Baumholder combines year-round leisure opportunities at the town lake with a forest nature trail and a rich local history. When planning a trip, you can choose from water-based and active pursuits, nature education and historic sites. Specific conditions apply to some visits: supervised swimming is available in summer, and the Historic Bier Forge can be visited by prior arrangement.
Leisure at the Town Lake
Baumholder’s town lake serves as a local recreation area in the town and is free to use year-round. Supervised swimming is available in summer; check seasonal operating details before your trip. Stand-up paddleboarding is also permitted on the lake. SUP boards can be rented from the local DLRG lifeguard service. As availability may change, it is advisable to check in advance.
The swimming area has free parking, grassy areas, a kiosk and sanitary facilities. The playground, pump track and fitness area are also accessible free of charge year-round. The pump track is designed for bicycles, scooters, inline skates and skateboards. The area therefore offers a range of ways to exercise and spend time outdoors, not just swimming.
Loop Trail and Nature Education in the Town Forest
The “Im Gärtel” forest nature trail is an approximately two-kilometre loop through Baumholder’s town forest. It passes the Gärtel nature conservation area and the forest lodge, and is open year-round. At the nature conservation area, information boards and interactive learning stations provide information about forest animals, bees and insects; a birdhouse exhibition complements these topics. The nature conservation area is located along the trail and is suitable for families.
The forest lodge is accessible as part of guided hikes or can be booked through the Town of Baumholder. Booking is required for independent access. The offerings along the trail therefore differ: the nature conservation area combines the loop trail with nature education, while access to the forest lodge requires a guided hike or a booking.
Local History and Historic Sites
The Goldener Engel Regional Museum covers regional history, the creation of the Baumholder military training area and the effects of the US presence, which lasted for more than 60 years, on Baumholder and the surrounding communities. Everyday life in Baumholder in the 1950s and 1960s is presented through texts, photographs, everyday objects, music, press articles and films. Historical developments are thus presented alongside materials that offer insights into everyday life at the time.
The Avenue of the Lost Homeland offers a different historical perspective. It shows the villages that had to make way for the military training area in the 1930s; it can be reached via the Bärenbachpfad Dream Loop. The Historic Bier Forge is a freestanding forge building dating from 1840. Its complete equipment is of interest from an economic and technological history perspective. Visits are possible by prior arrangement; the forge is also included in guided tours of Baumholder.
Other historic sights include the Old Town Hall, dating from 1840, a Baroque Protestant church and a Neo-Gothic Catholic church. The Thick Tower and the Leichenpforte gate are associated with the town fortifications. The partially restored washbasin at Wäschbach is also among Baumholder’s historic sites.
Golf on Faulenberghöhe
Another option is the Rolling Hills Golfclub Baumholder e.V. The 35-hectare course is located on Faulenberghöhe on the outskirts of Baumholder and offers views across the Hunsrück and Westrich regions. This is a different focus from the activities at the town lake or the sites devoted to local history: here, the golf course and landscape views take centre stage.
For planning your activities, Baumholder’s offerings can be clearly distinguished: leisure and exercise at the town lake, nature education along the “Im Gärtel” loop trail, and museums and historic sites in town. The specific conditions for supervised swimming, SUP rentals, the forest lodge and the forge help you prepare for individual visits.
Discover more destinations: Abentheuer, BrĂĽcken, Fischbach, Hammerstein, Sulzbach / HunsrĂĽck, Idar-Oberstein, Kirschweiler, Frauenberg.
For the broader travel overview: Birkenfeld.
