Somehow, we’d never really considered Saarland, not even during our two-month tour of Germany. Fortunately, we had the opportunity to explore part of this region at the beginning of June. As part of the Blogger Challenge, we were able to explore the beautiful region around Lake Bostal and the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park together with the Saarland Tourism Board.

The journey from the Baltic Sea to Saarland was like a trip around the world for us (but we’re used to that, ^^). We took a full 850 kilometers by train across Germany to reach our destination, Saarbrücken. And there we were. In Saarland. At the other end of Germany. The first thing we noticed: Saarland is green! Incredibly green! No wonder, after all, 40% of the area is covered by forest. Together with Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse, Saarland has the largest percentage of forest area in Germany. Did you know that? Saarland is also really small! It fits Bavaria 27 times over. Crazy, isn’t it?

• The Seezeitlodge at Lake Bostal
• The idyllic and beautiful Lake Bostal
• E-bike tours in Saarland
• Through the national park with a ranger
• Pure nature in the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park
• High up – Dollberg and Erbeskopf
• The Saar-Hunsrück-Steig and 111 other hiking trails
• Our conclusion about Saarland
• More tips from our community

The Seezeitlodge at Lake Bostal

From Saarbrücken, we headed straight out into nature. Everything was so lush green, simply everywhere. We reached our accommodation for the next few days – the wonderful Seezeitlodge. This stunningly beautiful hotel is located directly on Lake Bostal. A hotel could hardly be more idyllic. Here, relaxation, enjoyment, peace, and well-being are the order of the day.

Marco and I immediately agreed: “This is the most beautiful hotel we’ve ever stayed in.” The view of the lake from the balcony of our room made our start to the day even more enjoyable every morning. Design and comfort of the highest order, incredibly great staff, a wealth of spirit, and unique architecture. WOW! We truly felt at home and could go on raving about it.

The Seezeitlodge has a beautiful terrace, which we enjoyed visiting in the evenings. We sat there around the fire with a glass of wine. There’s also a truly fantastic wellness area with huge sunbathing lawns, a beautiful indoor and outdoor pool, relaxation rooms, a sauna, and much, much more.

Have we already mentioned how good the food was at the hotel? We’re still lost for words! Perfect! Simply perfect! So if you’re ever in the area, you should at least stop by the Seezeitlodge for dinner. Culinary delights are offered here, both for dinner and breakfast. Fresh, crisp, healthy, and regional.

The idyllic and beautiful Bostalsee

Directly in front of us lay the beautiful Bostalsee, idyllically nestled in the low mountain landscape of the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park. Today, this reservoir is used almost exclusively for recreational purposes and offers plenty of space for everyone. Surfing, sailing, hiking, camping, diving, cycling, swimming, sunbathing, beach volleyball, pedal boating, and much more—the lake offers the complete package.

We were able to go out on Lake Bostal with Sascha from the SALT Sailing School. Not by boat, but on SUPs. And you might know us – we love SUP! We were out for more than two hours as the sun set. What a wonderful and relaxing evening with Sascha.

FYI: The SALT Sailing School is about a 10-minute walk from the Seezeitlodge. You can take a 2-hour SUP course there. This currently costs €45, including equipment and wetsuits. If you’re already confident on a SUP, you can also rent the equipment (1 hour = €15 / 2 hours = €30).

E-Bike Tour in Saarland

An absolute highlight was our e-bike tour. Guests of the Seezeitlodge can rent them (€25 per day). They were truly “monster bikes.” I (Bolle) had never been on an e-bike before and wouldn’t have thought it would be so much fun. Even uphill riding is super easy and relaxed with one of these bikes.

A bike like this provides enormous support while riding. This allows you to cycle through nature in a relaxed manner for several hours at a time. We cycled from the Hunsrück Hochwald back to the Seezeitlodge on our bikes. Time and again, we passed wide fields, green meadows, and dense forests. Oh…that was really beautiful!

What’s also really cool is that there are really well-signposted hiking and cycling trails. Armed only with a map, we were able to find our way back to Bostalsee quite easily. Plus, there are no cars to disturb us. That’s especially important to us when cycling. So you can concentrate entirely on yourself and nature.

You can find all cycling routes in Saarland (including cross-border routes) here: Cycling in Saarland. Some of our trails even went directly through the Hunsrück Hochwald National Park. Mountain biking is also very good here. Occasionally, we only had to carry the bikes over some fallen trees. But with strong men in tow, that was no problem at all!

Through the National Park with a Ranger

Together with Christoph, our ranger, we were able to explore part of the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park. It’s somewhat hidden, just under an hour’s drive from Saarbrücken. Covering an area of 10,000 hectares, this park stretches across the highlands of the Hunsrück.

This region is an absolute paradise, especially for hiking enthusiasts. For conservationists, the national park is an important large-scale conservation area. Here, efforts are being made to allow nature to return to its natural state. You can find more information about the national park here: Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park.

Christoph showed us many plants and trees, explained interesting natural facts, and spoke to us about the Celts and Romans. The Celts settled here in the north of Saarland. Stone remains of this culture can still be found today. Our guide took us to the famous Celtic ring wall in Otzenhausen. This is a mighty Celtic fortification on the slope of the Dollberg.

It was built in the first century BC. Crazy, right? We stood on the ten-meter-high walls of this monumental relic from times long past. Simply incredible! It was incredibly fun hiking through the forest with Christoph. At some point, we also talked about traveling, school systems, and finding and developing oneself.

Because life isn’t about working 40 hours a week for someone else’s dreams. It’s about not losing sight of yourself and your own ideas about life. We don’t need more time or more money. We need more color, stories, love, and friendships!

The Hunsrück is a hotspot for biodiversity. Rare and sensitive animal and plant species find ideal conditions here. And who would have thought? A large number of wildcats live here. Of course, we didn’t see any. You have to be pretty lucky for that.

What truly left us speechless in the area were the endless forest areas! The many trees were impressive and showed us once again how important and beautiful our nature is. We must protect it, because then we can also protect ourselves!

Pure Nature in the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park

The national park is divided into different zones with different protection statuses. There is Nature Zone 1a, which includes the wilderness areas. Here, no further intervention is permitted; the forest is left to its own devices. Nature Zone 1b is a development area. In this zone, the forest is being converted into typical beech forests by removing conifers.

This is expected to take 30 years. After that, this area will also transition to Zone 1a. This zone is expected to eventually make up around 75% of the total area. Another area is Zone 2 – the so-called maintenance zone. Maintenance and development measures are still possible here.

We were able to spend another day in the national park with our guides Norbert, Petra, Matthias, and Rainer from “Erlebnis Nationalpark.” They told us a lot about the Celts, the importance of bees, nature, the park, moors, charcoal burning, and much, much more. Now, step by step, they want to return the entire park to nature. The national park’s slogan is: “Natural, with history.” Apt, isn’t it?

We have rarely experienced, seen, smelled, and touched so much wilderness. It was simply fascinating and enchanting at the same time. And who thinks of Germany when they hear the word “wilderness”? Probably no one! As much as we always long for the sea, we also love being out in the forests and mountains. Here, where nature takes its course to the fullest and creates things that are balm for our eyes and our souls.

High Up – Dollberg and Erbeskopf

Together with our guides, we hiked through the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park, sometimes riding our mountain bikes across it, and reached both of our day’s stages – the Dollberg and the Erbeskopf. The Dollberg is the highest elevation in Saarland, and the Erbeskopf is the highest point in Rhineland-Palatinate. As you can see, we weren’t just traveling in Saarland, because the National Park connects both federal states, four districts, and eight municipalities.

The Dollberg is 695.4 meters high and is located directly in the forest. Only a sign reminded us that we had now reached the highest point. Without this sign, we would neither have recognized nor known it. Shortly before, we took a picnic break in the middle of the forest and ate “typical Saarland” Lyoner sausage in a bread roll with mustard. Absolutely delicious!

After a long day and many kilometers of hiking, we reached the Erbeskopf. At 816 meters, it is the highest mountain in the Hunsrück. The view from the platform is simply breathtaking. Here, we all treated ourselves to a break and some time to catch our breath. We concluded our wonderful day in nature with a delicious glass of wine. That day, we covered approximately 14 kilometers on foot and by e-bike in the national park. Amazing!

The Saar-Hunsrück-Steig and 111 other hiking trails

In Saarland, you’ll find the well-known Saar-Hunsrück-Steig, one of the most popular routes in Germany. It has also been awarded the “German Hiking Seal.” This distinction is the highest a premium hiking trail can achieve in Europe. The route is approximately 421 kilometers long and consists of 27 stages.

The Saar-Hunsrück-Steig starts in Perl on the Moselle and continues via Idar-Oberstein to the Hunsrück. It finally reaches its destination in Boppard on the Rhine. Along this route, you’ll discover countless dream loops and 111 other circular hiking trails, as well as numerous excursion destinations (Trier, Perl, Morbach, Mettlach, Zeller Land, or Thalfang).

We hiked part of the Saar-Hunsrück-Steig. Here, nature reveals itself at its most beautiful. For hikes in Saarland, we recommend the Saarland Tour App. This app gives you access to an extensive tour database, topographical maps, sights, events, current news, and much more. More information here: Saarland Tour App.

Our conclusion about Saarland

The Blogger Challenge (in cooperation with the Saarland Tourism Office) was about discovering the three natural landscapes (Hunsrück-Hochwald, Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park & Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve). Each team was sent on different missions on site.

So feel free to check out Elisa from take an adVANture and Katharina & Henryk from Out of Office. We really enjoyed Saarland and will definitely come back. We can 100% recommend a short break in this region. The Hochwald-Hunsrück National Park is also an absolute recreational region.

Many thanks to the TZS, thanks to our ranger Christoph and to Sascha from the sailing school. Thanks to the wonderful people at the Seezeitlodge and thanks also for the great times with Norbert, Rainer, Petra and Matthias.

More tips from our community

• Try Dibbelabbes
• Explore the beautiful city of Trier
• Nauwieser Quarter in Saarbrücken
• Chill out in the Silo in Saarbrücken
• Treetop trail & Saarschleife
• Have a beer in the evening at Staden in Saarbrücken
• Explore St. Wendel
• Discover the Saarpolygon
• Visit the unofficial capital of Saarland (Saarlouis)
• View: Kalkofenhütte in Beckingen-Honzrath
• Rocky hiking trail and Losheim reservoir
• Visit Werner’s wolves
• The Kleinblittersdorf outdoor pool
• Take the train to France (e.g., Paris)
• Try a Schwenker (smoked pork) and a Lyoner (sausage)