From the station building in Scharfenstein, keep right (upstream) along the main road. Before the level crossing, turn towards Großolbersdorf (marked red and green). After about a hundred meters, opposite the former restaurant and pension Siebers Erben, follow the red-marked Zschopau Valley hiking trail. This runs parallel to the Zschopau Valley railway line to Hopfgarten. On the way, you cross the Großolbersdorfer Bach stream, along which is a nature trail.
In Hopfgarten, you reach Grünauer Straße, which you follow downhill to the right. You cross the railway tracks and shortly before the bridge over the Zschopau turn left into Uferstraße, leaving the red marking here.
After a few hundred meters, at a rest area with a playground, you go under the railway line and then follow the yellow marking uphill towards Warmbad. The hiking trail, which on this section follows the Zschopau Valley cycle path, shortly after the signpost splits into two parallel paths that rejoin after a few meters. Following the river valley, you come after a few kilometers past the Kellerlochfelsen, from where you have a great view into the valley.
A few hundred meters past this point, you come to a junction with a signpost where you turn right following the yellow marking towards Floßplatz. This section, now called Alpine Path, turns right again after about 50 meters and follows a narrow, partly rough path along the Königsbach stream towards the Zschopau Valley. Along the way, you pass the Brandbach adit with an information board and a spring. On reaching the Zschopau, you walk upstream. You pass under the B101 bridge structure and turn right over the next bridge crossing the Zschopau to the Warmbad stop on the Erzgebirgsbahn.
You cross the tracks at the level crossing and follow the green marking on the footpath along the federal road to the right. After about 100 m (before the bridge) you cross the federal road and turn towards Zschopau. Shortly after, the green-marked hiking trail, which now runs along Holzstraße, leaves the Zschopau Valley going uphill to the left towards Laube at a bus stop. After about 1 kilometer, Holzstraße crosses the Zschopau Valley hiking trail; you continue straight on the green-marked path towards Laube, which you will soon reach at the forest edge. At this covered rest stop with a hiking parking lot, you cross Wolkensteiner Straße towards Drebach Planetarium (green). After about 1 kilometer, follow the yellow marking turning right downhill towards Drebach. In the village, cross the main road at Gasthof Erbgericht and follow Straße der Jugend towards the observatory / planetarium to the sports field and the sports restaurant Krokusblüte. Here you can make a detour over the Milchstraße to the public observatory Drebach. Our green-marked hiking trail turns right and now runs partly along the planet walk and Earth history nature trail through a new housing area. The path then turns left and leads you out of the village into the fields. After a small ascent, you reach a junction at a small forest where the model of the planet Neptune is located. Here you leave the planet walk turning right onto a paved road and follow it to Venusberg (green marked). Along the way you pass the Large Pond and shortly before the village entrance you can take a detour to the right via Badstraße to the Venusberg outdoor swimming pool (open in summer) or to the left to Steinberg (yellow circle marking). There you can not only rest on the benches but also enjoy views of the surrounding landscape.
Our green-marked route soon crosses Herolder Straße. We follow signs towards Waldhof through an industrial area, past the sports field to Gelenauer Straße. Here we turn left. After about 150 m we follow the road towards Grießbach (green marked) to an old, solitary beech tree with a bench and signpost at a junction. Here our now yellow-marked hiking trail leaves the main road and leads downhill to the guesthouse and pension Waldhof.
Immediately after passing the guesthouse, turn right onto a narrow hiking trail marked with a yellow circle. After a few meters you cross a small wooden bridge. Then the path sharply climbs the slope to the left. After a short time, always following the same marking, you reach a wide path that takes you along meadows and fields to Grießbach.
You enter Grießbach at the bus turn-around. After another 100 meters you reach a junction with a hiking trail signpost. Here you turn left and follow the yellow marking through the fields towards Heideberg. A detour to the left is worthwhile. Next to a shelter with benches you have a great view of the Ore Mountains and Scharfenstein Castle. Back on the main path, we follow the green marking into the forest to Affenstein. From high above you can look down over the Zschopau Valley and Wilischthal train station.
From Affenstein, the now yellow-marked path leads downhill through the forest towards Wilischthal. Past two houses at the forest edge, the now asphalted path continues downhill. You go under the railway bridge and walk in a loop up over the Zschopau. Directly at the end of the bridge, turn right onto a narrow path towards Scharfenstein (yellow marking). This path takes you after a few hundred meters to the main road, which you must cross. There you meet the red-marked Zschopau Valley hiking trail, which leads you parallel to the main road and the Zschopau back to Scharfenstein. Shortly before Scharfenstein and opposite the castle, the path passes the Brauerbach stream, where there is a rare fire salamander habitat. Keep right, cross the stream, pass an information board and a small forest parking lot, and follow the red markings to Scharfenstein Castle, around which runs a nature trail. Past the castle driveway, go downhill towards Scharfenstein train station, the starting point of the hike.
