Bavarian Forest

Bayerwald, or Bavarian Forest, is a mountain range in Bavaria and Bounded by the Czech Republic, it is about 100km long. a height of up to 1456m.The administrative district of Lower Bavaria occupies the largest area of ​​the Bavarian Forest and belongs to the Upper Palatinate. The southern border extends to the edge of Upper Austria.

The mountain range that is located on the Czech border as National Park appointed. The dense planting of the forest has developed into a jungle over time and is a protected area. It continues into the larger Šumava National Park and  has many hiking trails on it.

Geographical view of the Bavarian Forest 

The Bavarian Forest, together with the Upper Palatinate Forest and the Neuburg Forest, forms the largest contiguous forest area in Bavaria and this together with the Bohemian Forest (Czech: Šumava) and the Sauwald (southeastern continuation to Upper Austria). ) one of the largest in Europe.

The Great Arber (1456m.) and the Great Rachel (1453m.)  are the highest mountains in the Bavarian Forest.The first national park in Germany was created in 1970 in the eastern part of the mountains. It was expanded in 1997 and joins the Czech Republic's Šumava National Park.

According to older sources, the term "Bavarian Forest" only includes the mountainous region of the Front Forest between the Danube and Regen, which has its highest elevation in the Einödriegel. After the political developments after 1989, most recently with the Czech Republic's accession to the Schengen area, it is clear that the low mountain range on the German-Czech border should again be viewed as a unit, especially from a tourism perspective. 

Tourism is very important in the Bavarian Forest. Nature, hiking and forest culture, as well as the ski areas, play a big role. The art of glassblowing and its geosciences through the Wettzell fundamental station near Bad Kötzting are also very well known. 

The 10 best hiking routes as our recommendation: 

You can really say that the Bavarian Forest is a true hiking paradise. The low mountain range is one of the oldest primeval mountains in the world and is known worldwide as the “Green Roof of Europe” due to its forest area. The Bavarian Forest not only has a lot of special things about it and is one of the most beautiful areas in Germany, but also has many beautiful hiking routes. No matter if you use the deep, almost untouched forests or go up to the peaks, they are all more beautiful than the last. 

1-From Ludwigs Thal to Schwellhäusl 

The tour begins at the parking lot and we walk straight through the railway underpass, then right onto the wildlife tour and through the animal area to the Stone Age cave.As an alternative route from Ludwigsthal train station, we can also take the forest path with the signposts after a few meters. On this path we go on the right side and follow the sign for the wildlife tour.Here we walk past the enclosures of Przewalski's horses, then the aurochs and wolves to the house in the wilderness.   

A visit lets us breathe a little and then we hike following the other markings. We hike to the Zwieslerwaldhaus using the lynx trail. Shortly afterwards there is a junction and we take the narrow path onto the right-hand street. We hike along through the mixed forest and as soon as the path turns into the forest path, we pass the wilderness camp at Falkenstein. Now we go straight ahead and reach the entrance to Zwieslerwaldhaus.
 
The tar road leads and to the right into the center of town and a short hike along the road. The lynx trail then leads us to the left and then immediately to the right to Schwellhäusl. Now we hike through the forest on the outskirts of town until the path brings us to an intersection and then we follow the tar road to the left. Shortly afterwards we arrive at the Brechhäuslau car park. Here we continue downhill and we cross the Deffernik. After passing the old canal to the Schmalzbach threshold, we arrive at the Schwellhäusl excursion restaurant. A little rest is good for us. 
 
After Schwellhäusl we continue hiking through the forest and often we walk along small meadows. Now we arrive at the Deffernik car park and at the intersection that follows, we go straight ahead on the edge path and then turn right at the fork in the linden tree and walk back to the starting point. 

2-Over the Teufelloch to Lusen 

With a peak height of 1.373m. is, the Lusen offers a great view of the mountains around.

The route starts at the Fredenbrücke car park. Cross the Kleine Ohe over a wooden bridge and walk upstream, always following the Ranne sign to Martinsklause. From here you follow a rocky, steep path to a T-junction, where you turn right and after a few minutes you reach the Teufelsloch.

It goes uphill through a varied mountain forest until you finally reach a platform with an information board. After we cross a wooden path over to the Glasarche and turn left, we continue along the Ranne towards the summit. Until we reach the Lusen, the path climbs straight up. Now we arrive at the Himmelsleiter, where you can see numerous rocky steps that lead directly to the summit on 1.Lead 373 m. 

The way back is to the right over the Luchs, which after a few meters leads past the Lusenschutzhaus and to the Igelbus stop and the Waldhausreibe car park. Here you cross Lusenstrasse and follow the green triangle at the information board to the left into the forest. A boardwalk and a subsequent hiking trail take you over the Waldhäuserriegel through some groups of rocks to cross Lusenstrasse again.

After another 100 meters parallel to the road, follow the wren to the right towards Martinsklause and later the already familiar Ranne to the starting point at Fredenbrücke.

3-Zum Schwellweiher 

The route begins at the Waldbahn stop near Langdorf, which you can get to by train from Bodenmais or Zwiesel.Here we walk in a left direction northwest to Brandten. After we arrive in the village of Brandten, we turn left to the threshold pond. We see the flying tricks of the barn swallows in the meadows of Brandten. The path now goes into the forest, where we can start the Schwellweiher circuit in two directions. If we go right, we find ourselves in a magnificent mixed forest with dense blueberry bushes. A new life reigns throughout the room. If you are quiet enough, with a bit of luck we can meet the young hares and fawns.

After approx. After a 1.5 hour hike we reach the pond, in a bright clearing. Here we take a break and on the following path past the Rothbach we go back to Brandten. This is the point where we then hike back to the start on the same path. The numbering of the paths has changed at Langdorf. We encounter the place names Brandten and Schwellweiher by name on the signs and they are easy to find. 

4-Rachel crossing 

Our hiking route begins on the Rachel, at the Gfäll Igelbus stop. On the tour you follow the Auerhahn sign. A steep forest path begins behind the bus shelter and winds through the mountain forest. After a hard hike of almost 1.5 hours, you reach the Waldschmidthaus. From here it is only about a hundred meters to the summit of Rachel. Over the last rocky steps you finally reach the top with 1.453m.

The path downhill goes over the other side of the mountain and is again accompanied by the capercaillie. The path here goes steeply down through alpine terrain over rocky steps. At the intersection we turn right and later right again until we reach a larger fork in the road with a signpost. Keeping to the right again, you hike the last few meters to Lake Rachel, the only larger natural lake in the national park. 

From here the path continues gently downhill to the forest road, which we soon turn right onto a forest path. After the refuge we turn right and return to the starting point.

5-To the shafts and felts 

The start is at the Mitte hiking car park in Buchenau, which leads us to the Butterburz marking in the direction of Lindberger Schachten. It starts along the Pommerbach, then gently uphill to a small meadow. The path goes up through the mixed forest and becomes noticeably steeper, coming from two gravel paths to a crossing.After a steady uphill climb, we cross the next gravel path and it finally becomes flatter. Immediately afterwards, the Lindberg shafts open up in front of us. 

The path continues for a short rest along the butterbur and then we reach the Hirschbach threshold. Immediately afterwards we branch off into the narrow path and walk along the Butterbur to the Zwieselter Filz. Here we can reach the largest saddle moor complex in Germany, which we can access via the boardwalk. 

Now we arrive at the Kohlschachten, where several paths meet. Here we continue along the Butterbur and reach the Latschenfilz straight ahead. Immediately afterwards we continue on a spur path to Latschensee, which leads us to the detour to the Moorauge.The Butterbur trail ends at Hochschachten.
 
From here we follow the signs, Borstgras to Almschachten. After the shafts it goes gently downhill to the sharp junction to the right. Here we go much steeper downhill until the path takes us onto a gravel path. At the Schachten blockhouse we follow it further to the Frauenau dam.When we are at the top of the dam, the bristly grass is abandoned and we go right onto the dam to the northern bank. We walk slightly downhill to the left along the Glaesner Steig sign and at the intersection we walk on the right side. Then we walk past the old avenue trees back to Buchenau.

6-To the source of the Vltava 

This route is a cross-border hike in the Bavarian Forest National Park. It is the hike to the source of the Vltava on a moderately difficult tour at 380m. Altitude in the border area with the Czech Republic.

Our route begins at the Igelbus stop Schwellgraben or at the Wistlberg car park, which is 1.5km. is distant. At the beginning we follow the Baummarder signs to the left towards Reschbachklause. Until we have crossed the Reschbach and then turn right to reach the hermitage, we walk along the forest path. Here we cross the top of the dam and keep left on the path to the source of the Vltava.

After a hike of approx.1km. we reach a crossroads and continue straight ahead, where we are now in the Czech Republic. We turn left at the signpost and soon reach a large intersection where we turn left and turn right at the following T-junction. After a few 100m. We have arrived at the source of the Vltava. 

Here we take a break and go back to the T-junction, where we turn left uphill to the large intersection. We continue straight ahead through a forest and keep right at the junction to reach the border town of Bucina. At the next fork we follow the tarred road, after the large hotel follow the pine marten in a left direction and turn right at the next intersection. After we have crossed the Teufelsbach, we are back in Germany. Now you hike back to the starting point along an old canal.

7-Hochwaldweg – Lallinger Winkel 

The route starts in the middle of Lalling in an easterly direction. At the next junction we continue on to St.-Gunther Street. Now we follow this road marked 1, along the soccer field and over the wooden bridge on the state road to the Feng Shui spa park. This stays on the left and we follow nature trail no.1 - along the tennis court into a forest.

It goes downhill to the valley of the Ranzinger Bach, to the mill and up again on the other side of the stream. Before we get to the road there is marker 1 and turn right. Parallel to the road it leads us through the forest to Gerholling. The farmhouses we meet here are 150-200 years old and are still inhabited as an ensemble. We continue on path 7, through Gerholling and uphill on a meadow slope to Kapfing. Now we come to the first magnificent panoramic views in the Lallinger Valley before we continue hiking and go through the village up to the town of Datting.

We walk out of Datting on the asphalted path and always go uphill. Be careful at the upcoming T-junction! Here we have to turn right on circular route no. 7 stay and go to the Leopoldshochwald. At the so-called Durchfurtherschuß the hiking trail comes to a junction again and we turn right again. After a few meters we arrive at the Ruseler Kreuzstraßl hiking car park on the Kirchberg-Lalling road. We turn right and walk on the street approx.50m.until we take the path back into the forest on the left. 

The wide forest path leads us on the Gunthersteig and if we follow the road down from Panholling, cross Ranzingerbergstraße, we walk up a meadow path to the church, which is on the Kirchberg . We walk past the cemetery wall to the church forecourt with the old administrative court building. From there we walk downhill in the middle to the starting point on the main road.

8-Rißloch waterfalls in the Rißlochschlucht 

At the beginning we cross the state road and go on the green 12th. A narrow path leads us into the shady mixed deciduous forest to the Rißlochschlucht. Right before we hit the big waterfall we come to the green2 and go uphill on the right until we reach the big waterfall. At the waterfall we can take a break on the benches and look at the water features.

We walk downhill along the green2 and the way back begins. The path in front of us is a rocky forest path. At the end of the hiking trail it flows into a forest road on which we begin the last section of the hike. Here we can see the Rißlochschanze, which has now fallen into disrepair, on the right-hand side. 

9-Im Ferdinandsthal 

The tour begins at the border station in Bayerisch Eisenstein. Take your time to visit the Naturpark Welten with its diverse exhibitions directly in the station building.
  
The route begins with the crossing of the state border into the Czech Republic. Here we walk along the railway site. Here we leave the train station and follow the yellow marking in Železná Ruda, where we walk along a road. Following the markings, we continue along the hiking trail past the Regen/Řezná river. At the next intersection we turn right, leave the railway tracks and walk approx.1.5km. uphill in the direction of Debrník with a view of some historic military installations.
  
Here we turn right and downhill in the Ferdinandsthal again towards the Ferdinandsthal/Debrník border crossing. On the way we occasionally pass information boards pointing to historically significant places and old military installations. After we arrive at the Ferdinandsthal border crossing, we walk along the partially asphalted path for approx.2km. to the end of the town Zwieslerwaldhaus.
 
Keeping half right we go uphill in the direction of Hans-Watzlik-Hain and after approx.500m. to the Große Waldhaustanne. Here we walk on the boardwalk and at the end into the unmarked forest path, which has been protected since 1950. In this forest we encounter gigantic deadwood trunks, ancient giant trees and dynamic rejuvenation.
 
Now we cross a gravel path to follow the path up to the Hochbergsattel. When we arrive at the refuge, we go to the right and take the path marked Goldsteig / Bussard. It takes us downhill to Bayerisch Eisenstein, where we first cross the railway tracks on the outskirts of the town and can see the local railway museum with the historical locomotives and railway facilities on the right. Here we turn right and walk along Bahnhofstrasse back towards the border station.

10-In the Saußbachklamm 

The Saußbachklamm hike to Waldkirchen takes place in the nature park. This route offers a magical natural spectacle in spring.Here you can witness the play of light and shadow that arise from the beech leaves that are currently sprouting.

This route can start at the Saußmühle or at the nature park pavilion in the east of the gorge near Fischerhäusl. You have the opportunity to decide whether you want to do the 1.5km.from the mill to the weir up and down or want to go back along the canal along the former Marktbachgraben. This route is signposted as hiking trail 1. 

It's not common for you to want to go back and forth the same way you came. But the case is different at the Saußbachklamm. There are very different perspectives up and down here, so you definitely won't get bored.By the way, this gorge is one of the oldest nature reserves in Bavaria.

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