Siebengebirge - Rund um den Großen Oelberg

We choose the parking lot on the Lahrring near the Lohrberg forester's lodge as our starting point and take the forest path to Ittenbach as the entry point to the hike around the Großer Oelberg. After a surprisingly pleasant and secluded section down to Ittenbach to the busy L 331, which we quickly cross, we walk down towards Döttscheid on a newly created pedestrian path and notice almost nothing of the heavy development and through traffic in Ittenbach. At the end of the pedestrian path, we turn left into the village of Döttscheid, cross it uphill and come to the Stöckerhof forester's lodge with its former forest nature trail. Via the steep forest path, we come to the Buchenplatz, which shows the stones of the Siebengebirge, and continue to the hiking trail junction below the Kleiner Oelberg. At a small square, there is a wayside cross and an explanation of the forest nature trail as well as a number of waymarkers explaining the hiking trail. We take the northern route towards Thomasberg, cross Jungfernbüsch and turn off towards Rosenau at the tennis courts of the former Buschhof estate. Lush meadows with orchards and sweeping views of the Siegtal valley and up to the Großer Oelberg await us here. The deciduous forests are particularly colorful in autumn. We climb up towards the waterfall, which we reach on a narrow forest path. Unfortunately, the view of the Drachenfels can only be guessed at; the ruins can only be seen in winter. But the view to the Oelberg restaurant is clear and we take the main hiking trail to Margarethenhöhe to get back to our starting point.