Off on a mountain forest adventure

The colourful foliage are rustling, the leaves are dancing on the ground with every step, with more falling from the trees all the time. Autumn has its own charm, it lures you into the forest, into the mountain forest. From the Urschlau hiking car park, a seven-kilometre circular path leads up to the high moor of the Röthelmoos alpine pastures. Everyone experiences awe and wonder here and that is also due to the fact that there is so much to learn at the 16 stations along the way. You have to sort gravel and guess trees, bird calls and animal tracks. Forest educator Joachim Ries from Ruhpolding’s Bergwalderlebniszentrum knows: "Children, above everyone, are fascinated by the inhabitants of the forest, by the animals. Here in the forest, it is much easier for us to show them the effects that deer, for example, have on the young forest and why they cause so much damage."

The Bergwalderlebniszentrum developed the trail with the idea of bringing humans and nature much closer together again. Many of the stations are set up as play areas that invite you to get stuck in, such as the little Triftklause. Short sticks can be collected here and placed in a wooden channel. Then a slider is pushed down and water is pumped into a trough until the drain is completely covered. When the slider is then opened, the force of the water carries the sticks along. Once upon a time, this was the method used to bring the felled wood from Ruhpolding's forests into the valley. This is called Holztrift. “The children start playing here straight away and become totally and utterly absorbed in the here and now and learn in a sustainable way,” says Joachim Ries.

Station number 9 where you’ll need a sensitive nose is also exciting. It is located in the open space in the Röthelmoos district. There are no trees here, but there are many rare plants. The cows ensure with their good appetite that the grasses and herbs stay short. Without the cows, alpine pastures would quickly grow over and become forest again. Around 100 cattle are allowed to graze on the Röthelmoos alpine pastures between June and October. You can sniff out the herbs they prefer to nibble and those that are guaranteed not to be found on an alpine pasture – simply press the buttons and smell.

Touch, feel, guess, have fun, that's what the mountain forest adventure trail is all about.

And it’s about taking something home with you. Joachim Ries worded it like this, “Nature is neither good nor bad, just nature. It doesn't need us, but we need it and we should treat it with humility.”

And this can be done by all ages and families all year round on the mountain forest adventure trail. Large parts of it are suitable for pushchairs. The path is only steep, rocky and sometimes narrow between stations 3 and 6, but you can hike whichever sections you want to, depending on your mood. You are accompanied by two symbolic friends: by "Tanni", the nutcracker and by "Urschl", a gnarled beech. Anyone who answers all the questions correctly by the end of the individual stations becomes a mountain forest professional, complete with certificate and stamp.