The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Bad Ems

The bakery is unique. It can compete with any pastry shop.

On the ascent from the banks of the Lahn River to Malberg, there is a point where hikers cross the tracks of the former cog railway on a bridge. Even today, one can still appreciate how steep this section is, and cannot help but admire the engineering skills of bygone times that planned and implemented the safe ascent and descent.

In the glory days of the spa town of Bad Ems, a cog railway that ran up the Malberg mountain on the Taunus side of the Lahn River ended here. The mountain and valley stations are still there today, and hikers can still make out the tracks even in a few sections through the forest. While a café has been installed at the valley station, the mountain station can only be described as completely neglected. As it appears today to the passing hiker, it is an eyesore for Bad Ems.

A relatively isolated spot, away from the neighboring villages, was chosen as the site for the memorial chapel. A former quarry is located nearby, but it's not about the workers who may have lost their lives doing this hard and dangerous work. It's dedicated to the victims of war and tyranny. By keeping the memory of the victims alive across generations, the site fulfills a second, no less important function: to remind hikers of the need to maintain peace. PS: Here, too, after completing the trail, the komoot system repeatedly asks whether they would like to recommend this highlight. This is because it has been recreated twice (in some cases even more often) by different people. This is the smallest highlight number, i.e., the original.

A relatively isolated spot, away from the neighboring villages, was chosen as the site for the memorial chapel. A former quarry is located nearby, but it's not about the workers who may have lost their lives doing this hard and dangerous work. It's dedicated to the victims of war and tyranny. By keeping the memory of the victims alive across generations, the site fulfills a second, no less important function: to remind hikers of the need to maintain peace. PS: Here, too, after completing the trail, the komoot system repeatedly asks whether they would like to recommend this highlight. This is because it has been recreated twice (in some cases even more often) by different people. The original is available as =>> https://www.komoot.com/de-de/highlight/2561297

Rivers and canals – like the Lahn here, flowing into the Rhine – crisscross the country; in earlier times, they were a vital part of the transport infrastructure. Later, first rail, and later again trucks, took over the task of transporting goods. In the competition between different modes of transport, they were faster and cheaper than barges – and thus more efficient. When building the waterways, however, it had to be taken into account that differences in elevation always had to be overcome, and so locks are often lined up along the canals – at varying intervals, depending on the local situation. Only with their help was shipping possible.

Walking across the Lahn Bridge, you can see the imposing brick facade of the former lead and silver works in the distance, a reference to the town's mining history. The building dates back to 1903, the Art Nouveau era, which also influenced the architecture of that time. Behind it is the Bad Ems-West train station.

From the Concordia Tower, the descent begins from the heights of the Lahn ridges in the Westerwald to the banks of the river. Several stops along the way, including the so-called "Mooshütte" (Moss Hut) dating from 1831, invite you to linger and enjoy the panorama of the river and the city.