Summit hike

The summit hiking trail – a tour to the highest peaks of the Thuringian Forest

“Above all the peaks is peace, in all the treetops you hardly feel a breath…” You too can experience this feeling, which Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described in his “Wanderer’s Night Song”, on the Thuringian Forest summit hiking trail, which runs along the highest points of the Thuringian Forest and is largely located in the Oberhof holiday region.

From Goldlauter to the Großer Finsterberg

The trail begins in the Suhl district of Goldlauter, around 20 minutes’ drive from Oberhof. There you can park your car at the Pfannrain car park in Suhler Straße and set off on a very challenging tour. Walk about 200 metres along Suhler Straße in a south-westerly direction and turn left. A steep ascent begins up to the 867 metre-high Salzberg summit. It is well worth taking a break here. Enjoy the fantastic view. Continue to the Großer Eisenberg (907 m) and reach the Way of the Cross via the Liftbaude. You then have to cross a country road after about 100 metres before you reach the “Alte Tränke”, a beautiful mountain meadow with water flowing through it. The path leads you further up the Großer Finsterberg. A viewing tower with a marvellous view over the Thuringian Forest awaits you.

Borstenplatz, Schmücke, Schneekopf

The hiking route then takes you back down from Finsterberg to Mordfleckwiese. From here, you cross the Goldlauterberg to Borstenplatz, where there is a memorial stone to Herbert Roth, the famous Suhl composer of the Rennsteiglied. The route continues over the Fichtenkopf (944 m) to the Suhl hut. At 924 metres above sea level, this is the highest hut in the Thuringian Forest. Now you reach the well-known “Schmücke”, a clearing with a forest restaurant of the same name. Another summit follows shortly – the comparatively small Sachsenstein at 915 metres, which also offers impressive views. You then descend and hike to Seiffartsburg Castle. You can easily climb this rock and enjoy the view of the Kickelhahn and the Thuringian Basin. The trail continues through the forest to the country road that connects Schmücke with Gehlberg.

Follow it for a short distance in the direction of Schmücke and cross it at about the height of the Güldenen Brücke bridge. Now you hike up a steep path to the Teufelskanzel, from where you can also enjoy a wonderful view of the Thuringian Forest and the Schneekopf not far away. Germany’s largest arched bridge, the “Wilde Gera” viaduct on the 71 motorway, comes into view. You then climb to the highest point of your hike, the 978 metre high Schneekopf. This is the second highest mountain in Thuringia and once again offers a fantastic viewpoint.

Over the Großer Beerberg down to Heidersbach

From the Schneekopf, the trail leads you back to the country road that connects Oberhof with the Schmücke. Cross this road and you will reach the Rennsteig again. Along the famous high-altitude hiking trail, you reach the Rosenkopf. From here, it is not far to the “Plänckners Aussicht” viewpoint, which is located below the Großer Beerberg. It is named after Julius Plänckner, who hiked the entire Rennsteig trail for the first time. Take a break and enjoy the distant view as far as the Rhön. The summit of the Großer Beerberg, which at 982 metres is the highest mountain in Thuringia, is part of the core zone of the Unesco biosphere reserve “Vessertal” and should not be entered for this reason.

From “Plänckners Aussicht”, follow the Rennsteig trail again to the Suhler Ausspanne. From here, the trail continues via the “Dietzen-Lorenz-Stein” viewpoint and the large fountain to the “Hundsrück”. Here you can already see the final destination of the hike, the Goldlauter-Heidersbach ski lift.

Finally, you reach the Suhl district of Heidersbach via a relatively short but steep descent. Here you will arrive at the bus stop “Stockmar-Platz” (formerly “Hirsch”), from where you can take the bus back to your starting point. (Or your hike can take you back to the starting point, the car park from which you started)