Hiking on the information trail
The Mainzer Sand nature reserve has an information trail and information boards for walking, jogging and hiking.
Chirping crickets, tall grasses and steppe plants, twittering birds, and small, winding sandy paths. Unusual warmth and dryness create an almost Mediterranean scene at Mainzer Sand between Mombach and Gonsenheim. The Mainzer Sand Nature Reserve, with its nature trail and informational signs, invites visitors to take a stroll, go jogging, or hike. Let yourself be enchanted by a landscape inhabited by Mediterranean and continental plant species and rare animal species.
Information path
The nature trail was created as part of the EU LIFE nature conservation project "Restoration and Conservation of Dry Grasslands in Rhineland-Palatinate," led by the "Nature and Environment Rhineland-Palatinate" Foundation. Oak posts marked with a star and painted blue or green guide visitors through one of Europe’s most significant nature reserves without significantly altering the landscape. The "Blue Trail" leads through Nature Reserve I and can be reached via the Mombach Forest Cemetery. The "Green Trail" leads through Nature Reserve II and can be reached via the Westring or the "Am großen Sand" underpass.
Along the nature trail, eight information panels highlight special features of the landscape, such as flora and fauna, the climate, and the area’s geological history. A hike along the nature trail is a journey of discovery through a steppe landscape that formed after the last Ice Age, recognizable by Mediterranean and continental plant species such as the pheasant’s eye or the sand everlasting, which already existed in Central Europe 8,000 to 12,000 years ago. Instead of the beech trees commonly found in Germany, pines and oaks thrive in the Mainz Sand area. The area is also notable as a habitat for rare animal species, such as the sand ground beetle or the blue-winged grasshopper.
The Lenneberg Forest is located in the immediate vicinity of the Mainzer Sand.