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Best Castle Hikes in Bavaria

There are 67 hikes in Bavaria in our database that fit. They average 38.9 km and 857 m (2,812 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 360 km.

That is 2 percent of the 3,807 routes we map in Bavaria. They run noticeably longer than average for the area, 38.9 km against 17.0 km, so budget more daylight than a typical outing here. The climbing is steeper too: 857 m (2,812 ft) on average versus 372 m (1,220 ft) across the wider area.

Castle and ruin routes give the walking a destination with a story attached, which makes them a good pick for a group with mixed enthusiasm for hills. The mix is broad: 16 are rated easy and 27 are hard or harder, so there is something here whether you have two hours or a full day. A good share of them are loops, so you can park once and finish where you started.

Trails

Expert

Via Porta

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
349 km
/ 217 mi
Elevation gain
7,682 m
Typical duration
94 hr
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Heinrich-Uhl-Weg

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
33.5 km
/ 20.8 mi
Elevation gain
736 m
Typical duration
8 hr 38 min
  • Mountain
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Wallfahrtsweg Ebern Kreuzberg

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
97.5 km
/ 60.6 mi
Elevation gain
2,146 m
Typical duration
26 hr
  • Forest
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Burgen und Schlösser

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
103 km
/ 64.0 mi
Elevation gain
2,266 m
Typical duration
27 hr
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Burgen- und Schlösserweg

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
168 km
/ 104 mi
Elevation gain
3,699 m
Typical duration
45 hr
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Leo-Jobst-Weg

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
52.7 km
/ 32.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,159 m
Typical duration
13 hr
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Spies - Ebermannstadt

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
32.5 km
/ 20.2 mi
Elevation gain
714 m
Typical duration
8 hr 21 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Großer Rundweg Burg Feuerstein

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
15.0 km
/ 9.3 mi
Elevation gain
329 m
Typical duration
3 hr 37 min
  • Mountain
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Mettener Rundwanderweg Nr. 10

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
10.9 km
/ 6.8 mi
Elevation gain
240 m
Typical duration
2 hr 38 min
  • Mountain
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Burgberg-Panorama-Weg (33)

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
2.4 km
/ 1.5 mi
Elevation gain
52 m
Typical duration
34 min
  • Panoramic viewpoint
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Lauftour BGP2

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
5.5 km
/ 3.4 mi
Elevation gain
122 m
Typical duration
1 hr 20 min
  • Panoramic viewpoint
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Lauftour EBN1

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
15.0 km
/ 9.3 mi
Elevation gain
330 m
Typical duration
3 hr 37 min
  • Panoramic viewpoint
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Kulturweg Eschau 1

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
8.1 km
/ 5.0 mi
Elevation gain
178 m
Typical duration
1 hr 57 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Easy

Altstadtrundweg

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
1.6 km
/ 1.0 mi
Elevation gain
35 m
Typical duration
23 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Bad Bocklet - Rundweg BB3

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
6.2 km
/ 3.8 mi
Elevation gain
135 m
Typical duration
1 hr 29 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Benediktusweg

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
12.6 km
/ 7.8 mi
Elevation gain
276 m
Typical duration
3 hr 2 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Burgen-und-Schlösser-Weg

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
12.8 km
/ 7.9 mi
Elevation gain
281 m
Typical duration
3 hr 5 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Drei-Burgen-Steig

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
2.5 km
/ 1.5 mi
Elevation gain
54 m
Typical duration
36 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Drei-Burgen-Weg

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
26.9 km
/ 16.7 mi
Elevation gain
592 m
Typical duration
6 hr 51 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Drei-Burgen-Weg (Nittenau)

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
15.5 km
/ 9.6 mi
Elevation gain
340 m
Typical duration
3 hr 45 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Frauensteinweg

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
2.7 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
60 m
Typical duration
39 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Fuchsmühl-Ruine Weißenstein

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
5.8 km
/ 3.6 mi
Elevation gain
128 m
Typical duration
1 hr 24 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Goldbachwanderweg

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
19.5 km
/ 12.1 mi
Elevation gain
430 m
Typical duration
4 hr 51 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Grenzmühle-Ruine Weißenstein

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
5.9 km
/ 3.7 mi
Elevation gain
131 m
Typical duration
1 hr 26 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Häusles-Weg KC 31

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
7.4 km
/ 4.6 mi
Elevation gain
162 m
Typical duration
1 hr 47 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Höllohe Runde (Grüne 5a)

Bavaria · Germany

Distance
5.0 km
/ 3.1 mi
Elevation gain
110 m
Typical duration
1 hr 12 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
Ostbayerischer Jakobsweg (Eschlkam > Donauwörth)Bavaria277 km6,089 m74 hrExpertApril to October
Ostbayerischer Jakobsweg: nördliche Variante (Eschlkam > Donauwörth)Bavaria38.1 km839 m9 hr 54 minExpertApril to October
HW 1 - Schwäbische-Alb-Nordrand-WegBavaria360 km7,918 m97 hrExpertApril to October
HW 2 - Schwäbische Alb-Südrand-WegBavaria290 km6,376 m78 hrExpertApril to October
Via PortaBavaria349 km7,682 m94 hrExpertApril to October
Heinrich-Uhl-WegBavaria33.5 km736 m8 hr 38 minExpertApril to October
Wallfahrtsweg Ebern KreuzbergBavaria97.5 km2,146 m26 hrExpertApril to October
Burgen und SchlösserBavaria103 km2,266 m27 hrExpertApril to October
Burgen- und SchlösserwegBavaria168 km3,699 m45 hrExpertApril to October
Rotes Gleich - Mariabuchen - Wü-FrankenwarteBavaria60.8 km1,337 m16 hrExpertApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with Ostbayerischer Jakobsweg (Eschlkam > Donauwörth), Ostbayerischer Jakobsweg: nördliche Variante (Eschlkam > Donauwörth), HW 2 - Schwäbische Alb-Südrand-Weg. Those are the routes people come back to. Every route on this page links through to a full guide with the map, elevation profile, seasonal advice and what to bring.

Frequently asked questions

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