You can‘t visit Frau Holle Land without hiking up the Hoher Meißner. It‘s the region‘s tallest mountain, at 751m. There isn‘t much of a summit at the top because the peak is more plateau-shaped, running a monstrous 8km long by 4km wide. This Premium Hike, known locally as P1, covers a large portion of the crown and hits a number of highlights along the way.
We arrived by Rufbus (call-a-bus) to Hausen (Hessisch-Lichtenau), which is a great starting point to the hike. To make the return easy, we hiked the Grimmsteig from Hausen to Velmeden and picked up the bus back from there.
Table of Contents
Start in Hausen
Starting in Hausen, there is a fabulous fountain, hut, and stream to get you excited for what’s to come. We hiked the tour counterclockwise and headed across the stream up the hill. Not long after, we reached the meadow where the Berggasthof Hoher Meißner and NaturFreunde Meißnerhaus are. From there we had an excellent view over Hessisch Lichtenau and the surrounding mountains, valleys, and villages. Be sure to soak up the panorama here because there aren‘t many on this hike!
Information Stations
Along the way, we passed several signs for the Klimapfad climate path. There were lots of interesting things to read and interactive questions and activities. We got to record the weather at one sign with weather instruments, take a picture of our findings, and submit them to Jugendwaldheim-Meißner. Other interesting stations included how much CO2 is produced by certain produce, dairy, and meat products, how many trees a persons need to breathe, and how photosynthesis works.
Seesteine
Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the Seesteine. These dark rocks are made of basalt. Although the area is called “lake stones,” the water that was once there has since dried up. Back in 1880 a hiking park was developed around the stones, and some even got names. Today, stone-lined paths guide the way, even forming stairs to climb the up the steep cliff. Forest quotes and poems are located at various stations around this section. There are also memorials for several forest rangers and their leaders who died in the wars.
memorial for fallen rangers 
path and steps out of Seesteine
Blockmeere
Next up is another geological attraction, the Blockmeere, or block seas. These are basalt cubes which, through a long process, have broken away from the basalt layer they came from. At this part of the trail, depending on the amount of recent rainfall, several brooks and waterfalls cross our path. When I hiked the P1 in January, the water runoff loudly rushed by through this corridor full of snowmelt and recent precipitation, but when C and I hiked it in April, they were noticeably slower and more muted.
Haus Halde
Next we saw Haus Halde, the only remaining building from Schwalbenthal, the former mining village from when mining was permitted on the Hoher Meißner. This is an excellent rest spot. There is information about when Jakob Grimm (of the Grimm Brothers) came to Hoher Meißner to gather stories about Frau Holle. Also at this location is a stone garden made up of the various kinds of rock which can be found throughout the region.
After a rest at Haus Halde we hiked up the hill to an amazing viewpoint. Now I can recognize the Kleine and Große Leuchtberge in Eschwege (on the hike P3 Über die Blaue Kuppe) and the mountains of the Hessische Schweiz (P4). Near the viewpoint is a memorial to the miners who worked at the Hoher Meißner. It weighs over one metric ton and is made out of several oak blocks.
Kalbe
Hiking uphill again, we made our way to the Kalbe peak at 721m. From here we could see the Stinksteinwand (stinky stone wall) across the way. This wall is what remained after the mining had stopped. It’s called the stinky stone wall because in certain weather conditions the leftover coal/charcoal in the wall begins to burn and releases a sulfurous odor. After summiting the Kalbe, we saw the Kalbesee, a lake which fills in the quarry.
view from Kalbe with Stinksteinwand 
Kalbesee
Frau Holle Teich
Then it was time to head to the Frau Holle Teich. This is technically a detour from the P1, but an important stop due to the legends this character has written about her (check out this Frau Holle Land post to read about her). If you‘re paying attention to the signs, you can hike down and up in a loop. We took the Euelensteig down to the lake and back up, but it’s a wonderful footpath. Through thick forest along a chattering creek, the not-too-steep path passes several information signs about the 6 kinds of owls you can find in Frau Holle Land. At the lake, there are several picnic tables and benches. Frau Holle herself peers out over the lake across the way.
Kasseler Kuppe
Back on trail, many of the highlights were over, but the Hoher Meißer still had a few tricks up its sleeve. We took a detour from P1 to check out the Kasseler Kuppe, one of the highest points on the Hoher Meißner at 753m. There is a hut and a picnic table, but unfortunately no viewpoint. While we didn‘t regret checking it out, I wouldn‘t say it’s necessary to make this detour.
Much of this section of the hike is on Loipen, or cross country skiing trails, which means that the P1 is inaccessible to hikers during the winter ski season. The wide, hard-packed stone trail isn‘t the most comfortable for hiking, but the dense pine forest surroundings are definitely an interesting change to what we‘ve seen on the hike so far. An info sign told us that the Eurasian Lynx roams the area. This section of trail is actually an overlap of two known cats’ reveres.
Kitzkammer
Eventually we left the ski trails and headed back into the nature protection zone. Hiking downhill, we came to the final highlight of the trip: the Kitzkammer. These basalt rock formations reminded me a lot of the Giants’ Causeway in Northern Ireland because of the geometric shape of the rocks. Instead of coming straight out of the ground, these rocks seem to grow out of the side of a cliff. The Kitzkammer most likely got its name from Käuzchen, a kind of native owl which may have flown into the spaces between the rocks.
Following the brook downhill, it‘s not long at all until we reached Hausen, where we began this Premium Hike. To get back, we followed the Grimmsteig to Velmeden and got the bus there (205 and 290).
I planned my tours on the Hoher Meißner with help from this page from the Deutsches Wander Institut and this page from Geo Naturpark Frau Holle Land.
Learn more about Premium Hiking in Germany
More premium hikes in Frau Holle Land: Über die Blaue Kuppe P3, Waldkappeler Berg P17, Gänsekerleweg P19