Harz: Peaks, Hiking Trails and Historic Water Management
Accommodation in Harz
The Harz offers a range of travel themes: peaks and protected areas, hiking trails and guided excursions, engineering structures, and cultural history. When planning your hotel stay, you can consider whether you would like to focus on nature and outdoor activities or on historic sites and townscapes.
Brocken, Protected Area and Views
At 1,141 metres, the Brocken is the highest peak in the Harz and lies in the core zone of Harz National Park. The national park covers 24,732 hectares, accounting for around ten percent of the entire Harz region. Its 560 kilometres of signposted trails lead to particularly scenic viewpoints.
The Harzer-Hexen-Stieg trail also passes through the national park and the Brockenmoor bog. Twelve themed stops point out special viewpoints, tell stories or invite you to take a short break. A multimedia guide to the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg uses 28 stations featuring audio stories or films. As the digital offering may change, it is best to check its availability if you would like to use it when planning your trip.
The national park has eight visitor centres and national park centres offering information about the park, hiking tips, exhibitions and film screenings. Guided hikes and excursions are also available with rangers, experts, national park guides and national park forest guides. As programmes may change, check current dates if you would like a guided activity to help structure your stay.
The Harz–Braunschweiger Land–Ostfalen UNESCO Geopark includes the Harz. Its visitor facilities include geopark information points, nature trails, show mines, boulder gardens and museums. This offers a range of ways to explore the geopark, from information services to show mines.
Hiking, Railways and Other Activities
The Harzer Wandernadel connects 222 stamping stations across the Harz. Anyone who collects all 222 stamps earns the title “Harz Hiking Emperor.” Another option is to join railway hikes offered by the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways through natural areas of the Selke Valley and the southern Harz. The Brockenbahn is one way to reach the summit of the Brocken by train; check the current timetable when planning your trip.
If you would like to go mountain biking, Volksbank Arena Harz offers 74 routes covering a total of 2,300 kilometres. As the operator may change the network details, check the current information when planning a specific ride.
At the Rappbode Dam, Harzdrenalin offers wall running, Ultrashot, Megazipline, the “Titan RT” suspension bridge, GigaSwing and a 5D cinema. The Titan RT spans the Bodetal valley and is 458.5 metres long. This adds a different kind of excursion to the hiking and railway options. As individual activities may change, check the provider’s current information before visiting.
UNESCO Heritage and Half-Timbered History
The Upper Harz Water Management System has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage since August 2010. It now includes 107 preserved ponds, 310 kilometres of water channels and 30 kilometres of underground waterways. These different components illustrate the scale of the water management system: ponds, channels and underground waterways are all part of it.
Quedlinburg offers a different cultural focus. The town has more than 2,000 half-timbered houses dating back eight centuries and is one of Germany’s largest historic urban areas. The Harz’s range of themes therefore includes both preserved water management infrastructure and an extensive half-timbered ensemble.
Discover more destinations: Halberstadt, Ballenstedt, Quedlinburg, Wernigerode, Thale, Tanne, Ilsenburg, Harzgerode, Ditfurt, Blankenburg Am Harz, Oberharz Am Brocken, Hedersleben, Huy, Falkenstein/Harz, Osterwieck, Nordharz, Selke-Aue, GroĂź Quenstedt, Harsleben, Schwanebeck, Wegeleben, GĂĽntersberge.
To the main travel overview: Saxony-Anhalt.
