Hellengerst: Trails, Water and Raised Bog

Hellengerst offers a range of options for planning your trip: cycling and hiking trails along a former railway line, the Speckbach Waterfall–Breitenmoos circular hike, a raised bog and a golf course. If you’re looking for a hotel in Hellengerst, you can plan your trip around whether hiking, cycling, nature, local history or golf is your main focus.

Trails along the former railway line

A convenient cycling and hiking trail runs through Hellengerst along the former Weitnau–Kempten railway line. The old railway embankment near Hellengerst is now a well-maintained footpath and cycle path. The alternative route of the Way of St. James pilgrimage trail from Buchenberg to Weitnau also passes through Hellengerst as a cycling and hiking trail along the former railway line. When planning your trip, it is worth noting the different route names: the cycling and hiking trail refers to the Weitnau–Kempten railway line, while the pilgrimage route refers to the Buchenberg–Weitnau alternative route. This helps you keep the place names in mind without treating the two descriptions as referring to the same route.

Circular hike and places to enjoy the water

The Speckbach Waterfall–Breitenmoos circular hike starts at the former railway station in Hellengerst and leads into the Breitenmoos nature reserve. As conditions on the route can change with the seasons, check the current trail conditions before setting out. Children can play in the water at Speckbach Waterfall; seating at the foot of the waterfall offers a place to relax. At Fuchsbach, children can build dams or paddle in the stream.

Raised bog, protected area and local history

Hellengerst has a raised bog at an elevation of about 1,000 m above sea level. Another natural feature is Schönleitenmoos nature reserve in Wierlinger Wald, 1 km northeast of Hellengerst. The different location details are useful for orientation: the raised bog is associated with Hellengerst, while Schönleitenmoos is associated with Wierlinger Wald. Medieval and early modern archaeological findings have been discovered in the area around St. Stephen’s Catholic parish church in Hellengerst.

Golf in Hellengerst

Hellengerst Golf Club has an 18-hole golf course in the Allgäu, right next to Hanusel Hof Hotel and on a high plateau with mountain views. Course facilities include carts and trolleys, a driving range, grass teeing areas and a restaurant. Alongside cycling and hiking, golf is another option to make the focus of your trip.

Weitnau as a separate local context

In the wider Weitnau travel destination, a well-marked hiking trail leads south from the centre of Weitnau along the Carl Hirnbein Trail towards Hauchenberg and Alpkönig. The main village of Weitnau has historic buildings and a neo-Gothic church. St. Stephen’s Catholic parish church in Weitnau is listed as a historic monument: it is a hall church with a narrower, three-sided polygonal choir and a northern tower with a gabled roof, late Gothic in origin and renovated in 1773.

The Hohenegg Museum is also part of the local context of Weitnau. It is housed in the Historic District Office and is dedicated to religious folk art. The collection includes pilgrimage souvenirs, votive offerings, rosaries and reliquary crosses; most of the pieces were collected by Herbert Zenker, a secondary school teacher in Weitnau. The traditional autumn market in Weitnau is held every year on the second Saturday in September.

Discover more destinations: Missen-Wilhams

View the wider travel overview: Weitnau.