Three-Ponds Tour

Our tour begins at the S-Bahn station in Bad Schandau. On the first leg, we ride downstream along the Elbe Cycle Route to Königstein. At the roundabout in Königstein, we head toward Pfaffendorf and cycle a few meters along the Biela, which flows into the Elbe in Königstein. After about 100 m, we keep to the left and follow the road, which now leads us steeply uphill. Soon we come to Pfaffendorfer Straße, which we continue to follow uphill. After about 100 m, a hiking trail branches off to the right toward the Quirl plateau. We follow the trail along the edge of the forest, which leads us steeply uphill almost all the way to the Quirl plateau. After that, the trail descends gently for a while. Soon we come to Kirchleitenweg, where we turn left. We follow this path through the forest until we reach the state road toward Cunnersdorf. There, we turn right, pass a forest parking lot on our left, and shortly thereafter come to the Ladeweg Bridge on our left, which we cross. From here, we follow the hiking trail marked with the white-green-white symbol, which requires us to pedal hard again.

We cycle along the Ladeweg, which merges into Lampertstraße after about 1 km. Immediately afterward, we reach the first of the three ponds, the Neuteich. We continue to follow Lampertstraße and the white-green-white symbol, and shortly afterward we pass an idyllic rest area where we can take a break. A little later, our path meets Lange Straße, which we follow to the left. At the next fork in the road, we keep to the right and continue to the edge of the forest. There we come to Brandweg, onto which we turn left. Shortly afterward, we reach an intersection with a covered shelter, where we can take a short break.

We then continue straight ahead on the Sommerhübelweg until, after about 1 km, we turn left onto the Kuhgassenweg, which merges into the Alte Tetschner Straße. Now we’re back on the hiking trail marked with the white-green-white symbol. We follow Alte Tetschner Straße eastward and, after the long climb, can now let the bike roll a bit. Eventually, we reach a T-intersection. Here we turn right and immediately see the Fuchsteich to our left. Directly behind it lies the border with the Czech Republic. After a brief detour to the idyllically situated Fuchsteich, we turn back and cycle to the Alte Flößerbrücke, where we turn right. We now follow this path northward until we reach Mittlerer Hühnerbergweg. Here, we turn right. Soon after, we cross the Taubenbach over a bridge and then turn right.

A little later, we see the Taubenteich on our right. This is a good spot for a short break, since the route then goes uphill again for a short stretch. We continue along our path, now following the white-yellow-white symbol. Soon we find ourselves in the Krippenbach valley and can now—following the river downstream—enjoy a leisurely ride. Finally, we reach State Road 169, onto which we turn right. We pass the Forstmühle and Rölligmühle mills and, after about 4 km, reach the outskirts of Krippen. We cycle through Krippen, with its numerous picturesque half-timbered houses, all the way to the Elbe. From here, we ride a short stretch of the Elbe Cycle Route once more to return to our starting point in Bad Schandau.