Bad Karlshafen – Himmelsleiter Stone Staircase loop from Reinhardswald

Hiking trails & Routes

Germany

Hesse

Regierungsbezirk Kassel

Landkreis Kassel

Bad Karlshafen

Bad Karlshafen – Himmelsleiter Stone Staircase loop from Reinhardswald

Moderate

4.6

(14)

hikers

Bad Karlshafen – Himmelsleiter Stone Staircase loop from Reinhardswald

03:51

13.7km

280m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: August 3, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

967 m

Königsberg Shelter

Highlight • Mountain Hut

Small, clean hut to protect against wind and weather

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1.77 km

Viewpoint

3.24 km

Bad Karlshafen Town Hall and Waterfront

Highlight • Settlement

The promenade invites you to linger. There are benches and cafes nearby.

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3.34 km

Former Thurn and Taxis Post Office, Bad Karlshafen

Highlight • Historical Site

Impressive building directly at the baroque harbor

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3.42 km

Bad Karlshafen

Highlight • Settlement

The spa town of Bad Karlshafen is located at the mouth of the Diemel and Weser. The cozy town with its baroque houses was founded by Landgrave Karl von Hessen-Kassel …

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4.86 km

Upper Dreiländerblick Viewpoint

Highlight • Viewpoint

5.54 km

Himmelsleiter and Panoramic Trail near Bad Karlshafen

Highlight • Trail

A great trail with views across the valley

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5.80 km

Himmelsleiter Stone Staircase

Highlight • Structure

The "Himmelsleiter" used to be used to transport blocks of Weser sandstone from the quarry. The stones were transported down a chute to be shipped on the Weser.

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12.1 km

Franzosenteiche in the Reinhardswald

Highlight • Lake

Three small ponds side by side. A nice relaxing spot

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13.7 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

10.4 km

2.34 km

848 m

< 100 m

Surfaces

7.23 km

3.64 km

2.06 km

690 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (230 m)

Lowest point (100 m)

Weather

Tuesday 6 October

23°C

7°C

-- %

Additional weather tips

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Comments

April 28, 2022,🧱 "Steinbruchtour" 🧱 Carlshafen

A great round from Helmarshausen via "Sieburg" (Bad Karlshafen) to the Sieburg and back.
Wonderful hiking weather
First on great forest paths past some sandstone quarries.
The Bad Karlshafen sandstone is/was world-famous.
Then down the 140 steps of the ladder to heaven and a few km on a less beautiful forest path in the direction of "French Meadows" with the …

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May 1, 2022,Himmelsleiter Helmarshausen

A wonderful May Day hike with TSV Immenhausen.

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May 1, 2022,🄱🄰🄳 🄺🄰🅁🄻🅂🄷🄰🄵🄴🄽 ⛅️🪜𐋏𐌆𐌑𐌑𐌄𐌋𐌔ᒪᙓITᙓᖇ d͎i͎e͎ 2️⃣.

🇺🇦 The hike on May 1st was themed "Charity hike in favor of the Ukraine aid".
The hikers from TSV IMMENHAUSEN were out and about again in Bad Karlshafen and the surrounding area 🇺🇦
Very nice route!
Many thanks to our guests 🙏🏻👩🏻 🌾

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April 28, 2022,⛅️🪜𐋏𐌆𐌑𐌑𐌄𐌋𐌔ᒪᙓITᙓᖇ🪜⛅️ 🅱︎🅰︎🅳 🅺🅰︎🆁🅻🆂🅷🅰︎🅵🅴🅽

☀️W̥ͦḁͦs̥ͦ e̥ͦi̥ͦn̥ͦ T̥ͦḁͦg̥ͦ ☀️
Best sunny weather for our tour 𝔹𝕒𝕕 𝕂𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕗𝕖𝕟.
Start at the hiking car park in Wechselberg.
At the area of the old weir system of the 𝕊𝕚𝕖𝕓𝕦𝕣𝕘 past to the 🧱 and then the ℍ𝕚𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕤𝕝𝕖𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕣hinunter.
On good hiking trails, except for where wood was being removed, we went through the fresh, green forest area above Helmarshausen …

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September 17, 2025,Märchenlandweg/Eco Pfad Sieburg - Bad Karlshafen

Info zum Charlottenstein:
hna.de/lokales/hofgeismar/charlottenstein-neue-aussicht-auf-bad-karlshafen-wegen-friederike-10538514.html

August 25, 2021,Wanderung 25.08.2021 15:23

That an excavator is suddenly allowed to destroy the beginning of this wonderful hiking trail is unbelievable.

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May 1, 2026,Durch Buchenwald zum Steinbruch + Himmelsleiter/Bad Karlshafen

Warm up and stretch by the harbor before the hike.
Besides the quarry and the "Himmelsleiter" (Stairway to Heaven), there is nothing worth mentioning to see. We wanted to see Helmarshausen. But the access to the town center is so unattractive that I turned back. I wanted to spare Alfons and Curt the stress.
Unfortunately, there are no picnic spots …

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