On the Trail of the Rafters in the Dober and Kremnitz Valleys

We begin our hike at the listed Effelter Mühle in the Dobertal, a typical Franconian Forest meadow valley. Mowed extensively for centuries and not fertilized, species-rich meadows developed that still characterize the valley floor of the Franconian Forest and have an astonishingly high biodiversity. The shy black stork regularly goes in search of food here. But rafting also had a strong influence on the landscape. We will discover the relics of this old trade, which was still in use until the 1950s, on our circular hike through two beautiful Franconian Forest valleys.

The Dober and Kremnitz valleys are a wonderful area for anyone who likes nature and peace and quiet. My hike started at the Effeltermühle. First, I walked along the mill ditch in the Dobertal. I walked upstream to the Mariengrotte and then turned back to cross a mountain along the Fronbauernweg and get into the Kremnitztal at the Finkenmühle. From there, I followed the Kremnitz downstream. At the confluence of the Dober and the Kremnitz, I turned off again into the Dobertal to the Effeltermühle. Unfortunately, the path at the junction is a disaster because it is swampy. A few wooden footbridges would have been useful. The last few times I walked there, I walked across the wet meadow. There were always tracks in the grass that I followed. I could always feel the water under my feet, but the grass prevented me from sinking too deep. Today I couldn't see a path through the grass and because it's really a bit crazy to walk across this meadow, I decided to go for the option of going over hill and dale in the forest. After a few hundred meters you'll be back on the signposted E3/E6 path at the edge of the forest. The long-distance path is quite adventurous on this section. Nevertheless, it's beautiful in both valleys, flowering meadows, lots of insects, a few bridges, silence and even the path is pure nature. Unfortunately, forest dieback is clearly visible even in this idyllic area. There were a few guests at the Effeltermühle today, so I didn't go onto the grounds. The mill is also a gem.

Beautiful surroundings and April weather. Unfortunately also broken paths from forestry.

The starting point of the varied circular hike through the Dober and Kremnitz valleys is the over 500-year-old Effelter Mill in the Dobertal. The building, which is now a listed building, was first mentioned in documents in 1507. We start the tour and hike past the mill pond up the valley on a narrow path. We follow this north along the Mühlbach, cross a small forest and reach the first Franconian Forest footbridge. We cross it and continue along the stream on the meadow path to the next footbridge. However, we leave this on the right, turn left into the Gehrenwald and follow the blue marking of a narrow path, the so-called Fronbauern-Weg (not the forest path) up into the forest area. The name Gehrenwald is derived from the tapered shape of the forest area. We hike, always following the blue markings, on forest paths over the ridge of the Gehrenwald area and down the other side of the slope into the Kremnitz valley. With a view of the Finkenmühle, we cross the wooden bridge at the foot of the valley. Here the path branches off to the left and we continue hiking on the valley path in a southerly direction. Always following the Kremnitz stream down the valley, we cross several footbridges until we reach the top of the Gehrenwald. If you look at the Kremnitz a little more closely while hiking, you can repeatedly see relics of rafting such as bank structures or bed collapses in the stream bed. At the confluence of the Dober and Kremnitz, the valley now widens to a width of around 200 m, which is impressive for the Franconian Forest. Now, just before the mouth, we follow the markings of the European long-distance hiking trails 3 + 6 or the Mühlentäler-Weg KC 83 on the left up the valley into the Dobertal. Along the edge of the forest, over another footbridge and past flower-rich meadows, we return to the starting point at the Effelter Mühle.

Today we went back to the Dober and Kremnitztal valleys. The start was in Effeltermühle. Short detour to the mill and then along the mill ditch up a piece of the Dobertal. The path is quaint. Unfortunately, the silence is disturbed by logging work. A short time later you cross the Dober and at the next bridge you climb left into a narrow path. It's pretty steep uphill, first on a narrow path, then on a forest path. Once at the top, there is a pretty wayside cross. The descent to the Finkenmühle is less great. Here wood was felled in some places. The path is partly uneven and there are small branches around. Shortly before the Finkenmühle, cross the Kremnitz and then turn right into the Kremnitztal. Here, too, the path is broken up in places. Splashing water accompanies me. I then walked across the meadow to see the mouth of the Dober in the Kremnitz. Then it went back to the Effeltermühle via beautiful paths.

2xSusi 1xAna-1x best 🐕💕..with the ranger/in-Ines: on Flösser's tracks to the Bärwurz bloom 😍..start at the Effelter Mühle in the Dobertal-admire the rare and protected plants-over footbridges-bridges-narrow paths to the Kremnitztal- just fantastic-this is offered by the Franconian Forest Nature Park-highly recommended🌸🙏👑.. a great afternoon-was 4.5 hours. On the way - great group - nice conversations - great information about nature and fauna - rafting and its buildings - .. and!!! We saw the rare black stork 🦅.. MEGA.. flew directly over us 😍-it was just GREAT 💚 Thanks again to Ines 💕

Dear @Maria 🌻, thank you for running this beautiful tour ahead of us! We had to take a break after 1.6km because of a hunt, the path in the Kremnitz valley was very muddy. There are no real highlights on this tour, but the landscape is beautiful and absolutely worth the hike. It's a shame that so many trees in the Franconian Forest are dead! The sun did us good today and made the hike a very nice experience