Hiking in the Bavarian Forest

Long-distance hikes

The Goldsteig

Photo: goldsteig-wandern.de

This is the longest path in Germany, which runs through the entire Bavarian Forest, including the National Park, and continues across the border into the Bohemian Forest.

It is the number one long hiking trail if you want to enjoy the beauty of the local natural landscapes to the full. The Goldsteig includes 660 km of signposted hiking paths within Bavaria and 289 km in the Czech Republic. Then there are also routs, laps, and cross-roads, which together offer more than 2,000 kilometers of hiking, to discover the variety and splendor of the flora and fauna in the region. The already attractive offer has all kinds of cultural sights and events around the route.

Danube Panorama Trail

An insight into the development history and the urban life of the Bavarian Forest is provided by the Donau-Panoramaweg, which can be hiked in many ways: by foot, by boat and by ferry across the Danube. In addition to breathtaking views, the excursions to the major cities of the region await you on the way - Neustadt an der Donau, Regensburg, Kirchroth, Deggendorf, and Passau. Meanwhile, you can stop in the local cafes and restaurants and pamper yourself with various delicacies.

Photo: USA-Reiseblogger, FelixMittermeier 

Gläserner Steig

If you want to immerse yourself in the unique history of the region and learn more about one of the traditional crafts - glass blowing, then put the visit of long-distance hiking trail "Gläserner Steig" on your to-do list. 99 kilometers of beautiful views and unspoiled nature, numerous glassworks, glass museum, Spiegelhütte and Gläserne Gärten - this is all that every nature and art lover can wish for a holiday in the Bavarian Forest. Local gastronomy offers a lot of delicious specialties, and local tourism companies, in their turn, will take care of everything to make your hike full of adventures.

Mountain hikes

Passionate mountain lovers and adrenaline fans can enjoy different tours in the Bavarian Forest mountains. Steep ascents and descents or more moderate tracks of varying length and complexity are here in huge abundance. Explore and enjoy the romantic and unique forest area of Bavaria from dizzying heights. With good footwear and weather protection you can go on an exciting mountain hike up to the Großer Arber (1456 m), the Rachel (1453 m) and the Dreisessel massive (1364 m) or to the famous Großer Falkenstein (1315 m). All paths are provided with signs, leading past beautiful observation towers, quaint pubs and cafes with delicious food and attentive service. No matter which top you are heading for, you will find very cozy places to stay and rest, have a picnic and take pictures on your way.

Photo: FelixMittermeier, 2966152, markusspiske

Family hikes

The Bavarian Forest can offer not only action and adventures, but also a lot of entertainment for all ages. For families, that want to go on the exciting and eventful hiking tour, which will doubtlessly bring much joy to little ramblers -  the Bayerischer Wald is the best holiday destination. 

The Schaukelweg in Breitenberg

Families with children can spend an unforgettable time on the 6.1 km long Schaukelweg. As the path is tarred and has hardly any altidude differences, it is suitable even for leisurely strolling with prams. You can not only enjoy relaxing outdoor walks, but also a lot of different other activities in the park. There are 18 swings of all types and sizes, e.g. a "giant hammock" and bird's nest swings.

Photo: flyupmike, captchaos21

The Baumwipfelpfad

The Baumwipfelpfad, which is located in the National Park Center Lusen near Neuschönau, is one of the most impressive attractions of the Bavarian Forest National Park. A unique wooden construction allows you to explore the surrounding landscape with wonderful valleys, lakes, and mountains, as well as gain insight into the natural process of tree growth. In the heart of the hiking park, there is a  44-meter-high tree tower, inside which you can see three age-old firs and beeches. There are a lot of entertainment facilities for children and adventure seeker on offer, e.g. rope bridges, wobbly bridges, and balance beams. In addition, the forest island with small chairs and relaxation area can be found on the Baumwipfelpfad, as well as a children's playground. The whole construction is disabled-friendly and completely barrier-free for wheelchair users.

Photo: Thomas Kaltenecker

Hiking trails full of fascinating wildlife experiences

The Bavarian Forest Nature Park is one of those rare places, where you can observe a huge diversity of the wildlife: you can find donkeys, alpacas, llamas, wolves and lynx in the game park or in the wild.

Bärenpfad Grafenau - Neuschönau

The bear path (Bärenpfad) has outstanding discovery experiences prepared for the young explorers. It extends over 14 km from the city of Grafenau to the bear enclosure in the national park. Since individual stretches are suitable for prams, families with small babies can also have a lot of fun with all the comfort. On the way, you can investigate the bear tracks with a telescope, visit the fragrance station and learn new interesting things about the heraldic animal of Grafenaus - the bear. The picnic stop to refresh yourself and relax is provided in Neuschönau.

Photo: FelixMittermeier

Bee Experience Trail in Freyung

The importance of bees for humans is beyond doubt. But while earlier results of their work were selfishly harvested, nowadays all efforts of beekeepers are directed not to disturb the natural way of life of these little insects, but to treat them with respect. This and much more the small participants of the guided hike can learn on the 2.5 long theme trail.

Animal enclosures and zoos

If you do not like tedious overcoming of long trails that much, but wild and exotic animals still arouse your interest, you can visit one of the most natural and highly animal-friendly zoos in the Bavarian Forest National Park. Alpakahof Schreiber in Sicking, Bayerwald-Tierpark Lohberg, Greifvogelpark Grafenwiesen, Lohberg Croaker Breeding Center and Otterhaus Bavaria in Mauth - these are the most spectacular zoos, which will delight both young and old. Come here on holidays with your family and let yourself be surprised!

Photo: markusspiske

Hiking trails full of nature experiences

Although you can be fascinated by the beauty of nature in the entire Bavarian Forest, there are still some hiking tours that lead into such dreamy secret corners of the park, that you will completely let go and switch off from the outside world.

Nature experience "Rissloch waterfall"

Not far from Bodenmais there is a real natural wonder of Germany - the Rissloch waterfall. After following one of the three paths for 2 or 3 hours, you will get to the place where Arberbach, Schwalbach, Kleinhüttenbach and Wildauerbach floatingly pass over to the Rissbach on a total length of 55 m. The height of the main falls is 15 m, which delights everyone, who sees the whole water play and a huge rushing mass of water falling into the Rissloch gorge.

Photo: Marc Krug Photography

Big piles

The bedrock of the Bavarian Forest shows the impact of climate change, various lifting and erosion processes, which have just caused its break on a length of 150 km. Along the fault line, a white quartz rock can be seen, which has made this crack in the ground to a really impressive natural wonder. The pile, including both parts of the mountain around it, is today considered a nature reserve, which is also referred to as Bavaria's Geotop No. 1. To explore the picturesque rock crevices, you can go on the hiking tour - either along the adventure trail "Kulturlandschaft" or along the nature trail "Großer Pfahl". Both routes are equipped with information boards that provide information about the origin and development of the Great Post.

Sonnenwald experience trail

If you would like to sensitize your children to the environmental issues and forest conservation, then immerse yourself in an unforgettable adventure in the middle of the nature park. The Adventure Trail is an ideal place for small visitors to learn about the life cycle of forests and have a wonderful time. The most exciting part is, that the mountain goblin Jackl accompanies the hikers on the whole 2 km long route and gives much worth knowing through the texts and pictures at 10 information points. He also encourages people to play and participate in the games and leads you through the 3-hour long path from the parking lot Sturmriegel near Langfurth to the top of the Brotjackl bar.

Culture trails

From Celts until the present

The Celtic village of Gabreta in Lichtenau, the Kräuterhof with its fruit and herbal teaching garden, historic landmarks and the Geistliche Stein with the observation deck await you on the thematic adventure trail through the Ringelai countryside. Once you have arrived in the Bavarian Forest National Park, spend 3.5 hours exploring one of Germany's oldest regions. Several cafés and restaurants with an authentic ambiance invite tourists to linger and enjoy a tasty snack.

Planete path Bad Kötzting

Are you and your children interested in astronomy? Do you feel drawn to space full of secrets and planets and want to learn more about it, without visiting dusty museums? Then come to Bad Kötzting, where you can make a revealing and at the same time athletic excursion. On the distance of 3.5 kilometers, which symbolizes the distance from the sun to Neptune, you can get a lot of information about the solar system from the granite information boards and imagine its standards as well as the distances between the individual planets bypassing all of them on the way from the Kurpark Bad Kötzting to the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell.

Viewpoints

If you like to look at the urban or mountainous landscapes from above and feel like you are on top of the world, then you have an entire wagonload of possibilities to relive this magical feeling during your holiday in the Bavarian Forest. There are countless observation towers at your disposal, specially prepared to provide overwhelming views of the whole region to the visitor. The skywalk viewing platform at 30m or the 1095m towering Hirschenstein Mountain with its brick tower - choose the dizzying experience of how brave and fearless you are and how many steps you can take to master it. Other attractions with incredible views are the peaks of the Great Arber and the Great Rachel, the treetop path, the summit platform and observation tower on the Haidel.

Great Arber

Great Arber