The nature reserve Sattelköpfe is idyllically located near the small community of Hörningen, a district of the town of Nordhausen. For hikers, this well-known geological formation of the southern Harz karst landscape is well developed, because the karst hiking trail, which has been awarded as a quality trail, leads directly along here. The area of the Sattelköpfe and Hörninger Klippen offer a wide view of the surrounding hilly landscape of the nature park Südharz. The white gypsum rocks, to which the karst landscape owes its diverse shape and numerous geological phenomena, can be seen in many places at the Sattelköpfe. On narrow paths and natural trails, hikers can discover this valuable habitat for rare animals and plants, along forests, meadows, rough and dry grasslands, dolomite and gypsum rocks. Several benches invite you to rest and enjoy the view.

The Sattelköpfe are located on the southern slope of the small river Wieda, which flows through the southern Harz and is itself one of the karst phenomena. This is because the Wieda occasionally seeps into karst cavities, continues to flow underground and emerges again elsewhere. Another karst phenomenon in the area of the Sattelköpfe nature reserve is the Igelsumpf (hedgehog swamp), a small lake formed by the Wieda's stream meandering system - a valuable wetland biotope that can, however, also dry up completely in summer. The Igelsumpf is also located directly on the Karst hiking trail. This supraregional route, a good 230 kilometers long, opens up the unique green gypsum karst landscape of the southern Harz, which stretches from Saxony-Anhalt through Thuringia to Lower Saxony. Not only geologically interested nature lovers can explore on this well-signposted hiking trail manifold karst phenomena such as sinkholes, sinkholes, caves, rocks, steep slopes, stream meanders, karst springs, gypsum hump landscapes and much more.