Hiking on Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance consists of the Obersee, the Seerhein and the Untersee, which are connected by a section of the Rhine. It is a so-called Inland waters in the southwest of Central Europe and is the largest lake in Germany. The rivers that feed it are the Alpine Rhine and the High Rhine. This lake has shores on three different countries. Namely Germany, Austria and Switzerland. There is a known destination in the Untersee between Switzerland and Germany, but no border has been set by the states for the Obersee.
In this article you will not only read about the lake “Bodensee”, but it is also about the “Bodensee” region, which hides a wide hinterland.
Lake Constance has a 273km. long bank overall. 173km. Of these, 155km are part of Germany. in Baden-Württemberg and 18km. in Bavaria. 28km. of the shore is in Austria and 72km. in Switzerland. With a calculation of the Obersee and Untersee together a total area of 536km². This makes it the third largest lake in Central Europe after Lake Balaton with an area of 594 km² and Lake Geneva with 580 km². In terms of water volume, with 48.5km³, it is the third largest after Lake Geneva with 89km³ and Lake Garda with 49.3km³. From Bregenz to Stein am Rhein it stretches 69.2km and covers an area of approx.11.500km².
Hiking on Lake Constance
Whether you are on land or in the water, whether you climb panoramic paths or walk through the orchards or, better yet, hike through the forests, it doesn't matter. The Lake Constance region is very popular as a hiking country. The unique network, which consists of magnificent hiking trails and thousands of kilometers of marked paths, invites you to a holiday with hiking excursions. You can explore every corner of Lake Constance on foot.
Many certified premium hiking trails as well as many day or adventure routes with striking viewpoints are waiting for you here.
The 10 best hiking routes on Lake Constance to recommend:
1- Island of Höri (panoramic path)
On the hiking paradise, the Höri peninsula, you can combine hiking trips on the lakeshore or on narrow forest paths on Schiener Berg.
The Gaienhofen-Horn bus stop is our starting point. At the Gasthaus Hirschen we turn into Weiler Straße and follow it to the Horn water tower. If you would like to enjoy a beautiful view of Reichenau Island or the Untersee, we can take a detour to the observation tower. After we 400m. After following the road, we turn right at the “yellow diamond” marking and walk over “das Blatt”, past fields, in the forest and at the edge of the forest in the direction of Weiler.
When we have arrived at the upper edge of the town, we can see the view of the Hoher Randen, the front Höri and the volcanic cones of the Hegau, where we can also see the castle ruins on the Hohentwiel and the pointed Hohenkrähen. A signpost down to Weiler now appears in front of us, but we'd better go at the level of the Schützenhaus, along the artist's stele, on the left side and turn onto the field path. This path bypasses the hamlet through the orchards on the eastern part. We cross the street on the outskirts of town and go straight ahead on the asphalt path in the direction of Schiener Berg.
At the field cross we keep right and walk on the field road to Hof Bruttel. The path that is marked and leads through Weiler and Bettnang also ends here. We walk along a gravel path to the forest and continue along ravines. If we take the “Bettnanger Staige” path, it is up to 10m in some places. deep and notched. But on the way to Hof Langenmoos we arrive “on the roof” of Schiener Berg. Here we follow the signs and go left. We hike downhill from Gackern to the Salenhof sheep farm and continue with panoramic views to Wangen.
2- Andreashof (circular hike)
At the beginning we walk on the small street, along the St. Andrew's Chapel from the 13th century.century downhill to Deisendorf. After the walk on Riedbachstraße we come through the meadow meadows, where we see the storks, to the Deisendorf sports field.
Soon we follow the edge of the forest and the yellow signs in the direction of Oberuhldingen. At the intersection we turn left along the Prälatenweg in the direction of Affenberg and then immediately turn right again so that we can hike past the two Nellenfurter ponds. Here we see idyllic fish ponds on the right and continue hiking to the next yellow marking. We now follow this in the direction of Salem/Mühlhofen, leave the forest and walk along sheep meadows and fields until a little later we reach the dam between the Markgräfinweiher and the Martinsweiher via a forest. We keep the Dammweg to the left and walk along the lakeshore to the road between Affenberg and Salem. Here we can stroll briefly and shortly afterwards follow the markings uphill in the direction of Tüfingen. This route ends here in Salem.
3- On the Haldenhofer viewing balcony
We start our route on Bahnhofstrasse and head east. We continue on the Sernatingerstrasse to the signpost “Ortsmitte” from the Black Forest Association. After the yellow diamond, we turn right in the direction of "Haldenhof", across the main street to the junction with Haldenhofstraße and continue hiking to the "Gießbach Tobel" at the edge of the forest. If we go straight ahead, we can within 30 minutes. to the viewing balcony and back again. When we return to the location, we continue along the “An der Schnabelburg” path to the “Täler” fork. Here we come to the “Kohlberg”.
After a strenuous hike, we come to the main hiking trail 9 from the Swabian Alb Association, which we will follow to the Haldenhof mountain inn. At the upper edge of Sipplingen we go back to the starting point via the blossom path.
4- Nature experiences at the Untersee
Our route begins at Radolfzell train station on Lake Zell. The yellow diamond takes us along the harbor pier in an easterly direction to the Mettnau Bridge, where we continue on to the Mettnau peninsula. From the seaside resort we follow the riverside path to the lido and arrive at the Scheffelschlösschen. Here we can take a detour to the Mettnau Tower, which we reach through Auenwald. Here we get a good overview of the peninsula and the Markelfinger. Following the “Untersee Life Path” we go back to the parking lot.
We walk along the nature trail to the next viewpoint before hitting the lido road again. At the sports field we leave it to the right and arrive at Markelfinger Winkel. We walk along the railway line and the lakeshore to the campsite in Markelfingen. Here we pass a railway crossing, go through the suburb of Radolfzell in the direction of Mindelsee, then cross under the B33 and after approx.2km. to the international bird sanctuary.
We walk along the south bank to the town of “Mooshalde” and cross the Kreisstr. in the southern direction., via which we turn left to the Allensbach Wildlife and Leisure Park. A while later we come to the Lake Constance circular path, which enters from the west. Past the Rossberg we follow it in the direction of Allensbach. The panorama from the Walzenberg and the view of the Gnadensee are really to be enjoyed.On Kaltbrunner Straße we go down to the lake to the train station.
5- The Firstweg on Schiener Berg
Our route starts at the Haselwiese hiking car park. We walk along a paved path to Klingerbach and arrive at the village of Eisenbahn via the viewing and rest areas. Here we visit the Romanesque parish and pilgrimage church of St. Genesis and Mary. Following Kirchstrasse, Waldheimstrasse and Eisenbahnbergstrasse we walk out of the rails and go uphill.
At the Maria chapel, between Oberschrotzburg and Unterschrotzburg, we have views of the Hegau and, when the weather is good, of the Swiss mountains. At the Oberschrotzburger Hof we come to a sign that points us to the former Schrotzburg. Here we now visit the so-called Diepholzbug Castle, which was built from 1100. In 1441 it was destroyed and burned down as a “robber’s nest”. On the way from Hof Obere Schrotzburg we go back to the hiking car park.
6- Look into the country (Three Country Alpine Route)
The start of the Guck ins Land route is in Markdorf at the Vogelsang car park. Immediately after a few meters we walk along a water reservoir that is worth seeing and was built in 1900. It continues up through forests and paths up to 30m. high Gehrenberg tower. This was built as the “Großherzog-Friedrich-Warte” in 1903 and still delights visitors today with the fantastic view of Lake Constance. When the weather is clear, you can see from Feldberg to the Bavarian, Austrian and Swiss Alpine peaks.
After the visit to the Gehrenberg Tower, we come to the most spectacular attraction in the Lake Constance area. Here we arrive at the so-called "slide", which has been in use since the great earthquake on the 16th. November 1911 exists. It has a vertical abyss of almost 30 meters. If you want to enjoy this place with all the trimmings, you have to be careful because some edges or places are unsecured. She opens a window in front of us, from which we have a view of Markdorf and Lake Constance.
Now we continue across the forest to the Linzgaublick with beautiful views to the west. About 1km. in the distance arrive at a perfectly placed rest area. Here we take a break to enjoy the far-reaching view of the Deggenhausertal. In the second part of the Guck ins Land Route, we mostly walk through the picturesque forests, numerous clearings, over a wooden bridge and directly over lonely farms. The fascinating views accompany us deep into the hinterland to our end point.
7- The Fürstenberg route
The route starts at the parking lot on the market square in Obertor. We walk past the Mauritius Chapel and straight ahead to Möggenweiler. Where Möggenweilerstraße ends at the Vogelsang hiking car park, we follow the sign in an easterly direction along Muldenweg. The Muldenbach becomes after approx.1km. crossed and a slight climb follows on the Zwerchweg. Immediately afterwards we turn left at an intersection onto Grafenschachenweg and follow the “Gehrenbergturm” sign on Fürstenbergweg.
As soon as we leave the forest, we see county road 7750 and follow it to the left. Then we turn right to the Gehrenberg tower, where we reach the observation tower at 740m. reach altitude. Here we have a magnificent view of the entire Lake Constance landscape.
Now we go south past the edge of the forest and downhill over the stairs. After approx.600m. At the fork in the road we keep left and continue for about 10m. Before the district road we turn right into the forest path. After about 150m. We cross the district road and on the left side the HW7 (the red crossbar) leads us along the refuge. Here we go downhill and cross after 200m. a forest road. We continue to follow the HW7 and reach the next forest road, which we take after approx.30m. Leave via stairs on the left. We can rest a little here on the benches at the edge of the forest with a beautiful view and then walk straight ahead to the signs with blue bars. This route takes us back to the starting point on the market square.
8- The Langenargen hinterland
The route starts at the tourist information center in Langenargen. We follow Obere Seestrasse to Malerecke and then walk along the lake to Argenpfad. We walk along the Argen approx.2km. until the turnoff to Oberdorf. We then turn left into the town at the level of the church tower at the sports field and cross the country road on the right. We follow the dirt road to the edge of the forest and turn right. At the next one we go left and then left again. Then we go straight ahead to the forest intersection, turn right here and follow the signs HW9 through the forest.
Then the next road leads us into the next forest, we turn left and then continue straight ahead. We walk past the Mariabrunn pilgrimage church and continue across the street into the Röckenweg cul-de-sac. We go under the main road onto the road in the right direction to Holzbrücke Eriskirch. Before we arrive at the bridge we walk along the Schussen to the left. Now we go on the Lake Constance path under the railway bridge. As soon as we arrive at Moos, we turn right and walk past the garden centers on the street. Then turn left into Untere Seestrasse. We follow the path straight ahead, past the lido and then straight ahead to the Langenargen tourist information office.
9- From Speer to Speermürli
We start at Nesslau train station. About 750m. Let's go on the road in the direction of Egg and cross the Thur on the Laaderbrücke. On the asphalted driveway we come to the meadow path that leads to the Egghof. After we leave Eggli, there is now a slightly steeper climb that takes us on partly rooty and stony paths to Windbläss and from there on to Blässchopf, which has great views. We hike on a fairly pleasant incline through the Heumooser Höchi and then return to the soft ground.
Below the Seilschöpf we continue along the Alp Vorder Elisiten and immediately afterwards on the path branching off to the right to the Schilt fork. Here we walk through a path framed by Nagelfluh stones. After a short hike on the Toggenburger Höhenweg, we continue to Alpe Bütz and take a break there at the Hengst Alpwirtschaft.
After the rest, we descend via Hagloch and Heidlen into the Ijental onto a road and leave it after we have passed the reservoir of a small power plant. At the upcoming Laufenweid fork we turn right via Bürzlen downhill to Thur. The former Benedictine abbey of Neu St. Johann can already be seen from a distance. Here we cross the Thur, pass the small chapel on the Thur island of Helgoland and arrive back at Nesslau train station along the Luterenbach.
10- To Kirchberg Castle
The starting point is the town hall, from which we walk briefly through the park by the lake and past the old Torkel. We leave the lake on the left side and walk a little uphill along the vineyards to the main road, which we can reach by walking up the steps. Here we cross the federal highway and walk along Frenkenbacher Straße to Frenkenbach.
We leave the old Osswald chapel with its defensive tower on the left and take the right path at the next fork to the Fuchsberg. Here we can enjoy the first views of the Lake Constance hinterland. The mighty Gehrenberg rises on the left and Markdorf at its feet. At the crossroads we leave the paved path in the right direction and continue downhill between the vineyards.
Kirchberg Castle, the next destination, is also clearly visible. We walk past two agricultural properties to a road on which we walk about 1km. have to go. We then walk through the orchards and shorten the path. After a while, on the same B31 road, you will find Kirchberg Castle. Through the buildings of the castle we reach the stairs that lead us to a vine-covered pergola. From there she guides us down to the lake, directly to the shore. On the Lake Constance circular hiking trail we reach our starting point in Hagnau with magnificent views of the lake.
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