Experience the natural forest: Anniversary hike in the Steigerwald!

Experience the natural forest: Anniversary hike in the Steigerwald!

September 28, 2025 marked the 25th anniversary of the BayernTourNatur environmental education campaign, and this was duly celebrated. The Steigerwald Nature Park invited people to a guided hike in the Knetzberge-Böhlgrund natural forest, which attracted around 30 nature-loving hikers. District Administrator Schneider welcomed the participants at the Marswald parking lot and expressed his joy about the BayernTourNatur initiative of the Bavarian State Ministry for Environment and Consumer Protection. This has been active for a quarter of a century and conducts nature tours in various regions of Bavaria in order to raise awareness of local nature.

The event was part of the anniversary tours, which offered exciting insights into the diversity and fascination of nature. This event not only provided a conscious experience of nature, but also the opportunity to get to know the newly designed hiking trails of the Steigerwald hiking region project. The Haßberge district has replanned and fully signposted a total of 4,000 km of hiking trails, which is an extremely positive development for the region.

A varied hiking program

The hike started after a warm welcome with regional secco and onion cake. Under the expert guidance of rangers Alexander Schneider and Verena Kritikos, we initially headed towards Zell am Ebersberg. At the beginning, district forester Ellen Koller accompanied the group and provided valuable insights into the geology and the special features of the natural forest. The “Steigerwald-Round Snake Trail” was explored, which led through autumnal forests and well-known traces of the artist Herman de Vries.

The hike took participants through narrow paths, stream valleys and gorges before a steep climb up the Beerberg. The return route via the Rennerkreuz made the tour a total of around 12 km long, which was a welcome challenge for many hikers.

Focus on environmental education

The event also referred to the support and goals of environmental education, which is of great importance in Bavaria. In recent years, Bavarian environmental policy has increasingly focused on promoting sustainable development. The Bavarian Law on Education and Teaching requires schools to have a sense of responsibility for the environment and is therefore responsible for anchoring sustainability principles in education.

With around 150 holders of the “Umweltbildung.Bayern” quality seal, over 30,000 events are offered every year for around 1 million participants. These programs aim to make local nature tangible and inspire the discovery of biological diversity. The commitment to environmental education is also supported by financial resources from the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment, so that 67 environmental stations in Bavaria are currently being supported.

The positive response from participants in the anniversary hike shows that campaigns like BayernTourNatur make a valuable contribution to promoting awareness of fragile and diverse nature. Those interested can find further activities and information about future events on the [Naturpark Steigerwald] website (https://www.steigerwaldtourismus.com/steigerwald/aktuelles/mit-naturpark-rangern-in-den-naturwald-knetzberge-boehlgrund) or directly at Bavarian Ministry of the Environment.