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Wildlife park, circular trail and walk-through enclosures

The Affen- und Vogelpark Eckenhagen combines a wildlife park and adventure world across an eight-hectare site. Facilities include a petting zoo, large playgrounds, barbecue huts, a garden café and an indoor adventure hall. A three-kilometre circular trail runs through the grounds. This offers several ways to explore the park, including a walk, play areas and indoor attractions.

The Barbary macaque and squirrel monkey open-air enclosures can be entered. Visitors can also walk among the animals in seven free-flight halls and watch and feed parakeets, owls or flamingos without a separating fence. Many enclosures are open to visitors, including walk-through free-flight halls and monkey enclosures. Which areas are accessible may vary depending on the park’s status and conditions.

Spa park and therapeutic climate trail

The approximately 1.5-hectare Kurpark Eckenhagen is centred around a pond and fountain complex. Benches and forest sofas surround the area. There is also a barefoot path and an adjacent Kneipp wading pool. Regular spa concerts and other events are held in the music pavilion.

Heilklimaweg 1, also known as the yoga hiking trail, starts and ends at the spa park on Zöper Weg in Reichshof-Eckenhagen. There are five stations along the trail, and guided hikes are also offered. With both the starting point and finish at the spa park, it is the central landmark of this route, while the stations divide the trail into sections.

Pump track and sporting variety

The Eckenhagen pump track is on Hahnbucher Straße, to the right of the sports ground, and has two circuits. The track is 280 metres long. If you are planning a visit for a specific date, it may be worth checking the latest information beforehand.

One circuit is designed for children aged three to eight and is suitable for balance bikes and bicycles; the larger circuit is for ages eight and up. These age guidelines help distinguish between the two tracks. The pump track offers a different kind of activity from the wildlife park’s circular trail or the guided hikes on the therapeutic climate trail.

Local history and collections

The Eckenhagen Historic Trail traces the town’s history with 15 information boards. A QR code at each stop provides further information. The farm museum offers a different focus: housed in a half-timbered building converted into a museum, it showcases the lives of local residents over the past 200 years. The adjacent Backes (traditional bakehouse) offers insights into agricultural work; more than 4,000 objects illustrate life and work on a farm in the past.

The Puppenstube features an extensive collection of traditional costume and folk dolls from around the world. The exhibition is wheelchair accessible and includes an educational programme for museum visitors as well as regular guided tours. The mining exhibition focuses on mining history, the everyday lives of mine workers, and the geographical and technical aspects of the mining tradition and coin minting. A recreated mine entrance, a photo wall, minerals, mine lamps and everyday objects in display cases bring the exhibition themes to life.

More to explore in the wider destination of Reichshof

The wider destination of Reichshof also has its own nature and cultural attractions. Juniper heathlands can be found in Branscheid, Wildberg and Hespert. The Branscheid juniper heath is one of the last remaining juniper heaths in the Oberbergisches Land and is protected from being overgrown by woodland through human intervention and flocks of sheep and goats. Free guided hikes with information about the juniper heath are offered several times a year; current dates are listed in the hiking brochure.

The forest nature trail in Reichshof is a 4.5-kilometre circular route through the woods, with information boards, benches and shelters. The old watermill in Nespen, above the Wiehl Dam, adds a historical highlight: it was first mentioned in 1749. These attractions are part of the wider destination of Reichshof and should be distinguished from what Eckenhagen itself has to offer.

Discover more destinations: Wildbergerhütte.

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Reichshof.