10 cool hiking routes for hot days

Palatine Uplands: legendary forest trail

This 17-kilometre circular hiking trail lives up to its name: enchanted giant trees, moss-covered rocks and mysterious glades create a fairytale-like atmosphere. So it is little wonder that people tell stories about the ghosts of Sickingen Heights! No-one need be afraid, although you may well be completely awestruck when faced with the 'Elendsklamm', or 'Gorge of Misery', whose waterfalls, cascades and seas of stones are like a natural work of art.

Start: Am Bahnhof 30, 66892 Bruchmühlbach-Miesau
Duration: 4 hours
Length: 16 kilometres
Local public transport: Take the train or bus to Bruchmühlbach-Miesau train station, where an access path proceeds to the start of the hiking trail.

Bavarian Forest: Buntspecht circular trail

Proceeding through dense mixed mountain woodland, this circular trail starts at St. Oswald-Riedlhütte and is a circular hiking trail around seven kilometres in length. It leads up to the tranquil Rachelsee, the only natural lake in the Bavarian Forest National Park. The trail is easy to walk on, yet in parts does become stonier with some inclines – ideal for hikers who have a decent level of fitness. It's great in the heat: everything stays pleasantly cool beneath the leafy canopy. Whereas the view of the peaceful, almost mystical lake beneath the 1453-metre Großer Rachel mountain is heart-warming.

Start: Diensthüttenstraße car park, 94568 St. Oswald-Riedlhütte
Duration: 2 hours
Length: 7 kilometres
Local public transport: Between the end of May and the middle of September, the 'Igel' buses operate hourly from Spiegelau train station to Racheldiensthütte, the start of the hike.

Altmark: Arneburg nature trail

Altmark is a historic, cultural landscape in the northern area of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also home to precious areas of unspoilt nature, for instance the UNESCO biosphere reserve 'Elbe River Landscape'. The Arneburg Nature Trailis an easy and short circular route through the shaded 'Arneburger Hang' slope that offers opportunities for learning. In between hornbeams, field elms and robinia, you head to viewing points above the impressive Elbe and its abandoned channels. With a bit of luck you might even spot storks or sea eagles!

Start: Car park at the old ferry landing stage in Arneburg
Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes
Length: 4.4 kilometres
Local public transport: From Stendal train station, buses operate to Arneburg, where the hike starts and ends at the old ferry landing stage.

Teutoburg Forest: romantic Furlbach valley

Small, but mighty! This definitely applies to the 15-kilometre Furlbach in the Westphalian section of the Teutoburg Forest. It is here in this charming valley that nature reveals its fairytale side: slender pines, gnarly oaks and areas of dense greenery provide welcome shade. The circular hiking trail is around six kilometres long and at times follows the river or proceeds along twisting paths up to ten metres above, through this diverse forest.

Start: Mittweg hiking car park, opposite the waterworks
Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes
Length: 6.2 kilometres
Local public transport: Senne Bahn links Bielefeld and Paderborn, and Schloß Holte train station is right in the middle, where the 84.1 bus to Stukenbrock departs. Hikers alight at the 'Mittweg' stop.

Thuringian Forest: Dr. Wald Trail

Bathing, enjoying wine and wandering – Goethe enjoyed more than a dozen stays in his 'beloved Stützerbach'. And no wonder: the Thuringian Forest here is really beautiful. However, this 13-kilometre circular hiking trail takes its name from the active doctor and nature-lover, Dr. Wald. The 'Gedenkstrecke' proceeds through forests of beech and spruce trees, passing tranquil clearings and gentle ascents. The Schwarzwasser is a wonderful place to enjoy a rest and inspired not just Goethe, but many others too.

Start: Stützerbach
Duration: 3 hours 45 minutes
Length: 13.4 kilometres
Local public transport: From Ilmenau train station, via the Regionalbahn service, there are good links to Erfurt, and regular bus connections to Stützerbach – and on to Rennsteig train station, another starting point for this tour.

Feldberg lake landscape: Fallada's Fridolin hike

Enchanted by Feldberg's lakes, it was here that author Hans Fallada wrote about the adventures of Fridolin in his children's stories. Reason enough to name this ten-kilometre circular tour after the 'cheeky rascal'. We start out in picturesque Carwitz, where Fallada used to live, before continuing in his footsteps (literally), in the shade beneath leafy trees and past clear lakes. One highlight: the manually-operated Luzin ferry. And another: the Hans Fallada Museum in Carwitz.

Start: Carwitzer Straße 37, 17258 Carwitz
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Length: 10 kilometres
Local public transport: From Berlin to Neustrelitz by train, then on bus 619 to Feldberg School, continuing then to Carwitz on bus 629, albeit on an infrequent service.

Wildeshauser Geest: Ahlhorn Fish Ponds Trail

The car park and start point is called 'Am Karpfen'. This is appropriate for this five-kilometre circuit in the south of Lower Saxony, where everything revolves around fish. Or rather, the trail revolves around the fish ponds. Specifically, the quartet laid out more than 100 years ago, and now well-established: Kirchteich (with a superb viewing tower), Schilfteich, Schwanensee (a fantastic spot for a rest) and Helenensee. On a tour through Wildeshauser Geest Nature Park, there are a total of 35 ponds for hikers to take in.

Start: "Am Karpfen" car park (Baumweg, 49685 Emstek)
Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes
Length: 5.2 kilometres
Local public transport: The Ahlhorner fish ponds are not directly accessible; the closest train station is in Großenkneten, eight kilometres away.

Odenwald: Roman path Minerva tour

The tour in Baden's Elztal lives up to its name, and does indeed take you to exciting, eye-catching sites, in the tracks of the Roman goddess. These include the remains of Roman watchtowers, a reconstruction of a section of palisades and a replica of the Minerva Stone. Two stations provide access to an audioguide via a QR code. Even those who aren't especially interested in (hiking with) the Romans will appreciate the routes which are for the most part on natural trails, just because of the variety-packed scenery provided by the Odenwald.

Start: Elztal-Neckarburken train station
Duration: 2 hours
Length: 7.5 kilometres
Local public transport: The tour begins at the S-Bahn station in Elztal-Neckarburken and finishes close to the S-Bahn station Elztal-Dallau.

Bliesgau: Burgpanorama Weg

Even if the name – previously Kirkeler Tafel Tour – has now changed to Burgpanorama Weg , the spectacular setting and route remain the same. It is a moderately difficult route, leading for around eight kilometres through the mixed woodlands of Saarland's UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Bliesgau and impressing visitors with strange red sandstone banks, including the 'Hollerkanzel', and the Frauenbrunnen, a prominent Celtic site. And for the crowning finale, there are the Kirkel Castle ruins, complete with impressive views.

Start: Hiking car park at the Naturfreunde building; Limbacher Weg, 66459 Kirkel-Neuhäusel
Duration: 2 hours 45 minutes
Length: 8.4 kilometres
Local public transport: The town of Kirkel is easily accessible via Regionalbahn, for instance from Saarbrücken and Kaiserslautern. From Kirkel train station it is around a 30 minute walk to an alternative access point for the tour, near the Naturfreunde building.

Eastern Saxony: Gräfenhainer Wanderschuh – Route K

Anyone who would like to tackle the 18-kilometre circular hiking trail in Upper Lusatia requires a reasonable amount of fitness – and time. After all, there is so much to take in. For instance, the route proceeds via the somewhat steeper Keulenberg (with its outstanding viewing tower), through tranquil woodlands (with their romantic Flüsterallee) and via meadows scattered with fruit trees. Places steeped in history such as Reichenau, Pulsnitztal and its railway viaduct, and Königsbrück provide plenty of variety, and so too does a series of tempting rest points.

Start: Markt 20, 01936 Königsbrück
Duration: 5 hours
Length: 17.7 kilometres
Local public transport: Regional trains operate from Neustadt train station to Königsbrück. The hike can easily be started from the train station.