The old road began at the mouth of the Kinzig. The modern hiking trail mostly follows the historic route (which in some places was not just a single path but several alternative routes) and crosses the Spessart as a high route. It avoids the valleys and keeps to the peaks and ridges, as climbing up and down the slopes was difficult and arduous with horse- or ox-drawn wagons. At the same time, the route was much shorter than following the valley of the Main river in its great loop south to Wertheim and Miltenberg and back up to Aschaffenburg and Hanau. The trail is maintained and signposted by the Spessartbund with a black B on white.: