The circular route is strenuous at the start, but from Hinterhermsdorf it is all downhill and the ride through the upper Kirnitzschtal valley is an impressive natural experience.
This tour through Lower Saxon Switzerland leads through the extensive forests above the Kirnitzschtal valley and then follows the crystal-clear river back to the Kirnitzschtal road. In earlier times, the watercourse was used to raft the timber felled here to Bad Schandau on the Elbe. Nowadays, only the reconstructed dam of the Niedere Schleuse, which you pass in the last third of the tour, bears witness to this. (The so-called Upper Lock, which was built for the same purpose, still dams up the water of the Kirnitzsch to enable the Hinterhermsdorf barge trip). It should be noted that the route from the large parking lot at the Buchenparkhalle in Hinterhermsdorf runs on unpaved forest roads and wide farm tracks (nowadays called "gravel"), which is why more robust handbike tires are recommended.
