Jurasteig Stage 8: Kastl - Oberwiesenacker

This route follows the 8th stage of the certified Jurasteig quality hiking trail and leads from Kastl to Oberwiesenacker along a varied and historically significant section through the Hirschwald Nature Park. The hike starts at the large car park on the B299 in Kastl and initially heads towards Pfaffenhofen, from where a worthwhile detour of just a few minutes takes you to the 14th-century Schweppermannsburg. Passing a deer enclosure, you circle the Gemeindeberg on nature trails with sweeping views of the Kuppenalb. The route takes you along narrow paths through Holzheim and Engelsberg up to the Habsberg. Here, at the Baroque pilgrimage church of ‘Maria Heil der Kranken’, you reach the highest point of the entire Jurasteig at 621 metres. Passing the modern environmental education centre ‘Haus am Habsberg’ and the species-rich dry slopes of the Schanzberg, the trail finally descends to the stage destination in Oberwiesenacker. There are cosy places to stop for refreshments and accommodation in Kastl, on the Habsberg and directly in Unter- and Oberwiesenacker; wild camping is prohibited. The villages are connected to the regional public transport network; timetables and suitable bus connections can be reliably found at https://www.bahn.de.