Neuschönau: Hotels and Nature Experiences

Neuschönau is a destination for a hotel stay focused on nature and national park experiences. Activities range from an exhibition and a botanical area to the wildlife enclosure, a natural swimming lake and attractions in the mountain village of Waldhäuser. This allows you to choose what to do based on your travel interests.

Exhibition, Plant Life and Treetop Walk

At the Hans-Eisenmann-Haus in the Lusen National Park Centre, the permanent exhibition “Paths into Nature – A Story of Forest and People” introduces visitors to the secrets of Bavarian Forest National Park. The botanical area covers four hectares, where visitors can explore the national park’s flora. The treetop walk at the Lusen National Park Centre offers a stroll right through the tree canopies.

The attractions each have a different focus: the exhibition is about forests and people, the botanical area about the national park’s flora, and the treetop walk about strolling through the tree canopies. If you are looking for a nature theme for your stay rather than just one attraction, you can choose between the exhibition, plant life and views from the canopy.

Wildlife Enclosure in Neuschönau

The national park’s wildlife enclosure at the Lusen Visitor Centre is located in the municipality of Neuschönau and can be explored on a tour. Visitors can learn about the national park and its native wildlife. In the wider destination of Freyung-Grafenau, the circular trails in the wildlife enclosure near Neuschönau are suitable for small children who cannot yet manage long distances.

Circular Trail at the Lusen National Park Centre

At the Lusen National Park Centre, a seven-kilometre circular trail invites you on a three- to four-hour discovery tour; shortcuts are possible. The grounds are suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs, cleared in winter and freely accessible year-round. The stated duration and possible shortcuts make it easier to plan a shorter or longer amount of time for this trail during your stay.

Waldhäuser: Winter Sports and Hiking

The mountain village of Waldhäuser has a beginner ski and snowboard centre with a rope lift and a small practice slope. If you plan to include this attraction, check with the operator in advance to see whether it is currently open. Another activity starts at the chapel: the hike marked “Habicht” leads uphill through the village. This gives you a choice between a beginner winter sports centre and a marked hiking trailhead for planning your day in the village.

Natural Swimming Lake in Neuschönau

The natural swimming lake in Neuschönau has a large sunbathing lawn, a shallow entry and a play area with a slide, swing and rock cave. The swimming facilities offer a different kind of activity from the forest and hiking experiences or the beginner centre in Waldhäuser. If you want to focus on spending time by the water when choosing your destination, you can weigh these features against Neuschönau’s other activities.

The Wider Destination of Freyung-Grafenau

Bavarian Forest National Park extends into the district of the wider destination of Freyung-Grafenau. Germany’s first national park, it opened on 7 October 1970. The 2024 zoning map designates 75.37 percent of the national park area as natural zones.

Another landscape in the Freyung-Grafenau destination is the Buchberger Leite wild gorge. There, steep rocky ridges force the boulder-strewn, cascading Wolfsteiner Ohe into a deeply confined channel; remnants of primeval forest remain in the gorge’s moss- and fern-rich woodland. An eight-kilometre themed hiking trail, with information boards and an accompanying brochure, runs through the Buchberger Leite between Freyung and Ringelai. Historic timber-rafting walls, tunnels cut into the rock and above-ground channels bear witness to centuries of human activity there.

Discover more destinations: Mauth, Zenting, Schönberg, Innernzell, Spiegelau, Sankt Oswald, Hohenau, Fürsteneck

View the wider travel overview: Freyung-Grafenau.