salzufler VitalWanderWelt was designed for active people who want to bring more exercise, new nutritional habits and well-being into their lives. Information boards along the way provide information for people who want to lose excess weight through healthy hiking.

On arrival at Schwaghof, we reach a historic site. The Schwaghof farm castle is a remnant of a 12th century manor house and is a listed building.
 

Enjoy the gently undulating Lipperland from above

For a little breather, the view of the vastness of the Lipperland and the green forests is well worth the effort.

The signpost for the Karl Bachler Trail leads hikers back downhill through a sparse beech, pine and oak forest to the Salzetal valley.

For a short stretch, we follow the Extersche Straße parallel to it in the direction of Bad Salzuflen. The streetcar tracks used to run alongside and partly on this road.
At the crossroads to Schwaghof, we cross the road and relax with the views over meadows and fields in the renaturalized Salzetal valley.
 

Once again uphill for fantastic views

Below the Knickberg (117 m), we turn left and climb uphill. The Karl-Bachler-Weg leads in a left-hand bend around the mountain and past the "Stumpfen Turm" with a forest lake. A memorial stone commemorates the Stumpfen Turm of the Salzufler Landwehr and was once used as a warning tower to warn the town of Salzuflen with light and smoke signals.

On the left-hand side of Waldemeinestraße and Alte Vlothoer Straße, we walk along an enchanted forest path again for a short distance to Bad Salzuflen.
 

Discover memorial stones along the way

The next section of the trail on the Heuweg runs below the Vierenberg and Asenberg hills. As soon as the path leads into the open plain, you are rewarded with fantastic views over the municipality of Wüsten and into the distance.

Just a few meters away, it is worth taking a break at Hühnerwiem. There is a memorial stone with the inscription "Hühnerwiem" at this resting place. It is thanks to Karl Bachler that he had this and other memorial stones erected.

The path that now follows, also on the trail of the Hansaweg and Salzufler hiking trail no. 1, leads through mystical forest and shrubbery to the Salzufler Bismarck Tower. Completed and inaugurated in 1900, the viewing platform at a height of 18 m offers interesting distant views of the Kaiser Wilhelm monument at Porta Westfalica or the Hermann monument. Thanks to the tower's renovation in 2004, the Bismarck Tower is now safe to enter. The key can be obtained from the Hollenstein mountain restaurant. This is where the Karl Bachler Trail leads anyway.

In the mountain restaurant, we fortify ourselves for the last stage of the hiking trail and reward ourselves with a magnificent view of the greater Bad Salzuflen area. The gentle descent along the southern foothills of the Vierenberg offers new views.

In memory of Karl Bachler, the father of hiking

On the way, we pass the Karl Bachler Stone. Karl Bachler, born in Lage in 1886 and died in Bad Salzuflen in 1976, was considered a hiking father far beyond the region's borders. A line of poetry by the local and heath poet Hermann Löns is immortalized on the Karl Bachler Stone: "Let your eyes be open, close your mouth, and walk quietly, and secret things will become known to you."

Next to the memorial stone, a shelter offers shelter in case of bad weather.
Not far from the memorial stone is the Asen spring. The Asen stream runs through the Asental valley until it flows into the Salze at the Salzufler Landschaftsgarten.

Below the Asenberg, we enjoy the last views of the plain stretching out before us before we head downhill along residential roads to the Bad Salzuflen adventure areas.

The treading and arm pools in the spa gardens offer hikers refreshment. A glass of brine water, which is served from the Salzufler Brunnen fountain in the Wandelhalle, will make you feel good. Whether you are hungry or not, the culinary variety of restaurants and cafés in the pretty town center of the feel-good town of Bad Salzuflen will tempt you.

You are welcome to spend a few days in the salt town of Bad Salzuflen. Here you will find relaxation, a wide range of health facilities and cycling and hiking tours of varying degrees of difficulty.