"What is a national park?" "What plants and animals are there?" or "What can I experience in the national park?" You can discover all this in the exhibition at the Monschau-Höfen National Park Gate. There is a small gift for all those who find the correct answer to the goalkeeper quiz.

Well informed, you can start a leisurely half-day hiking tour on the Wilderness Trail* just behind the National Park Gate. First, the hiking trail leads downhill along mighty hedgerows towards the Perlenbach dam. If you are lucky, you may see buzzards and hawks flying over the open land. Later, follow the wildcat logo on the signpost to the left and you will reach a great root path through a dense spruce forest. There is not only a picnic area here, but also an interesting root path where you can hide behind the trees right at the edge of the path. You can hear the Perlbach babbling past almost all the time. At the bridge to the Holländerhäuschen, the wildcat then turns left and you follow the Fuhrtsbachtal valley to the Antoniusbrücke bridge. The valley is part of a nature reserve and, like the neighboring Perlenbach valley, is famous for the millions of wild daffodils that bloom in spring. The route then continues along forest and hiking trails, always following the wildcat in the direction of the Wahlerscheid hiking parking lot; at 632m, this is the highest point on the Wilderness Trail. Depending on the time of year, you can smell fragrant wild herbs and observe butterflies in the romantic meadow valleys.

Tip: You can use the Venn Shuttle as a pick-up or drop-off service from Monday to Saturday.

Sunday tip: While the family looks at the exhibition, one parent drives the car to the Wahlerscheid hiking parking lot on Sunday mornings, located directly at the large ranger hat on the B 258, and takes the Waldlinie 815 bus (Kall-Monschau, only runs on Sundays and public holidays) back to the national park gate. The family can then set off on the hike together and decide on their own return journey at any time.

*The Wilderness Trail is a hiking trail that leads in four stages through the middle of the Eifel National Park from Monschau-Höfen to Zerkall. Some sections are particularly suitable for families with children.