News about the Hofheim forest area

Since 2013, 300 bat boxes have been hanging in the Kapellenberg Forest. The city of Hofheim installed them and is now unveiling three new information signs displaying the results of ongoing monitoring. “Twelve bat species live in the habitat at the wildlife preserve—meaning half of all species found in Germany are represented there,” explains Michael Klink of the city’s forestry department. The Bechstein’s bat, in particular, is very rare. According to Tanja Lindenthal of BUND Hofheim, the signs mark the starting point of an educational trail that is to be created using simple means and volunteer efforts. The signs were designed by graphic designer Patricia Joyner for BUND and installed by forestry staff members Marco Stimpert and Lennert Kleiner. The signs were funded by the Main-Taunus District.

The area around Kapellenberg serves as a summer roost for bats primarily from April through September. Species found there include the pipistrelle, the greater mouse-eared bat, and the lesser noctule. The bats need safe resting places and nursery roosts where they can raise their young. They hunt mainly in the forest, but also in the neighboring meadows of Vorderheide II and the Bauerlöcher meadows, where they eat thousands of insects each night. In the fall, they move to their winter roosts in frost-free cellars and tunnels or hibernate in tree hollows. “The orchard meadows of Vorderheide II and the adjacent forest on Kapellenberg are inextricably linked and form an ecological gem right on our doorstep,” explained Tanja Lindenthal. “With the new bat information signs and our bat tours, we want to help walkers experience these delicate interconnections firsthand. We thank Ms. Joyner for her willingness to design the signs for us at a reduced cost.”

The new information signs are located along the two trails above and below the game reserve. The trails are easy to walk with children but are not wheelchair accessible. There is also a new flyer about the bats in the Hofheim area. It is distributed, among other places, during the bat tours. Upcoming dates: On Friday, August 21, there will be a tour for children at 8:00 p.m.; the tour on Thursday, September 3, at 7:30 p.m., however, is aimed at adults. The meeting point is Hundshager Weg at the corner of Mammolshainer Weg. More information about the bat tours can be found at www.bund-hofheim.de.

The municipal barbecue area at the Viehweide is closed effective immediately until further notice due to the high risk of wildfires. The Citizens’ Office is therefore no longer accepting reservations at this time. Residents of Hofheim who had already reserved the area will be notified.

The district town of Hofheim am Taunus is basing its decision on the German Weather Service’s wildfire danger index. This index categorizes the wildfire danger into five levels, ranging from very low to very high. Level 4 (high danger) is forecast for the coming days.

The following rules of conduct apply given the current wildfire risk:

• Smoking in the forest is generally prohibited. Burning cigarette butts must not be discarded—not even out of a car window.
  
• Broken glass can act like a magnifying glass and start a fire. Therefore, do not leave bottles lying around in the forest.
  
• Access roads to the forests must remain clear. They serve as vital fire department access routes and emergency escape routes for emergency vehicles. Cars must therefore be parked exclusively in designated parking areas. Vehicles must not be parked on dry ground cover, as this can catch fire.
  

Anyone who notices a forest fire or smoke should immediately notify the fire department (emergency number 112).

Of course, you can still barbecue at home—but you should exercise caution here as well: Do not leave anything flammable near the grill, and keep a bucket of water within reach.

Due to the current heat and drought, the German Weather Service (DWD) is warning of an increased risk of wildfires. Visitors to the Hofheim City Forest are also asked to follow a few guidelines to help prevent a possible fire:

• Access roads and trails into the forest must be kept clear so as not to block the path for fire trucks.

• Do not light open fires in the forest and observe the smoking ban. As always, do not leave trash behind in the forest. Broken glass can also start a fire if it focuses sunlight like a magnifying glass.

• Cars must not be parked on dry grass, as the hot exhaust pipe can cause a fire.

• In the event of a fire, report it immediately to the fire department by calling the emergency number 112. If you’re using a smartphone, use the “Hilfe im Wald” app to locate the nearest emergency response point and share it with emergency responders. This will help them find the scene even faster.

• Rain only reduces the risk of wildfires to a limited extent. The DWD provides information on the current situation on its website.

• Please share this information with others so that as many people as possible are aware of the risk.

Eight of the 34 garbage cans that were previously installed in the Hofheim city forest remain in the forest. The rest have been dismantled on a trial basis. This was decided by the city council as part of the budget security concept. "It cost us around 15,700 euros between April and December 2025 to have the garbage cans emptied," says First City Councillor Daniel Philipp. "By limiting ourselves to eight garbage cans, we will save around 17,100 euros over the year as a whole." For this reason, they are temporarily examining whether it would be possible to manage with fewer garbage cans in the forest. Other reasons are animal and environmental protection. The wind often scatters the garbage from full bins in the forest.

However, the posts and brackets to which the garbage cans were attached remain in place. This means that the old state can be quickly restored at a later date if necessary. Signs explaining the situation will also be attached to the posts. The garbage cans at the edges of the forest, which were particularly heavily used in the past, will remain in place:

• Marxheim Gymnasiumschneise
• Marxheim Forest parking lot Sportpark Heide
• Marxheim dog meadow
• Diedenbergen Nature park site Weberhäuschen (K787)
• Hofheim Forest area/ game reserve
• Lorsbach Forest parking lot Buchwaldweg (L3368)
• Wallau Forest parking lot (K793)
• Hofheim dog meadow cattle pasture

According to the forestry and building yard staff, people often throw their household waste into one of the garbage cans in the forest instead of disposing of it properly. This attracts wild animals, which eat plastic or injure themselves when rummaging through the garbage. "I can only urge people to refrain from doing this," explains Philipp. The best garbage is that which is not produced in the first place. He therefore asks all forest visitors to keep their food and drink as "low-waste" as possible when visiting the forest. "A tried and tested concept is: what you take into the forest goes back home with you."

In this context, Philipp points out that "littering" is a problem throughout the city, not just in the forest. Last year, it cost the city around 52,000 euros to remove it. The examples ranged from discarded pizza boxes to excavated soil that had been dumped on a field path on a large scale.

Incidentally, dumping car tires or bags of garbage somewhere "wild" is an administrative offence that can be punished with fines. In serious cases, it can even be a criminal offense under the Criminal Code - for example, in the case of environmental crimes such as leaking oil or chemicals, large quantities of waste or repeated violations.

The next audit date will be April 22, 2026 by the certification body GFA Certification GmbH.

As in previous years, the audit report will be published in the category Sustainable management of the Hofheim municipal forest published after approval by the municipal council.

The town of Hofheim has had an amphibian fence erected at the Viehweide just in time for the start of the toad migration. "The background to this is that there were high losses of common toads at the Viehweide last year," explains First City Councillor Daniel Philipp. In spring, the toads migrate from their winter quarters in the forest across the road to spawn in the pond opposite and get caught up in the traffic.

The new wooden fence is 550 meters long and 40 cm high; it stands between the edge of the forest and the road to the restaurant. The town received funding for this from the Lower Nature Conservation Authority. The cooperation partner is the Hofheim branch of BUND (Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland).

A total of 30 catching buckets are set into the ground at regular intervals for the toads to collect in during their nightly migration. Every morning, someone - usually volunteers from BUND - comes and transfers the toads into a transport bucket. They are then carried to the pond where they are released. The toads are also counted and recorded by sex on a record sheet.

"In addition to our forestry administration, I would like to thank all the volunteers from BUND who step in early in the morning to check the catching buckets - especially at weekends, on public holidays and during vacations," says Daniel Philipp.

The toads also need help on the way back. However, a permanent fence cannot be installed on the pond side. That is why there is now a mobile fence there every year during the toad season, which interrupts the toads' return migration towards the forest. Buckets are also set into the ground here, where the toads collect before being returned to the forest.

Depending on the weather, the toad migration lasts from around the end of February until June. "After that, we're looking forward to evaluating the bows," says Philipp.

Every spring, thousands of common toads embark on a dangerous journey to their spawning waters. Without our help, this route, at the Hofheimer-Viehweide, would be a deadly trap. Help us to get the common toads safely across the road.

The Usinger Straße L3368 will be temporarily closed on 14.01.2026 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. due to necessary logging work.

Timber is being felled in the vicinity of the road, which means that the danger zone must be temporarily cordoned off for safety reasons. The road closure will be supervised by the city police.

We ask for your understanding.

While stocks last: On Saturday, December 13, 2025, you can cut your own Christmas tree in the district town of Hofheim am Taunus from 10 am to 3 pm. In the in-house Christmas tree plantation without the use of fertilizers or pesticides, you will find optimally grown Christmas trees as well as differently shaped Christmas trees. The latter are offered at a lower price.

The Christmas tree plantation is located at the "Weberhäuschen" on the district road 787 between Langenhain and Diedenbergen. Parking is available in the forest parking lot of the Taunus Nature Park. Please bring suitable tools (handsaw, gloves).

As in previous years, the Waldjugend Hofheim will be selling sausages and hot drinks. You can also purchase decorative works by a local wood carver and decorative brushwood.

Severe storms increase the danger in the forest. Dry branches or even entire trees can fall to the ground in light winds. Particular caution is also required when thunderstorms are approaching and the wind is picking up strongly. Citizens are asked not to go into wooded areas or hike through open or elevated terrain during severe weather warnings.

As a possible consequence, streams and smaller rivers can suddenly swell and even overflow in places. Mudslides and minor landslides are possible on slopes, and there is a risk of severe damage to agriculture in the event of hailstorms. Damage can also be caused by thunderstorm gusts, trees can be uprooted or branches torn off.

Top priority during storms: If possible, do not stay outdoors and do not seek shelter under single trees. Stop staying in or on the water immediately and go ashore without delay.

The wildlife park in Hofheim's city forest has a new addition: a few days ago, one of the females in the enclosure gave birth to three newborns. This brings the total number of wild boars living in the park below the chapel at the Meisterturm to eleven - four older, four younger and three very small ones.

Due to the renewed snowfall, the district town of Hofheim am Taunus asks you not to enter the city forest until further notice. There is still a risk of trees falling and branches breaking off under the weight of the snow.

The Hofheim community foundation's tree planting campaign is once again a great success: on the planting days in October and November, everyone was able to lend a hand and contribute to saving Hofheim's city forest. Almost 220 helpers, including around 40 children and young people and 20 supervisors from the Hofheim children's and youth fire departments as well as 25 children from the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), worked together to plant around 3,500 trees in the Langenhain and Wildsachsen municipal forests.

The benches at the Jacobsruhe rest area on Albertsweg have been renewed. The square is named after Jakob Christoph Westenberger. He lived nearby from 1808 to 1874 and distributed slices of bread to needy schoolchildren.