Rennsteig Westkamm

The Rennsteig runs 169 kilometres along the crest of the Thuringian Forest, from Hörschel near Eisenach to Blankenstein on the Saale. It is Germany's oldest long-distance trail, waymarked with a white R. This route is the western, highest part: 58 kilometres in three days from Hörschel to Oberhof.

The first day climbs from the Werra over the Hörselberge, with views of the Wartburg, and on along the ridge to Ascherbrück. The second is the hardest: over the Großer Inselsberg (916 metres) and past the Spitterfall to the mountain meadow of Ebertswiese. The third runs along the ridge to the Grenzadler at Oberhof.

The landscape is spruce forest on the crest, with open mountain meadows, stream valleys and views across the Thuringian Forest. The old boundary stones of the ridge stand along the way.

Practical. The route is waymarked with a white R. Hörschel has no station; take the train to Eisenach and a bus or taxi from there to the start, about ten kilometres. Oberhof does have a station, on the Erfurt to Meiningen line. The stages end at Ascherbrück and on the Ebertswiese, where there is a hotel and a holiday park. May to October are the best months; the meadows flower in June.