Last year many of us got into new hobbies or distractions to help cope with the pandemic. Some of us started gardens, became birdwatchers, were absorbed in puzzles, or learned new languages. Okay, maybe all of those things were just me, but something a lot of people did do was GET OUTDOORS! To gather more inspirational ideas for your (and my!) outdoor adventures in Germany, several hiking bloggers have shared their favorite hikes in Germany from the last year with us. From Baden-Württemberg to Rhineland Palatinate to Brandenburg, along rivers and ridges, to vineyards and castles and heaths, the best hikes in Germany from 2020 are a great start to getting outside in 2021!
The Frankenalb Panoramaweg
Stefan from HappyHiker.de is no stranger to long distance thru-hikes, having completed several in Germany, Scandinavia, Spain, the US, and Australia. He has also written two books for the ultralight outdoorsman, Trekking ultraleicht and Kochen ultraleicht.
Our favorite hike in 2020 was, of course, the 300 km long thru-hike on the Westweg in the Black Forest. But since Chris already wrote about the Westweg, I would like to share a 3-day hike through the Nürnberger Land: The Frankenalb Panoramaweg in Middle Franconia is a quite unknown hiking route with nature trails, beautiful rock formations, and fantastic vistas.
Read about Chris’s experience on the Westweg!
This applies particularly for the section between Hartmannshof and Happurg, which is also a great day trip. The view from the castle ruins of Lichtenegg reaches the Fichtel Mountains in good weather conditions. The following kilometers entice detours to the Celtic Wall on the Hochberg (an archaeological hiking loop), as well as to the viewpoint on the well-hidden and very idyllic Teufelskanzel (“the devil’s pulpit”). At the one and only hot spot of the trail, it sometimes gets a bit crowded: the Hohe Fels (“high rock”), which has a fantastic view of the Happurger Stausee. Here, it’s worth a detour to the karst cave with the natural bridge beneath the striking rock cliffs.
On the next two sections of the hike it gets much quieter again. But with the Jungfernsprung viewpoint, the monastery wall of Engelthal, the unfortunately vandalized Steinernen Rinne (natural stone water channel) in Buchenberg, and the absolutely peaceful Kainsbach Valley, there are still some highlights left to come on this hike. In short: an unexpectedly beautiful tour for a long hiking weekend within the S-Bahn reaches of Nüremberg.
Tip: Camping is not possible on the Frankenalb Panoramaweg and the accommodations – especially in Corona times – should be booked in advance to be on the safe side. Moreover, we elongated the approximately 50 kilometer-long tour in order to arrive and depart comfortably per train.
The Mosel Camino: A Way of St. James in Germany
Since 2017, Andreas has been facilitating hikers aged 25 to 45 to meet up and hike around the Stuttgart region in Baden-Württemberg together. His blog, jungwandern.de, is a platform to connect enthusiastic hikers and offers ideas for single- and multi-day hikes in Germany and greater Europe.
In August 2020, we hiked for 8 days along the Mosel Camino. The Mosel Camino is an over 180 km long German Way of St. James, which travels from Koblenz to Trier. “Camino in Germany?” we asked ourselves at first, because we had never heard of this fantastic hiking trail before. Along the way the hike climbs over 4,500 meters of altitude. The Camino runs mostly along the Mosel River, and has some spectacular highlights to offer! The 8 stages can be very diverse. Every section has its own appeal.
Find out more about another Camino: the Portuguese Route
For example, there are the castles and castle ruins, like the Instagram hot spot Burg Eltz, and great views of the Mosel’s meanders and vineyards. Traben-Trarbach is well known for its beautiful art nouveau buildings, while other small Mosel towns, like Beilstein or Bernkastel-Kues, impress with their fairytale half-timbered house centers. If you’ve never heard of these places, not to worry. We also didn’t know them beforehand and learned to love them!
Every evening, there was excellent local food and, naturally, sensational wine! The exquisite Mosel wines are known worldwide and are a real export hit. Hiking by day, feasting and drinking by night – yeah, that’s the Mosel Camino. A hike for enjoyers of life. The destination of the Camino is the grave of St. Matthew the Apostle in the Benedictine abbey in Trier. If you’d like, you can get a pilgrim’s passport to get stamped at many places along the way. For anyone who always wanted a little Way-of-St.-James feeling, or just wants to hike for days with amazing views of the mountainside vineyards, the Mosel Camino is worth the hike! We have written detailed posts about all 8 of the day hikes, including 12 excellent tips for hiking on the Mosel Camino.
Blossoming Heather Hike through the Kleine Schorfheide
A prolific hiker of the Mark Brandenburg and beyond, Frank is the man behind Wandern-Berlin-Brandenburg, which is a treasure trove for Berlin-based wanderers. He has also written a book which details a 200 km-long Fontaneweg, Auf dem langen Fontaneweg – südlich um Berlin, von Köpenick nach Potsdam.
I complete over 150 day hikes every year, which are scattered about a wide radius from Berlin, and always find it difficult to decide at the end of the year which tour was the best.
In this case, I had just recently put together a Top 25 List and one tour really stood out because everything about it was just right.
This hike was at the end of the summer during the peak of the heather blossom in the Kleine Schorfheide, which for me is still a real insider tip. This land, of the typical converted Brandenburg type, once a former Soviet military training area, is well-situated in the southwest Uckermark, between the upper course of the Havel River and the chain of lakes by Templin and Lychen.
Unlike many other former militarily-employed areas with their no trespassing signs and security warnings, one is relatively “free” here because the zone around the trails is not laden with ammunitions and few relics along the way are reminiscent of its previous purpose.
The nearly 20 km long route is characterized by many picturesque lakes along the way and the wild and sandy, but walkable, heath and forest sections in the middle. If you’re looking for the ultimate peace and quiet, you’ll find it here. The start in the village of Röddelin is easy to reach with the bus from Templin or Fürstenberg. A train departs hourly to Berlin from the destination in Hammelspring.
Detailed photographic documentation for the route can be found on Komoot. More information for hiking possibilities in the region can be found in this flyer.
German-French Burgenweg in Dahner Felsenland
Thorsten works for the Landesforstamt in Berlin and is the author of the Auf Försters Wegen series, which guides you on hikes throughout all of the city’s forested areas. His blog, The-Trekker.de, describes his annual hiking excursions with friends to some of Germany’s and Europe’s best known trails.
Dahner Felsenland is a place we had never heard of. I had to research first where and what that is. My research made me curious about the real thing. It was certain that “The Trekker” must explore this multi-day castle trail.
We, The Trekker, are 4 men who, for the last 25 years, get out into nature together at least one time per year with the motto “back to the boot.” It’s the best remedy against daily routine and drained batteries.
As it turned out, the decision for Dahner Felsenland was exactly the right one. We made Schönau/Pfalz our “base camp” and started our tours there for the next two days.
The trail leads through Germany, as well as France. On the two-day tour, we traveled through heavily forested areas. Since the castles are mostly built on top of hills, the hiking loop always went up and down – whether it was for the castle ruins on the large and small Wasignstein, Petit Arnsbourg, or Hohenbourg. Each castle or ruin was an ideal viewpoint over the large contiguous forest. The route is quite varied. In summertime, one should definitely plan a swimming break on Etang de Fleckenstein (a reservoir).
Tip: At the castle ruins of Blumenstein there is a rock overlook, which is a fantastic place for a break.
To learn more about this trail, check out our route description of the German-French Burgenweg im Dahner Felsenland, or even better: go in person! In our opinion, this trail is incredibly worth it.
Hike in the Weserbergland near Porta Westfalica
Slow travel and micro-adventures in Germany and the Netherlands are Janna’s passion, and she writes about them in German and Dutch on her blog JannaKamphof.nl. Otherwise, she freelances for websites and tourism boards including Teutoburger Wald, Euregio, and Osnabrücker Land.
One of my favorite tours in 2020 was a hike near Porta Westfalica in the Weserbergland (Weser Uplands). On a section of about 12 kilometers, the trail leads through beautiful nature and past numerous highlights of the region. It was my first time in the Weserbergland and I was really positively surprised. It was definitely not my last time there!
The first part of the trail leads through the forest. At the Gaststätte Wilder Schmied is the first (and certainly not the final!) beautiful view of this hike. The trees create a frame around the hilly landscape of the Weser Uplands. In the distance the Weser River flows gently through the meadows and forests.
The hike continues towards the east on the Wittekindsweg until you reach the Wittekindsburg. Partly out of stone and partly half-timbered, it is a wonderful construction. It is estimated that the castle was built between the third and first century B.C.E. The east and west ramparts have been partially well-maintained. The north rampart lies behind a limestone crag, which forms the ridge here. In the 19th century, the castle was transformed into a restaurant. From the front of the castle grounds you get yet another fantastic view of the Weserbergland and the Weser River.
From here, it‘s just a few more kilometers through the forest until you reach the real highlight of this hike: the Kaiser Wilhelm Monument. Shortly before leaving the forest, you can catch a view of this impressive monument. With its 268 meters, it is the second tallest monument in Germany. After this spectacular view, you hike 1.5 kilometers eastwards along the Goethe Open-Air Theater back to the hikers’ parking lot. Janna shares more hiking and outdoor tips about Germany in Dutch on her blog Duitsland Actief.
Hiking in King Ludwig’s Tracks
Klaus shares his best hikes in the Franconia region of northern Bavaria on his blog, Wandernasen.de.
Wouldn’t you want to hike along the traces of King Ludwig? Whoever hikes on the Panoramaweg from Burg Rabenstein through the Ailsbachtal valley, is striding on this so-called regal trail. The Panaramaweg was once laid for a visit from King Ludwig von Reichsrates to Graf Erwein von Schönborn-Wiesentheid. The beauty of the typical Franconian Switzerland rock formations and the impressive landscapes of the Ailsbachtal valley await you.
The tour offers everything you could expect and wish for from a hike through Franconian Switzerland. We began at Burg Rabenstein, which is currently a hotel but can be still be visited. Continuing on, we traveled wonderful small hiking trails through stunning forests and passed by whimsically formed cliffs. The steep bluffs of the narrow Ailsbachtal valley are not stingy with amazing views. If that doesn’t satisfy you, there’s also the Ludwigshöhle cave to visit (named after the King of Bavaria) or the Sophienhöhle cave to check out. The 7.21 km long tour doesn’t lack highlights, because behind every corner some new wonder is hiding, just waiting to be discovered. We had a lot of fun discovering and marveling the unique but typical Franconian landscape. When the hike was over, we just wanted to do it all over again. It’s a must for every hiker who wants to explore Franconian Switzerland and our favorite tour of 2020. This hike, as well as more information can be found on Wandernasen.
European Long Distance Trail (E1)
On Wanderspirit.de, Patrick shares his hiking stories, philosophy, gear list, and spirit.
My favorite hike of 2020 is European Long Distance Path 1 (or E1 for short). On this relatively unknown trail, I traveled nearly 2000 kilometers through Germany. The tour began in Basel, Switzerland and led me to the Danish border. I had already hiked in many regions of the world and often knew my way around better there than in my own country. So I decided to discover my homeland. And if so, then well! I was not disappointed. The diverse landscapes in Germany surprised me. We have so much more to offer than just beautiful forests. Since I was traveling without a smartphone or map, I was often surprised when I came across impressive sites like the Felsenmeer boulder field, the Externsteine rock formation, and the Hermann Memorial. But what most surprised and pleased me was the unbelievable hospitality of the German people. I have met so many friendly and helpful people along the trail. Without them I would have never made it.
On such a long trip, one learns a few things. Here are the 4 most valuable lessons I learned along the way.
We can be really proud to have such a hiking culture and the corresponding infrastructure in Germany. I hope the E1 becomes more popular in the coming years. Who knows, maybe you were also already on this hike. Because it is not uncommon for the trail to connect with well-known routes like the Westweg, the Rothaarsteig, or the Heidschnuckenweg. The trail marker is usually a white X on a black background. My experiences on the trail are summarized here.
Märkische Schweiz Loop
The final trail of the “bests hike in Germany in 2020” is by me, Chris. I am in love with traveling, hiking, and biking all over Deutschland and Europe. Together with my colleague, Roland, I have written a book about the Berlin Wall bike trail.
We did so many excellent hikes this year that it is difficult to pick just one! The year started off with the International Art hike and ended on one of the most peaceful and beautiful hikes along the Havel. In the middle, I hiked the 280 kilometer long Westweg from Pforzheim to Basel (like Stefan and Patrick!). But for my top hike in Germany for 2020 was one we did smack in the middle – a loop around Buckow in the Märkische Schweiz, one of Brandenburg’s few awarded Quality Hikes (a Qualitätswanderweg).
I felt like I was in the Caribbean and Switzerland all at the same time. The region is known as the Mark Switzerland for its many hills, one of which we climbed for the excellent views over Schermützelsee on the Panoramaweg. Speaking of which, the lake was such a shade of azure blue, like nothing I had ever seen in Brandenburg before. It was no wonder on a sunny day in July that the beach was packed.
Schermützelsee 
Buckow Markt
We picked blackberries along the way, but stopped in Buckow for a real break. The quaint picturesque village has a few half-timbered houses, some hotels resembling castles, and a market square with enough restaurants and cafés to settle any hiker’s hunger.
The 22 km loop can be done as a day hike, and we extended our visit by camping on the Großer Däbersee in Waldsieversdorf.
What are you waiting for!?
I don’t know about you, but I am psyched to check out all of the best hikes in Germany. They’ve got me fired up with the excitement of new trails. Have you gone on a best hike in Germany or elsewhere in 2020? Tell us in the comments! We’d loved to be inspired by you too!
Danke!
Sehr vielen Dank an alle Blogger und Wanderer, die über Ihren Lieblingswanderweg 2020 geschrieben haben! Thank you so much for sharing your best hikes in Germany from 2020; it was a treat to work with you!
All pictures are from the hikers themselves. Cover photo is by Frank from Wandern-Berlin-Brandenburg.
Great and informative article!
Super interesting article, Chris! Always inspiring to have different views.
And thank you for asking me 🙂
Best, Patrick
thank you! It was so much fun to hear from everyone 🙂