Mühlenweg, Hiking and cycling trail in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

The Mühlenweg is a hiking trail in Rhineland-Palatinate that passes through varied landscapes with forests, meadows, and rock formations. It connects locations where water mills once operated to grind grain and process other materials.

The Mühlenweg was created in 1978 as a joint tourism project of the town and Verbandsgemeinde of Landstuhl and the Verbandsgemeinde of Thaleischweiler-Wallhalben. It runs 23 km through the Wallhalb valley from Landstuhl over the Sickinger Höhe to Thaleischweiler-Fröschen, passing ten water mills directly. Since 1996 the car-free Wallhalb valley day has been held every two years in early summer.

The trail is named for the ten water mills it passes directly, plus two more off-route in Landstuhl. The Rosselmühle, the valley's oldest mill, first built before 1400 and rebuilt around 1720, stopped operating in 1986 and now houses a mill museum where an original waterwheel still turns for demonstrations. The Wallhalber Mühle drew its water through a 2.5 km channel, and its bakery, attached early on, still operates after the grain mill closed.

Bring navigation tools, sufficient water, and appropriate footwear since the route has both easy and moderate sections. Pay attention to the trail markers at junctions to stay on the correct path.

Multiple mill remnants remain visible along the route as physical evidence of the area's craft tradition. These structures let you see where the actual work took place rather than simply reading about it.