Our six best hikes in Germany

Germany may not have the same immediate romantic appeal of Italy or Ireland, the Alps or the great lakes of Europe. We’re here to challenge those narrow expectations, however, and to bang the drum for Deutschland’s dramatic and romantic landscapes. Which include the Alps of course, a vast array of lakes, and also one of the most magnificent river valleys in Europe, the Rhine. In addition, Germany was at the heart of the historic romantic movement in literature, music and architecture. So to overlook Germany is like ignoring the creativity of Goethe, Bach, Strauss or Schumann, to name but a few. Our six best hikes in Germany are just a few examples of the country’s finest day treks, all of which are part of longer walking holidays. And all of which are pure poetry in motion.

Best hike in Germany’s Rheinsteig

Kaub to St. Goarshausen

The Rheinsteig is one of our top walking holidays in Germany, following part of the 320km walking trail that hovers above the great river, allowing you to enjoy its twists, turns, ravines and, vitally, Rieslings. Our best hike is on day four, from Kaub to St. Goarshausen, and we’ve chosen it for its generous helpings of Middle Rhine Valley views, colossal castles and, last but not least, the iconic Loreley Rock. The walk starts in Kaub, or Dörscheid depending on your allocated accommodation, but the latter is just 3.5km by taxi or walking from the former. Once you get to Kaub, a typically medieval town on the east bank of the Rhine, you will see its famous castle, Pfalzgrafenstein, rising like a mirage out of an island in the river.

Continuing north along upland serpentine tracks with great views, you walk across Dörscheider Heide, a heathland that’s dotted with vineyards, orchards and woodlands. The trail takes you to two great Rhine viewpoints: Schwedenschanze, which overlooks Oberwesel, an ancient town on the other side of the river, as well as Schönburg Castle. Because on the Rhine, a Schloss is always close. And Spitznack, another stunner of a viewpoint of the Rhine Valley, which marks the descent to the magnificent, mythologised Loreley Rock, the steep cliff overlooking a narrow stretch of the Rhine, near St. Goarshausen, where this day of walking comes to a close.

Distance: 19km
Hiking time: 6-7h

Oberwesel is just one of many traditional Rhineland towns that appear around the river bends.

Best of Germany’s Black Forest hiking trails

Hinterzarten to Feldberg

Germany’s Black Forest always lives up to expectations, especially when you include a trek up to Feldberg, Schwarzwald’s highest peak at 1,493m. Which is the one we’re choosing as one of our best hikes in Germany, featuring on day three of our walking holiday in the Black Forest. This is not only because it features Feldberg, but also for the region’s peaceful woodland trails and superb glacial terrain. The trail starts in Hinterzarten, an ancient village enveloped by forests and slopes with winter cross-country skiing trails, which become a hikers’ heaven in other seasons.

From here, you walk along tranquil forest trails, starting with the local Windeckweg which leads up to the ski trails, past traditional farms and their meadows. And then onto part of the Westweg, an iconic long‑distance hiking trail through the Black Forest from Pforzheim to Basel, marked with a red diamond. You then descend to Feldsee where, sadly, swimming is not allowed in the lake, as it’s protected for conservation purposes. You do get to bathe in the natural beauty of it all, however, as the lake sits in a glacial cirque below the Feldberg massif. The route then climbs steadily to your accommodation on the massif, making the final summit the next morning.

Distance: 15km
Hiking time: 4-5h

Feldsee as seen from Feldberg, tucked into the Black Forest like an emerald heart.

Our top spot for hiking in the Bavarian Alps

Ehrwald to Garmisch-Partenkirchen hike

Also called the German Alps, they form a natural border with Austria and are the crown of Bavaria. The jewel of the crown when hiking in the Bavarian Alps is Zugspitze, their highest mountain at 2,962m in the Wetterstein range, and our Zugspitze walking holiday follows a classic route that circumnavigates the popular peak. This seven day, self-guided adventure starts in Garmisch-Partenkirchen which is a picture perfect Bavarian town that hosted the now notorious Winter Olympics of 1936. Today, it’s a hiking haven from May until the beginning of October, and it’s hard to pick the best hiking day out of this week of wanderlust.

We’re saving the best to last on this Zugspitze sojourn, however, as your finale is to hike from Ehrwald, the largest village at the foot of Zugspitze, at an elevation of 1,000m. From here there’s an ascent from the cable car area, which you will have used for a descent the previous day, up to Eibseeblick. This is a superb viewpoint with Eibsee taking centre stage as one of the most beautiful lakes in Germany. Naturally it beckons, and so the trail descends from here to the water’s edge where, thankfully, you can swim in its crystalline water, which gets to 21C in summer months.

And if the water temperatures don’t take your breath away, the view of Zugspitze towering up above certainly will. You have another 9km to go from here if you want to walk to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, although you can also get the traditional mountain train which goes to and from Eibsee up Zugspitze, and finishes in Garmisch, where you spend the night.

Distance: 12km
Hiking time: 4-5h

Eibsee in autumn is a photographer’s dreamscape.

Best walk on Bavaria’s Altmühl Panorama Trail

Pappenheim to Mörnsheim

This trail, Altmühltal-Panoramaweg in German, takes you through Altmühltal Nature Park for 200km, following the Altmühl River as it winds its way from Gunzenhausen to Kelheim in Bavaria. The starting point on our walking holiday along the Altmühl Panorama Trail is a bit further down the trail in Treuchtlingen, a thermal spa town right in the heart of the nature park. Although each day on this seven day walking holiday offers trails through forests, ridge walks, plateaus and juniper heathlands, it’s day three that brings many of these aspects together. Starting in Pappenheim, a medieval Bavarian town overlooked by the obligatory castle, you cross the river and follow some steep trails through forest, with plenty of openings to take in the river valley views. This elevated trail then opens out into the juniper heathland, leading to Solnhofen, famous for its Jurassic limestone slabs and fossils, examples of which can be seen at its museum. This area is also filled with wildflowers such as St. Bernhard’s lily, violet helleborine and mountain germander in spring, or in autumn it proffers a fine foliage lightshow.

This stone landscape is the starter course for what lies ahead, which is the sight of the Twelve Apostles, or naturally eroded stone towers in the cliffs which rise from the grassy slopes between Solnhofen and Esslingen. It’s hard to get your head around, but these were actually once reefs in the prehistoric Jurassic Sea, and now here for all of us to see. The trail then descends through more juniper heathland, crosses the Altmühl River and then climbs up to Maxberg Plateau. And with those ups come more splendid views, including Gailach Valley which is where your final destination is located, on the eponymous river’s banks, and still within Altmühltal Nature Park.

Distance: 15km
Hiking time: 4-5h

Best hike on Germany’s Malerweg Way

Bastei Bridge and Rocks

Malerweg means ‘painters’ way’ and it’s named after the 18th-century artists from the nearby Dresden Academy of Fine Arts who immortalised its landscapes in their work. This 115km walking trail leads you through the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, which is protected by Saxon Switzerland National Park. Walkers usually take on either the north or south section, but nearly always come back to complete the trail. Some who hike it in summer fall in love with it so much, they come to walk it in winter for a very different picture. It is considered by many to be one of the best winter hikes in Germany.

Our chosen Malerweg marvel is the day hike through Bastei Rocks, which features on all of our Malerweg walking holidays, except the southern section. It’s images of the world-famous Bastei Bridge that puts Malerweg on the map for many in the first place. First built as a wooden structure in 1824 to connect the colossal rock structures known as the Bastei, it was replaced in 1851 with one made of local sandstone. Which means it segues perfectly into its surroundings. The walk starts in the spa town of Rathen, from which you go on a circuit from Bastei Bridge through Wehlener Grund Gorge, a narrow valley lodged between typical towering sandstone cliffs, as far as the town of Stadt Wehlen. This is a typically romantic style town, with traditional houses on the River Elbe’s wooded slopes.

Here you cross the river by ferry which then gives you access to the rock formation of Rauenstein, walking up a series of staircases and ladders. The climb is worth it though, with some of the best Bastei breathtakers at the top, which continue as you return to Rathen on a different route.

Distance: 11km
Hiking time: 4h

Bastei Bridge is one of the most famous landmarks in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, along the Malerweg Trail.

Best hike on the Moselle Trail

Löf to Koblenz

Mosey along the Moselle Trail, or Moselsteig, on a choice of either this seven day or eight day walking holiday, to explore one of the oldest wine-producing regions in Germany. Both are viticultural and natural wonders, but it’s the penultimate day on the latter that hits the right spot. It’s like having the perfect dessert wine at the end of a fine meal. That’s because it starts in the riverbank wine village of Löf, which is connected by a striking bridge with the village of Alken. From here, it’s a journey through history marked by castles, churches and fortresses. Such as the 12th-century Thurant Castle, the waterfront Schloss von der Leyen, the romanesque Matthias Chapel and the ruins of Kobern Niederburg Castle.

From the ruins, you have a perfect panorama of Kobern-Gondorf below, the last few bends of the river and an array of vineyards. With more of the same all the way to Güls-Koblenz, the official end of the Moselsteig. From here you take a short train journey into Koblenz, famous for Deutsches Eck, the point where the Moselle and the Rhine meet. One of the oldest cities in Germany, Koblenz is a great finale to the Moselle Trail with an impressive collection of ancient architecture in its Old Town, and Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, which has more great views over the UNESCO Rhine Valley. Where more walking trails await.

Distance: 14km
Hiking time: 4h

The Moselle Trail is very popular with solo travellers.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed this quick summary of some of our best day hikes in Germany and that it inspires you to delve more deeply into these dramatic landscapes of Deutschland. It’s also worth remembering that, for our German hiking holidays, it has one of Europe’s cheapest and most efficient train services. It’s also one of the best kept secrets that young people up to the age of 14 travel free with the national rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, when travelling with adults. For more information, see this blog.