5. Urwaldsteig-Ultratrail

Urwaldsteig-Ultratrail is a 66 km trail ultra around the Edersee in Hesse, Germany. It starts and finishes at the car park by Schloss Waldeck. Runners depart at 8 a.m. on the marked original Urwaldsteig, facing approximately 2,000 meters of elevation gain and a 12-hour cutoff. Laufwerk Kassel organizes the event, which requests an 18 euro starting donation. The field is capped at 30 runners. The route descends from Waldeck into Waldecker Bucht, then enters Bärental. It continues along narrow paths, steep inclines, through forests, beside lake edges, and past viewpoints surrounding the reservoir. Highlights include the Krüppelwald with its lichens and mosses, the Scheid peninsula, the Kahle Haardt nature reserve, the medieval rampart at Hünselburg, block fields in the Lindenberg woods, Herzhausen, the National Park center, Hagenstein viewpoint, old beech forest on Ringelsberg, Banfe pond, the Eder crossing, dam views, and the Kanzel lookout offering views back toward the lake and Schloss Waldeck. Support is minimal, with runners carrying their own provisions and one aid station near the halfway point, making it resemble a self-reliant trail run more than a large-scale ultra.