The Allgäu is naturally a tourist hotspot. Many holidaymakers and hikers stroll across the lush alpine pastures up to the panoramic peaks - not least because of the parade view of the glaciated main Alpine ridge to the south. Mountain bikers, on the other hand, have long been left behind in the Allgäu. Just like in the entire German Alpine region, where visitor pressure is already high and local residents are correspondingly annoyed.
But what about the local mountain bikers who live in such areas and simply want to enjoy their sport? One of them is Eric Haufe, owner of the tour organiser Ride Alpine Trails from Sonthofen. His passion is freeride trails and there are plenty of them in his home region. But until now they were not officially permitted.
So he did what you have to do to get a hearing in German government offices: Together with a few like-minded people, he founded the "Mountainbike Allgäu e. V." association, collected funding, submitted concepts and trail plans, spent weeks in discussions with foresters and nature conservationists - and was successful!
Sonthofen, Kempten and Gschwender Horn
Then it was time to swap pen and mobile phone for shovel and pickaxe and get digging: Near Sonthofen, four small but beautiful lines are already winding their way through the forest: the Hinanger-Steig trails. If you link them together or tackle one after the other, you can have a whole afternoon of fun, says enduro ace Max Schumann, who comes from the region himself and is of course a club member. "I'm particularly impressed by the precise construction of these trails."
Near Wildpoldsried, close to Kempten, the Halde trails offer a three-kilometre loop that is fully signposted and lovingly maintained by the local trail team.
However, the region's big highlight is still under construction: the Neuland Trail on the Gschwender Horn near Immenstadt. The lower jumpline section of this descent has been finished for a while, but the upper enduro section is to be accessed at the summit cross. At an altitude of 1450 metres, with plenty of panoramic views. It goes without saying that something particularly photogenic has to be created. But this line down to Alpe Gschwenderberg should also be complete by the time the season really gets going. A total of 10.9 kilometres of descent with 580 very fun and varied metres of depth await! The GPX data and directions to these non-commercial, i.e. entrance-free trails in the Allgäu can be found at: mtballgaeu.de
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Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
