Wuppertal
Circular hiking trails Wuppertal - Ronsdorfer Talsperre
From the Ronsdorf dam to Gelpetal, Saalbachtal and back
This hike takes you around 9 kilometers and 180 meters in altitude around the district of Ronsdorf. Starting at the dam, the route leads via Holthausen down into the Gelpe valley, past the Käshammer and Haus Zillertal and back up to the dam, from where we make a short detour to the tranquil village of Heidt before reaching our starting point.
We start at the hikers' parking lot on Talsperrenstraße
The starting point is the hiking parking lot on the corner of Talsperrenstraße/An der Blutfinke, where you can usually find a parking space even on sunny weekends. Various buses stop at the Ronsdorfer Talsperre bus stop, including bus route 640 towards Echoer Straße.
We leave our starting point and turn right, following the road downhill. We also keep right at the fork in the road. After a few meters, we ignore the first fork to the right and take the second. The path now leads us further downhill on a forest path. As soon as we come to a wider path, we turn right again.
Into the Ronsdorfer Talsperre forest experience
After just a few meters, you will see a sign for the forest adventure trail at the Ronsdorf dam on the right-hand side. Here, walkers can explore the forest habitat. At the next fork, take the higher path on the right. To our left, the green water of the dam shines through the trees.
We come to a small crossroads and change to the slightly wider gravel path on our left, along the side of which the Saalbach flows down to the dam. We will meet it again later when it has left the reservoir behind. The path becomes a little steeper, meets a paved path and we turn left. Immediately afterwards, we cross another crossroads and enter a denser section of forest. After a slight left-hand bend, we need to be careful: Because here we want to use a forest path that is a little more difficult to recognize, leading off to the right. It leads us past a wooden barrier, out of the forest and along between two properties. This brings us to Holthauser Straße, where we turn left. After just a few meters, behind an old tree nursery, we have a wonderful view over the valley. At the end of the road is the "Alt & Neu" restaurant on the corner. We turn left and then immediately right into the street Am Sonnenblick, through a housing estate of detached houses. Immediately behind the housing estate, we have a beautiful panoramic view of the district of Küllenhahn with its striking telecommunications tower and, to the right of this, the neighboring town of Remscheid.
Walk through the Eimholz forest area into the Gelpetal valley
Before a tree nursery, we take a path on the left across the meadow, which leads us downhill to the forest. The old path is unfortunately overgrown, but we find the right path immediately to the right. We continue down this path into the Eimholz forest area. The path here is overgrown, the circular hiking trails well-trodden. All the more reason to be careful. We quickly reach a wider hiking trail and turn left. It gets a little steeper. At the next crossroads, we turn right.
Past former cottages and hammers
We have now reached the Gelpe valley and cross the Gelpe stream over a wooden bridge, after which we turn left. We are now leaving the Ronsdorf district and are in Elberfeld territory - a border crossing that we will take several more times on this route. We stay on the wide path, with the Gelpe flowing in its bed to our left and signs pointing out the former locations of the cottages. We pass the Speckshämmerchen and the Pickardtskotten. An overview of the individual cottages and hammers can be found after a few meters on an information board at the Hammerschlot, the only surviving chimney of one of these cottages. As we circle the Hammerschlot on the left, we cross the Gelpe again and then turn right. We follow the course of the Gelpe to our right on a forest path. The stream here forms a wonderful alluvial forest typical of the Bergisches Land. The path splits in front of us after a while, but joins up again after just a few meters before it meets a wider hiking trail and we follow it to the left, directly to a barrier.
Past the Käshammer into the Saalbach valley
We walk towards the former excursion restaurant "Käshammer", which is now used as a residential building. To our right, behind a fence, is the actual Käshammer. Turn right at the fork and follow the path along the Gelpe. There are two options for turning left, the second of which leads to a narrow path. We can use this or the asphalt path that runs parallel to it.
If you want to go straight through, turn left and start the not too steep but long ascent through the Saalbach valley. The Saalbach is dammed up here in several places in succession. Today, these ponds are inhabited by fish and ducks. In the past, they were also used to operate various cottages.
Fantastic views from the dam wall of the Ronsdorf reservoir
We keep left at the next two crossroads until we reach the top of the Ronsdorf dam. We turn right to cross the dam wall. From here, there are wonderful views in both directions, both over the reservoir with its unique water coloration and down to the Saalbach valley. If you have heavy legs at the end of the dam wall and would prefer to shorten the route, turn left and follow the road that leads directly back to the hiking parking lot.
If you want to walk further, turn right and take a forest path, which has another small ascent and then turns left at a fork into a field path. From here, we can see as far as Remscheid on the right-hand side, including the towers of the historic water tower that dominate the Remscheid skyline and the town hall to the left.
At the end of the hike: back in the idyllic village center of Heidt
We reach the historic town center of Heidt via a hedge path. Here, not only is the typical Bergisch triad of white half-timbering, black slate and green shutters and doors a characteristic feature, but you can also still find the two-part Klöntüren here. Even today, they allow you to "chat" with neighbors or passers-by by opening the upper door, while the lower wooden door remains closed as a barrier for animals. Like most of the village, the old fire station from 1867 is a listed building.
Opposite house number 1, coming from our direction, we turn left into Dörpfeldstraße, which takes us past the old Heidt elementary school. We keep right at the next fork and return to the hikers' parking lot, where our tour ends.
