Finsteres Loch Gorge – Knöpfelstaler Pond loop from Stützerbach

Hiking trails & Routes

Ilm-Kreis

Stützerbach

Finsteres Loch Gorge – Knöpfelstaler Pond loop from Stützerbach

Easy

4.7

(46)

150

hikers

Finsteres Loch Gorge – Knöpfelstaler Pond loop from Stützerbach

01:06

3.69km

110m

Hiking

Easy hike. Easily walkable paths. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: November 5, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Naturpark Thüringer Wald

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

826 m

Forest Trail in Naturpark Thüringer Wald

Highlight • Trail

Beautiful hiking trail, easy to walk.

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1.04 km

Finsteres Loch Gorge

Highlight • Gorge

great spot to hike

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1.31 km

Finsteres Loch Wooden Bridge and Waterfall (Touringen Stamp Station 145)

Highlight • Bridge

Shortly before Stuetzerbach you will find a fairy-tale gorge, which gained notoriety through Goethe's poem "Ilmenau". In 1783 a large, nocturnal hunting camp took place here. Today there is a …

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1.33 km

Finsteres Loch (Thuringia Stamp 145)

Highlight • Gorge

We passed by there already in the dark. It is really completely dark there.

Stamping box has been moved

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1.50 km

Stamp 145 — Dark Hole

Highlight • Gorge

Here you feel like you're in a jungle. A great place.

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1.89 km

Knöpfelstaler Pond

Highlight • Lake

Before continuing on the romantic part of the Goetheweg in the Ilmkreis, this place offers a place full of peace and harmony.

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1.92 km

Forest pond in Naturpark Thüringer Wald

Highlight • Lake

Beautiful pond and certainly a good place for a little break.

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3.69 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

2.67 km

946 m

< 100 m

Surfaces

2.97 km

621 m

< 100 m

Elevation

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

Highest point (710 m)

Lowest point (600 m)

Weather

Today

Thursday 12 November

1°C

-2°C

11 %

Additional weather tips

It’s going to be cold. Wrap up warm and watch out for ice.

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

August 16, 2023,Finsteres Loch vom Auerhahn 💦🐓

As a final tour, we went into an almost fairytale gorge that became famous through Goethe's poem "Ilmenau". In 1783 a large nightly hunting camp took place here. Today a wooden bridge leads over a small waterfall. If you stand there and look up, you can almost see trolls and goblins rampaging between the moss-covered rocks. Goethe's handwritten poem can …

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October 1, 2023,2023_10_01 Wanderung Ab Auerhahn > Finsteres Loch > Knöpfelstaler Teich

A mini hike to relax and prepare for something big. That was actually a reminder of the old Ilmenau times.

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March 27, 2025,Finsteres Loch – Knöpfelstaler Teich Runde von Stützerbach ST 146

The trail is easy and very quiet. The forest, however, looks terrible; many deforested areas and everything is left lying around. But there are plenty of places to sit along the trail.

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