You start at the Sickingen-Castle Nanstein, go through the metal gate on the right side of the castle then take a right onto the trail. You will see signs with white arrows on them with 3 colors, blue for easy, red for intermediate and black for advanced. I would definately go for the Black trail. They all go along with each other for a while, with no real technical areas and light hills. There are quite a few roots on this trail and half buried rocks also some loose dirt here and there. Follow the black trail until you see a side trail with some huge rocks you can't miss, that will take you to some descent technical terrain. You will go by a bunker that has 1931 welded onto the steel door that is built into the mountain. Directly after that bunker on the descent, there will be a tree and a small 2 foot jump, be careful if you jump it at speed because the trail turns to the left, if you fall off it is about a 15 foot drop. You will then pass a pond on your right, keep going until the trail hits another pond. This is where I went up hill to the left to start heading back, I probably went the wrong way, but hey, it is all about having fun. I ended up back at the bunker and there is a very steep hill that you can carry your bike up, then you keep going until you see the signs again, which will lead you back to the castle. The sign shows that the trail is 11.8 KM, but like I said, I probably went the wrong way on parts, and it is always more fun to explore. This trail has single track and a fair bit of double track.
very scenic and technical sections
| ThankThe best trails are the ones that are not marked. While traveling on the main trail, if you see any single track trails that split off take them (most split offs are to the left). You will not be disappointed.
| ThankGreat ride for the intermediate MTBer. Trail starts and ends at the Castle. There are three trails total (Blue=Easy, Red=Intermediate, Black=Hard) The GPS data I posted is the Red trail. The individual in the original review did not follow the trails and by his pictures ended up on a mixture of black trail and off-trail. The key to this trail is to take the trail to the IMMEDIATE right of the information board at the Castle. You can't miss it. Then follow the prefered colored arrow. Also note that the color trails not only indicate difficulty, but also indicate distance. You can also view the trail via Garmin Connect at: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/322204186#
Anyway. Great afternoon or evening ride with the wife. The only technical part about the RED trail is at about the 2.3 mile mark there is a steep single track incline with root steps you must transverse. Other than that its smooth sailing. There are some spots were there are double wide trails so you can hold a decent conversation with fellow riders. Don't get me wrong though.. there are some good hills that you have to get up... but even the beginner rider in the lowest granny gear can do it -- maybe :)
| Thankreally fun to ride on, me and a couple buddy's hit up this trail often we have found one way that's a bit more technical but needs to be cleared from fallen tree's. but this is a really beautiful ride, unfortunately once your at the bottom it can be a pretty tough climb back up* Review edited 7/6/2012
| Thankfirst off dont follow the directions on the guy left on here and these trails are sweet
| ThankThis trail is on the easier side in my opinion, but there are a couple of good hills to climb and a jump or two. Has so nice scenery, after all, you do start out at a castle overlooking the city and then there are some huge rock formations that are fun to climb up. Good times to be had, go out and experience it!
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