A Collection of the Best Hikes in Germany

This is a collection of the best hikes in Germany written by people who do a lot of hiking here! Each year I ask bloggers to come together to write about their best trail of the year in a collaboration blog post. This page is a compilation of all those hikes organized by state in Germany for day hikes and regionally for long-distance hikes. In parentheses you can see which year these hikes were included in the blog posts listed at the bottom. The “best hike of the year” blog posts contain all information in English. Many of the links to the hikes are from the bloggers themselves in German or to the GPS data on Komoot, Germany’s most popular hiking and outdoors app.

I’m sure you’ll find lots of inspiration for your next hike in Germany, which could be your best hike of the year!

a wide lake reflects the blue sky, clouds, and surrounding green shrubbery. At the other side of the lake sits a brick red castle with white trim and a tower — Schloss Muskau (@FrankMeyer)

Best Day Hikes in Germany by Bundesland

Baden-Württemberg

Traufgänge – 4-17 km, Schwäbisch Alb (2021)

Bavaria

Bavaria is home to a plethora of breathtaking landscapes which make it a popular location for bloggers’ best hikes of the year in Germany. I haven’t gotten to spend much time in Bavaria myself, but would love to do any of these hikes! Our most prolific writer of hikes in this region is Janna Kamphof who writes about getting outdoors in the Alps on her blog Bergeaktiv.de

a white church with onion dome sits in the center of the photo with green grass in the foreground and jagged mountains behind, one of which is the Zugspitze — Grainau with Zugspitze (@WanderFeeling)

purple and yellow sunset from a snow white Berghang with a snowy mountain speckled with evergreens — Grainau with Zugspitze (@WanderFeeling)

Werdenfels Castle Ruins and Zugspitze Panorama – 16 km, Grainau (2024)

Höllentalklamm – 6 km one way, Grainau (2024)

Staufner Haus – 10 km one way, Allgäu Alps (2024)

Hochstaufen – 15 km, Chiemgau Alps (2023)

Tegelberg Hike – 5 km, Neuschwanstein (2023)

Vilsalpsee to Schrecksee – Allgäu Alps (2023)

Kesselrunde – 6.5 km, Ammergau Alps (2021)

Panoramaweg from Burg Rabenstein – 7 km, Franconia (2020)

best hikes in Germany 2020 King Ludwig — Burgrabenstein (@Wandernasen)

Kesselrunde (@Janna Kamphof) — Burgrabenstein (@Wandernasen)

Berlin/Brandenburg

Berliners love to complain about Brandenburg, but there is always a beautiful body of water along any hike you choose in this state! The landscapes are also quite varied – heaths and bogs, beech forests and river flood plains, which offer something different in every season. You won’t be disappointed picking one of these fantastic hikes in Brandenburg, Germany. Frank Meyer’s favorite hike of the year is nearly always in this region, as he hikes hundreds of kilometers here each year. You can find a zillion hikes on his blog Wandern-Berlin-Brandenburg or Komoot profile.

Virtual reality on the kunstwanderweg in Wiesenburg — Virtual reality on the Art Trail (@FrankMeyer)

zu den drei quellen der spree — Virtual reality on the Art Trail (@FrankMeyer)

VR on the International Art Trail – 18 km, Wiesenburg/Bad Belzig (2023)

The Three Sources of the Spree – 27 km, Lausitz (2021)

Kleine Schorfheide – 20 km, the little heath (2020)

Märkische Schweiz Loop – 22 km, Waldsieversdorf (2020)

Hesse

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Chalk Coasts and Beech Forests on the Baltic Sea – 15 km, Rügen (2023)

Niedersachsen

Loop of the Torfhausmoor – 6 km, Harz (2023)

Loop to Porta Westfalica – 12 km, Weserbergland (2020)

Rheinlandpfalz

German-French Burgenweg – Dahner Felsenland, 33 km (2020)

Thüringen

Loop to the Wartburg and Dragon Gorge – 18 km, Eisenach (2024)

Saxony

German-Polish Loop in Muskauer Park – 18 km, Bad Muskau (2024)

Best Long-Distance Hikes in Germany

A long-distance hike in Germany is an excellent way to delve deeper into a region and get a taste of local life. You’ll definitely meet other Germans along the way. Long distances trails are great for having a more relaxed, cheaper vacation. It’s the best way to explore Germany: authentically, actively, and adventurously!

Lichtenhainer Wasserfall on the Malerweg

Whole Germany

E1 – 2000 km, Basel, Switzerland to Denmark (2020)

North

Müritz National Park Loop – 175 km, Müritz (2023)

South

Schluchtensteig – 120 km, Black Forest (2021)

Murgleiter – 110 km, Black Forest (2021)

Frankenalb Panoramaweg – 300 km in Bavaria (2020)

best hikes in Germany 2021 Der Tannegger Wasserfall in der Wutachschlucht — Schluchtensteig (@HappyHiker)

East

Malerweg – 110 km, Saxon Switzerland (2021)

West

Saar-Hunsrück-Steig – 415 km, Saarland and Rhinelandpfalz (2023)

Mosel Camino – 150 km from Koblenz to Trier (2020)

view downhill starting with green grass, golden vineyards with a small hut. There is a river and then the next hill begins with the next golden vineyard

Best Hikes in Germany Blog Posts

Bloggers’ Best Hikes in Germany for 2025 (2024)

Bloggers’ Best Trails of Germany – Hiking Inspiration for 2024 (2023)

Bloggers’ Best Hikes in Germany in 2021

Bloggers’ Best Hikes in Germany in 2020

I hope you could find a great hike here and that it ends up being your best hike of the year! If you’d like to share your best hike of the year, we’d love to hear about it! I start to collect hikes each year in November, find out more info here.