Paderborner Karstrundweg - Vom Ellerbachtal auf die Hochfläche

Stage 1: Dahl multi-purpose hall - sculpture trail [5.2 km]
From the multi-purpose hall, we first follow Grundsteinheimer Weg downhill. After a few meters, behind the tennis courts, we turn diagonally left onto an asphalt path that can be closed off with a barrier. About 70 meters further on, we turn left onto the paved footpath. We follow this through a 90-degree right-hand bend and walk downhill past the cemetery to the parish church of St. Margaretha, which we can clearly see in front of us thanks to its 47-metre-high church tower.
We cross Schlotmannstraße at the pedestrian lights. On the right, we see an information board about the parish church and the Dahl district. We descend the stairs, cross the street Zum Deich and walk straight ahead into Ellersteg. Immediately after the bridge over the canalized Ellerbach, we turn left. On the Tiefer Weg road, we walk along the concrete stream bed and reach a fork in the path at a stone cross. We keep slightly to the right, staying on the Tiefer Weg and walking uphill. At the next fork, we turn left onto the narrow asphalt path. This runs slightly higher along the Ellerbach valley. We stay on the narrow asphalt path for around 600 meters. After just under 300 meters, we pass a huge bench, the largest in the Paderborn region, which was erected there in 2022.
At the T-junction, we turn left, walk steeply downhill for about 100 meters and turn right at the crossroads onto the gravel path. We now walk along the grit path for about a quarter of an hour and see an information board about the Ellerbach after about 800 meters. About 200 meters before the end of the grit path, we again come across an overview board of the Karstrundweg, as we have already seen at the church. At the end of the grit path, we continue to the left on the asphalt path. We cross the mostly dry Ellerbach stream. As a typical watercourse of the Paderborn plateau, it seeps away here in this area and between Schwaney and Dahl in the fissured limestone of the subsoil in so-called "Bachschwinden". It only carries water on the surface after abundant rainfall.
We walk uphill, turn left after the farm onto the Grundweg and walk past the pastures of the "Alpacas in Ellertal". An information board reveals interesting facts about these fluffy animals.
After about 450 meters, just before a clear-cut area, we turn right and hike gently uphill. After about 15 minutes, we come to a paved path and keep straight ahead. The path bends to the left and then climbs into the forest. At a junction, we keep left and continue along the asphalt path. Shortly after the bend to the right, we come to the K 1 district road, which we follow to the left (watch out for traffic!). After a good 50 meters, we turn right onto the asphalt path. Here there is a small parking lot for hikers with another overview board of the Karstrundweg and an information board about the sculpture trail.
 
2nd stage: Sculpture trail - Knipsberg [2.0 km]
We turn right onto the gravel forest path, the so-called Eggeringhäuser Weg. This is where the Dahl sculpture trail, created in 2018, begins. On the left-hand side of the path for the next 700 meters or so are six now slightly weathered works of art made of oak wood or a combination of oak wood, steel or stone. They were created by the artists Edvardas Racevicius, Dagmar Fischer, Jürgen Schubbe, Werner Schlegel, Josef Risse and Matthias Heß at the 1st Dahl Sculpture Symposium 2018 from mighty trunks using chainsaws, planes and chisels.
We follow the path to the crossroads at the edge of the forest. Here we turn left onto the Iggenhauser Weg. It joins the Grundsteinheimer Weg, which we follow to the right. We pass a white cross and have now reached the 324-metre-high Knipsberg. Here, at the highest point of our hike, there is almost always a fresh breeze. As we continue, we enjoy the wonderful view over the Paderborn plateau to the Hellweg to the west and the Sauerland to the southwest. There are information boards along the way about the Paderborn plateau and the use of wind energy. At the fork, we leave the asphalted Grundsteinheimer Weg to the left. There is a hut and picnic area right next to the model airfield where you can take a break. To the right of the hut is a board with information about sinkholes. We reach the perspective shown there around 300 meters further on, just before the small depression.
 
Stage 3: Knipsberg - Dahl [5.4 km]
We continue along the model airfield and follow the bend to the right, so do not head towards the wind turbine. Shortly before the small dip, we recognize a group of trees in the field on the left. These are two sinkholes, one behind the other. To the right of this, a little further on, we see another rather conspicuous group of trees. This is also a sinkhole, namely "Spielmanns Kuhle", the largest in this area. It has a depth of around 15 meters and a diameter of around 40 meters.
At the end of the path, we turn left. At the signpost in the hollow, we turn left and walk slightly downhill in the Merschetal valley. In the right-hand bend of our path, we see an information board about the Merschetal valley. We now climb around 50 meters in altitude over the next 600 meters. It's hard to imagine that there was a dense spruce forest here until 2021. At the top of the T-junction, we keep left and follow the forest path downhill. A good 100 meters before the valley floor, a gravel path joins from the right. To the left is a former quarry, which is difficult to see from the path in summer due to the overgrowth. Continue straight ahead, follow the bend to the right at the bottom of the valley and continue downhill. In this way, we have made a detour around the Merschetal wilderness area, which should not be entered.
At the end of the forest, we pass a red and white barrier and about 100 meters later we have asphalt under our feet again. Immediately before the cycle path, we take a sharp left onto the gravel path. We follow this for about 15 minutes along the edge of the forest and enjoy beautiful views of the Ellerbach valley. At a transmission mast, we reach an asphalt road, the Grundsteinheimer Weg, which brings us back to our starting point, the multi-purpose hall.

Hiking boots, drinks and provisions are recommended.

Freeway A 33 to exit Pad.-Zentrum, then B 64 in the direction of Bad Driburg to exit Universität. Follow Warburger Straße (B 68) in the direction of Paderborn, then turn right onto Ludwigsfelder Ring. Turn right at the next opportunity (Dahler Weg) in the direction of Dahl.

Parking spaces at the multi-purpose hall near the sports facilities (destination address for the navigation system: Grundsteinheimer Weg 30, 33100 Paderborn).

Tourist Information Paderborn
Königsplatz 10
33098 Paderborn
Tel. 05251 8812980
E-mail: tourist-info@paderborn.de
Internet: www.paderborn.de

www.paderborner-karstrundweg.de

Paperback "Heimatwandern - Halbtages-Wanderungen im Paderborner Land, Eggegebirge und südlichen Teutoburger Wald" with 20 interesting circular tours through the local region (240 pages). Available for 15.80 euros from Paderborn Tourist Information, bookshops (ISBN: 978-3-9824645-0-3) and - free of charge - from HEFT-Zeitschriftenverlag (Tel. 05251 62624).
 
Pocket book "The most beautiful half-day hikes in the Paderborn region and Eggegebirge" with 20 interesting circular tours through the local region (220 pages). Available at a price of 12.95 euros from Paderborn Tourist Information, bookshops (ISBN: 978-3-9809507-8-7) and - free of shipping costs - from HEFT-Zeitschriftenverlag (Tel. 05251 62624).