When Is the Best Time
The wild daffodils are in bloom between late March and beginning of May depending on weather conditions and temperatures the weeks before. If it is sunny and warm, the wild daffodils start to bloom. Usually, the best time is the mid-to-end of April to watch the wild daffodils in full bloom.
The different daffodils trails around Monschau/Kalterherberge are very popular. At weekends, especially from midday onwards, it tends to get crowded on this awesome walks. If you start early, you can beat most of the crowds.
We combined the wild daffodil trail with a little detour of roughly 1.5 km to the Bieley Rocks right behind the Belgian border. This hiking track is not marked the reason for few hikers. It’s a military restricted zone and sometimes closed due to sharpshooting. Days are listed on a huge sign before you enter the zone.
Monschau located on 517 m elevation is still cold in March even snow can occur.
- In March the average day temperature is still below 10°C and freezing in the night.
- In April it starts to warm up on average 12°C during the day but pleasant on sunny days. Nights are still just below freezing.
- May is pleasant already 16°C on average.
Best Months to Visit
Location and Tips
The wild daffodil in the nature protected area at Perlenbach- and Fuhrtsbachtal are much smaller than the jonquil. Each year more than 10 million daffodils are in bloom. Nowadays, wild daffodils exist in Germany only in Eifel and Hunsrück. You can spot the daffodils in a huge number on the meadows.
We did several circular hikes from different starting points already.
- One hike starts at Perlenbach dam.
- Another trail starts from Alzen - Parkplatz "Zum Brüchelchen". The trail from Alzen plus detour to the Bieley rocks is almost 14 km long. The trail took us three hours.
- If starting in Höfen add 2,5 km, in total 16.5 km.
- The shortest trail starts from "Gut Heistert" with limited parking is less than 4 km long.
Follow the daffodil signs and the wildcat logo. We hiked the trail clockwise and left when we reached the old "Sprengbunker" direction Antoniusbrücke along Fuhrtsbach. From here walk direction Jägersief and Oberer Steg. This part of the trail is wide, sometimes paved and easy to walk. Around 1 km before Oberer Steg, we left the trail to the left and crossed the stream Jägersief to get to the Bieley Rocks. This part is easy to find. You already see the trail and a huge sign from the Military with sharpshooting dates to the left. The wild daffodil meadows are truly beautiful. Walk uphill and leave the wide trail, turn right onto a smaller footpath. Very soon, you get to the amazing rocks with breathtaking views.
We took a break here on the rocks, ate a sandwich. and enjoyed the view back to Germany and the Jägersief. Might be easier to find with GPS or Locus Pro (Mapping App). Picture of a map and a screenshot from our app is attached. Afterwards, the trail has a steep descent for about 200 meters. When reaching the bottom turn right to get back to the wild daffodil trail. At "Unterer Steg" the trail branches; the right trail is still wide and busier, instead, cross the bridge and take the left path which is narrow and less busy.
Tip: At the same time of the year, you can find the herb wild garlic which smells and tastes like garlic nearby in the Urfttal along the river Urft.
