7 beautiful mountain bike routes and great bike paths in Germany
The mountain bike routes in Germany offer some of the best opportunities for bike tourism in the world. You can explore more of this part of Europe by cycling and mountain biking, as well as enjoying the fresh air of the mountains and their beautiful nature. In this guide we offer you 7 suggestions for mountain bike routes that we have carefully selected and checked for you. With the help of our collection, you can find out which bike tour you would enjoy most in order to experience an unforgettable journey through the mountain bike routes in Germany.
It must be said that the infrastructure for cycling tours in Germany is at a very high level. The mountain bike routes that cross the country are popular spots around the world. You can find a few in this guide ideal places and bike routes for your route planner, which will surely make the adrenaline level rise. Some of the landscape is not as spectacular as neighboring Austria and Switzerland, but Germany also has Alpine landscapes in the southern part of the country that are just as breathtaking. The signage and facilities for MTB riders are very well developed.
Black Forest
The mountain bike routes in the Black Forest are considered to be some of the best in Germany. The mountains extend over 6,000 square kilometers and lead from the suburbs of Karlsruhe and Pforzheim in the northwest to the Swiss border in the south. In the vicinity of the cities of Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Stuttgart, as well as Strasbourg and Basel across the border, there are bike paths for every taste across the region.
In this area you can also take an extreme multi-day bike tour that will be full of mountain bike trails from north to south. The highest peak in the Black Forest is the Feldberg at 1,493 meters. Travel reports confirm that the signage and infrastructure for the mountain bike trails in this area are very satisfactory. On the Schwarzwäder Touristik website you will find useful tips and a great overview of the cities with access to the mountain bike routes.
There are bike paths with many possible routes – from a short one-hour tour to a demanding day tour with over 1200 meters of altitude. For details on where to rent a bike or suitable accommodation, we would recommend that black forest app for iOS and Android.
Berchtesgadener Land
The Berchtesgadener Land is a beautiful alpine route in the extreme south-east of Germany. It is surrounded by the Austrian border and is doable as a day trip from Munich as it is otherwise too far from other locations in Germany. What is lacking in accessibility is made up for with natural beauty, tranquility and seclusion.
This corner of the Bavarian Alps is quite popular with cyclists, and the highest peak, the Watzmann, is over 2,700 meters high. The region contains over 25 mountain bike routes. You can also use these bike paths just watch it online and download the coordinates for your route planner from the website. There you will also find general information and useful tips for cyclists.
Thuringian Forest
The Thuringian Forest is a hilly, wooded landscape that was once one of the most popular holiday resorts in the former GDR. The region offers a geographical location in the heart of the country. The easily accessible mountain bike routes for day trippers from Erfurt and the Leipzig / Halle region make the place a highly rated travel destination for cyclists. Most of the cycle paths are in an area around the towns of Suhl and Ilmenau, although there are other suitable places for cycling. The one from the local website Recommended mountain bike routes range from 19 to 60 kilometers.
Rhön
The Rhön is a low mountain range of about 1500 square kilometers, which lies on the border of Hesse and Bavaria and is not far from the Thuringian Forest. It is topographically similar, but a little less forested than its larger neighbor. Easily accessible from Frankfurt, a variety of bicycle routes cross both the Hessian and the Bavarian (Franconian) Rhön.
the local tourism sites offer more than 13 cycle paths, which are categorized from easy to difficult and are approx. 62 km long. In the vicinity of the town of Bischofsheim there are also specially created mountain bike trails, which provide an approx. 2 km long route with a 180 meter descent for cyclists. The Rhön is a bit remote, but very popular for day trips from the Rhine-Main area. This means that this area is much less crowded than many other places for cycling tours.
resin
As the only true mountain range in northern Germany, the Harz has a monopoly on tourism for holidaymakers in the north. The easily accessible mountain bike trails offer opportunities for cycling. In the vicinity of the local cities, the Harz can be easily reached by public transport from the nearby city centers. With 74 routes over 2200 kilometers, the Harz is a coveted place, but there are many ways to escape the crowds. The region also offers an MTB-friendly infrastructure. The useful Harz app can also help you with your route planner.
Mountain bike routes – Palatinate Forest
The Palatinate Forest is a relatively undiscovered corner in southwest Germany, south of Kaiserslautern and west of the Rhine-Neckar region, which offers great bike tours with several options in Mannheim and Heidelberg. It is also easily accessible by car from Frankfurt, although the Taunus and Rhön are closer. There is a wide variety of cycle routes there. These extend over 950 km there. The dense forest with great single-track sections ensures that this area has some of the best mountain bike trails in Germany. Of the interactive route planner for the whole of Rhineland-Palatinate saves you having to carry a card with you.
Eifel
Close to the Belgian and Luxembourg borders is the Eifel, which is a popular place of entertainment for most people from the Rhineland. The highest peak is just over 750 meters. Nonetheless, it is a popular weekend spot with visitors from Cologne, Bonn and the surrounding area.
With a series of former volcanic, gently sloping hills, the Eifel is idyllically located in the middle of forests and a few lakes. There is a well-developed network of trails, which is divided into the regions Eifel and Vulkaneifel. Here there are a few suggestions for mountain bike trails, as well as a bike park where you can practice and improve your technique.