Malerweg · Stage 3
Walking time as saechsische-schweiz.de states it for this stage; measured on the mapped line: 4 h 15. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights. Saechsische-schweiz.de
Closed: The Schindergraben, the path from the Gasthaus Polenztal up into Hohnstein, has been closed by the town since 1 August 2026, and the line here climbs it. The tourism association sends walkers up the green-stripe path from the Gasthaus Polenztal to the castle instead; the town's signed detour through the town is about 800 m and 15 minutes longer. Source, read 13 October 2026
Closed: The path through the Kohlichtgraben is impassable: dead spruce can fall at any time, and as private forest it will not be cleared soon. Take the yellow-stripe path and the road through Goßdorf (closed to cars, open on foot): about 2 km longer, the tourism association says, 3.6 km by the national park. Or leave out Waitzdorf and follow the blue stripe from the Brand steps through the Tiefer Grund to Kohlmühle, about 0.5 km shorter. Source, read 13 October 2026
By the Brand viewpoint and Waitzdorf to Altendorf: 14 km, 5 h 30, moderate. The path through the Kohlichtgraben is impassable: go round by the yellow stripe and the road through Goßdorf (about 2 km longer), or follow the blue stripe from the Brand steps through the Tiefer Grund (about 0.5 km shorter).
Best season: All year. The Malerweg can be walked almost all year, the tourism association says; wait for better days in deep snow, ice or after strong storms. May to October, long weekends and school holidays are the busy times, and from November to Easter some hosts close for the winter. The Elbe boats depend on the water level: the Wanderschiff has not run since 29 September 2026 because the river is low. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
A small town round its castle. It has no supermarket or bakery, only a small shop-bistro and a food vending machine open all day, the tourism association says. Hosts here give the Gästekarte mobil.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Gaststätte und Pension Polenztal · Hotel
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Campingplatz Entenfarm · Camping spot
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Stage end · overnight
Town
A village with a small shop in the Gasthof Heiterer Blick. The youth hostel and guest houses of Ostrau are about 1.5 km south.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
BIO-Pension Ostrauer Höhe · Hotel
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Jugendherberge Bad Schandau · Hostel or bunkhouse
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Camping & Pension Ostrauer Mühle · Camping spot
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Make it your trip
Book early, the tourism association says: single nights are hard to find from May to October, at long weekends and in the holidays. Partner hosts ("Wanderfreundlich am Malerweg") take single nights, and its free information and booking service books them; luggage transfer can be booked all year. Or stay in one base, such as Pirna, Bad Schandau, Königstein or Hohnstein, and travel free with the Gästekarte mobil, which hosts in most Malerweg towns give their guests. Wild camping is not allowed and is fined: tents go only on campsites.
The tourism association's eight stages, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe right bank of the Elbe in five stages: the Bastei, Hohnstein and the Schrammsteine.
Plan this journeyThe left bank in three stages, from the Czech border back to Pirna.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (147 m) and high point (360 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (147 m) and the highest point (360 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Poor | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Poor |
| High point, day / night | 2°/-3° | 3°/-2° | 8°/1° | 14°/4° | 18°/8° | 22°/12° | 23°/13° | 23°/13° | 18°/9° | 13°/6° | 7°/2° | 3°/-1° |
| Low point, day / night | 3°/-2° | 5°/-1° | 9°/2° | 15°/5° | 20°/9° | 23°/13° | 25°/14° | 25°/14° | 20°/11° | 14°/7° | 8°/3° | 4°/0° |
| Rain, mm | 57 | 48 | 57 | 28 | 61 | 74 | 102 | 95 | 66 | 59 | 56 | 51 |
| Snow at high point | Possible | Possible | Possible | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Frost | Possible |
| Daylight | 8 h 23 | 10 h | 11 h 47 | 13 h 46 | 15 h 29 | 16 h 30 | 16 h 08 | 14 h 38 | 12 h 44 | 10 h 49 | 9 h | 7 h 58 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
Four closures touch the trail on 13 October 2026: the Daubemühle path (stage 1), the forest round the Amselgrund and the Schindergraben (stage 2), the Kohlichtgraben (stage 3) and the lower Bergsteig (stage 5). Each stage page names the detour. The national park's path service maps every closure with its detour; read it before you set off.
Saxon Switzerland National Park: path serviceThe tourism association's detour for stage 2 goes from the Bastei along the blue stripe to the Schwedenlöcher, down to the Amselgrund, on by Rathewalde, the Hockstein and the Polenztal, then up the green stripe to Hohnstein: 11.13 km and 4 h 30. The Basteiweg down to Kurort Rathen is open again.
Tourismusverband Sächsische Schweiz: the stage 2 detourStages 4 to 7 are graded demanding: the Schrammsteine ridge on stage 4 needs a head for heights and sure feet, and stage 5 has nowhere to eat on the way. The trail is for walkers only: no bikes. The area is a risk area for tick-borne encephalitis.
Tourismusverband Sächsische Schweiz: planning the MalerwegIn the national park, camping and sleeping out are banned, and so is every fire, a camping stove and candles included. Sleeping under the rock overhangs (boofen) is allowed only for climbers, at marked places, from 16 June to 31 January. Stay on the paths and keep dogs on a lead.
Saxon Switzerland National Park: sleeping out and boofenSmall ferries cross the Elbe to the S1 at Stadt Wehlen (F8) and Schmilka (F2). The Wanderschiff and the excursion boats depend on the water level; the Wanderschiff has not run since 29 September 2026. The Rathen ferry is not part of the transport network: transport tickets and the Gästekarte mobil are not valid on it.
RVSOE: the Wanderschiff and the Elbe ferriesGetting there
Travel around Hohnstein to Altendorf.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
The S1 runs along the Elbe valley to Pirna (the S2 too), every half hour. From Pirna, take bus G or L to the Pirna Liebethaler Grund stop, by the start.
Tourismusverband Sächsische Schweiz: stage 1The S1 stops at Stadt Wehlen and Schmilka-Hirschmühle, each across the river by a small ferry (F8 and F2), and at Kurort Rathen and Königstein. Buses reach Hohnstein (236, 237), Altendorf (260), the Neumannmühle (241, the Kirnitzschtal line), Kurort Gohrisch (244) and Weißig (246, weekdays).
VVO: timetablesThe trail ends on the market square in Pirna; the S1 and S2 leave from Pirna station.
Tourismusverband Sächsische Schweiz: stage 8Take your trip with you
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection: in the deep valleys and gorges the signal can be weak.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
The Tourismusverband Sächsische Schweiz publishes the Malerweg as eight stages, about 116 km from the Liebethaler Grund in Pirna-Liebethal to the market square in Pirna, with an official stage time for each, shown beside ours on every stage. The times leave out breaks and side trips. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 114289, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 116.7 km, cut at the eight stage ends. It does not yet follow the detours round the closures: on stage 1 it still runs along the path by the Daubemühle, closed after a rockfall, and on stage 2 through the forest closed after the storm of 31 July 2026 (a district decree of 14 August, in force until it is revoked); the closures on stages 2, 3 and 5 are on the line too. Each stage says where to go round: follow the official detours and the signs, not the line, on those stretches. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep steps are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Tourismusverband Sächsische Schweiz: MalerwegMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation