The Elmstein valley runs through the central Palatine Forest region between the villages of Frankeneck and Johanniskreuz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The Speyerbach stream, a left tributary of the Rhine, flows through the valley.

Spangenberg Castle is the partially rebuilt ruin of a rock castle in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies in the Palatine Forest above the Elmstein valley near the village of Erfenstein, but is actually on the forest estates belong to the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße, or more precisely, the village of Lachen-Speyerdorf. Together with the neighbouring castle of Erfenstein, it is linked to the legend of the Leather Bridge.