At Bad Schandau National Park railway station, the route first goes up to the bridge and then a short distance to the left along the B172 until the eye-catching steel staircase appears, which leads to the newly created René Prokoph Trail. From here, it is a short distance to Schandauer Straße. Cross this road and then follow the Hörnelweg to Gohrisch as far as the Anna's Ruh viewpoint. This is the most strenuous part of the hike, as there are several metres of elevation gain to overcome. At the Anna's Ruh viewpoint, you can take a short break to savour the view of Bad Schandau, the Elbe and the imposing railway bridge to recover from the ascent. Now continue along the historic ridge path (path, yellow). Note on the ridge path: Please note that the path is still quite narrow and overgrown at the moment and is only suitable for hikers who are sure-footed and use a detailed hiking map or app. There are historical boundary stones along the narrow path, sometimes hidden, sometimes quite obvious. An old cemetery cross from 1866 also suddenly appears in the greenery among the ferns. At the "Spitzer Hübel" there is a newly erected bench that invites you to linger. The trail continues past the Gohrisch forest cemetery to the fork in the road to Gohrisch and Kleinhennersdorf. If you are hungry, walk a little further to the town centre and stop off at the Cucina restaurant in Quartier 5 in Gohrisch. Strengthened, you continue along the Königsteiner Steig (yellow) in the direction of Kleinhennersdorf. At the turn-off via the "Höllenweg" to the Kleinhennersdorfer Stein and the mystical "Lichterhöhle". The "Ice Cave" and the "Hampel Cave" are also worth discovering. They are somewhat hidden, so you may not find them straight away. The route then descends via some steps to a section of the 6th stage of the Malerweg (red line) towards Kleinhennersdorf. The Täppichtsteig trail takes you down to the Elbe to the Elbe cycle path. Along the way, you can enjoy the view of the town of Bad Schandau. Perhaps a historic steamboat with its typical huffing and puffing will take off before the circular walk ends at the national park railway station.
