Treetop path Saarschleife, Canopy walkway near Orscholz, Germany.
The Treetop path Saarschleife is an elevated wooden walkway through mixed deciduous forest in the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park, rising to heights of up to 23 meters above the ground. The route has no steps and is accessible throughout for wheelchairs and strollers.
The walkway was built on the initiative of the Mettlach municipal council, which approved it by a large majority in hopes of boosting tourism. Erlebnis Akademie AG of Bad Kötzting realised the project to plans by architect Josef Stöger at a cost of 4.7 million euros, with 275,000 euros from Saarland and support from the European Regional Development Fund. It opened on 23 July 2016 and counted its 25,000th visitor within three weeks.
The path takes its name from the dramatic river bend visible far below, and several stops along the route explain the local rock formations, forest types, and how water shaped the landscape. These teaching moments help visitors understand the natural world they are walking through.
The walkway is fully barrier-free, with a maximum gradient of 6 percent, so wheelchairs and strollers can reach the 42-metre tower. Rest zones lie along the serpentine climb to the 70-square-metre platform. The path stays open all year except 24 December, but the tower closes when wind speeds exceed 50 km/h.
The tower's 70-square-metre platform sits 42 metres above the Cloef, and the climb is made by serpentines with rest zones rather than stairs. The structure uses 100 tonnes of steel alongside 1,000 cubic metres of Douglas fir and larch, with wood making up 80 percent of the build.
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