Harzer Hexen-Stieg Hochharz

The Harzer Hexen-Stieg runs from Osterode to Thale, 94 kilometres through the Harz. This route is the high part: from Torfhaus over the Brocken and through the Bode valley to Thale, 63 kilometres in three stages.

The first day climbs the Goetheweg through the high bog to the Brocken, 1,141 metres, then drops through woods to Schierke. The second runs via Drei Annen Hohne and old mining paths to Rübeland. The third is the longest: past the Rappbode dam and through the Bode valley to Thale, with the Roßtrappe and the Hexentanzplatz above the river.

The landscape is high bog, spruce forest and granite. Above the treeline it is always windy, and the summit often sits in cloud; there is little shelter on the way.

Practical. The route is waymarked with the witch logo. Torfhaus is reached by bus from Bad Harzburg; Thale has a station with trains to Halberstadt and Magdeburg; the narrow-gauge Brocken line leaves from Wernigerode, which is reached by bus. The stages end in Schierke and Rübeland, where there are hotels and a hostel. May to October are the best months.