The Painters' Way through Saxon Switzerland, from the Liebethaler Grund to Pirna, in its eight stages: the Bastei, Hohnstein, the Schrammsteine ridge, Schmilka on the Czech border, then back to Pirna along the left bank of the Elbe.
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
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Eight stages, the tourism association's own, each of about 11 to 18 km. Every stage ends in a village or town with beds, except the Neumannmühle, a mill in the Kirnitzsch valley with a mountain hut. The S-Bahn, buses and ferries reach most stage ends, so the trail also splits into shorter trips. Choose a plan, or pick your own start, finish and nights below.
Changing where you stay suggests a new number of days: the fewest that keep each day under 8 h of walking and in daylight, where a place to stay allows.
Days end where the route has a stay, a camp or a village.
Day 1
Stage 1 · Tourismusverband Sächsische Schweiz grade: easy to moderate
Closed: km 1.4–1.8 of stage 1. The path between the Daubemühle and Richard-Wagner-Straße in Lohmen has been closed since January 2026 after a rockfall, with no end date. Turn onto Richard-Wagner-Straße at the Lochmühle; our line still shows the closed path. Do not enter a closed section.
Stage 1: From the Liebethaler Grund by Lohmen to Stadt Wehlen on the Elbe: 11.5 km, 3 h 30, easy to moderate, the tourism association says. The path between the Daubemühle and Richard-Wagner-Straße in Lohmen has been closed since January 2026 after a rockfall: turn onto Richard-Wagner-Straße at the Lochmühle. Our line still shows the closed path.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
A small town on the Elbe, with the S1 across the river by the ferry. The Hinterland Hostel in Oberrathen is about an hour on.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Closed: km 3.2–6.1 of stage 2. After the storm of 31 July 2026, a district decree of 14 August closes the forest round the Amselgrund and north of Rathen until it is revoked. Take the tourism association’s official detour from the Bastei by the Schwedenlöcher, Rathewalde, the Hockstein and the Polenztal to Hohnstein: 11.13 km and 4 h 30. Our line still shows the published route through the closed forest. Do not enter a closed section.
Closed: km 10.5–10.9 of stage 2. 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. Do not enter a closed section.
Stage 2: Up to the Bastei and on to Hohnstein: 10.9 km, 4 h 45, moderate, on the published route. The forest round the Amselgrund has been closed since the storm of 31 July 2026; take the tourism association's official detour by the Schwedenlöcher, Rathewalde, the Hockstein and the Polenztal, 11.13 km and 4 h 30. Our line still shows the published route through the closed forest. The Schindergraben, the last climb into Hohnstein, is closed too: take the green-stripe path from the Gasthaus Polenztal up to the castle.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Camping spot
Pick a date to check the season.
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.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Closed: km 0–0.15 of stage 3. 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. Do not enter a closed section.
Closed: km 10–10.7 of stage 3. 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. Do not enter a closed section.
Stage 3: 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).
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Camping spot
Pick a date to check the season.
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.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 4: Over the Schrammsteine ridge and by the Lichtenhain waterfall up the Kirnitzsch valley to the Neumannmühle: 18.3 km, 7 h 15, demanding. The ridge needs a head for heights and sure feet.
Overnight
Staffed mountain hut
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Camping spot
Pick a date to check the season.
The mill in the Kirnitzsch valley, with the Berghütte and the bus 241 stop. There is no shop or bakery nearby.
Closed: km 12.9–13.1 of stage 5. The lower Bergsteig down into Schmilka is impassable: the risk of falling trees is very high. Go round by the Winterbergstraße and the Erlsgrund: about 700 m longer, the tourism association says, about 1.5 km by the national park. Do not enter a closed section.
Stage 5: To Schmilka on the Elbe, by the Czech border: 13.6 km, 7 h, demanding, with nowhere to eat on the way. The lower Bergsteig down to Schmilka is impassable: go round by the Winterbergstraße and the Erlsgrund, about 700 m longer.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
A small village on the Elbe at the Czech border, with a small organic bakery. The ferry crosses to the Schmilka-Hirschmühle station (S1).
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 6: Across the Elbe and along its left bank to Kurort Gohrisch: 17.3 km, 7 h, demanding, on the stage page; the official tour page gives 18 km.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Camping spot
Pick a date to check the season.
A village on the left bank of the Elbe; the trail passes about 0.7 km from its centre.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 7: By Königstein to Weißig: 16.6 km, 6 h 15, demanding.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A small village. Oberrathen, with a hotel, the hostel and the S1 at Kurort Rathen, is about 1 km away.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 8: To the market square in Pirna: 13.8 km, 5 h, moderate.
Longest day: day 4, 7 h 15.
Days end at a stage end with a refuge or a village, or in a village the route passes through. Walking times are the times published by saechsische-schweiz.de where a stage has one, with the time measured on the mapped line beside it; a day that walks part of a stage gets a share of the stage's time by distance and climb.Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Running times use 7.5 km/h plus one hour per 700 m of climb: a steady reference, not a prediction. Daylight is sunrise to sunset where the day starts; the time left is for breaks, meals and delays.Refuge dates come from the operator's own pages; when they are not published, we say so. For villages we count the places to stay OpenStreetMap lists; we have not checked which are open. A plan is not a booking: reserve every night before you commit to these day lengths.
Where each stage ends, the 2026 and 2027 seasons the operator publishes, and how to book. Read from the operators' pages on 13 October 2026; each stage page shows the sources and the grade profile.
| Stage | Night at | 2026 | 2027 | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Liebethal to Stadt Wehlen | Hinterland Hostel | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 2. Stadt Wehlen to Hohnstein | Gaststätte und Pension Polenztal | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 3. Hohnstein to Altendorf | BIO-Pension Ostrauer Höhe | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 4. Altendorf to Neumannmühle | Neumannmühle Berghütte | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 5. Neumannmühle to Schmilka | Bio- & Nationalparkrefugium Schmilka | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 6. Schmilka to Kurort Gohrisch | Parkhotel Margaretenhof | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 7. Kurort Gohrisch to Weißig | Laasenhof | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 8. Weißig to Pirna | Hotel Pirn'scher Hof | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
Loading the forecast for low point (110 m) and high point (561 m)…
Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (110 m) and the highest point (561 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Poor | Poor | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Poor |
| Stages rated good on typical weather | 0/8 | 0/8 | 0/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 0/8 | 0/8 |
| High point, day / night | 1°/-4° | 2°/-3° | 6°/0° | 12°/3° | 17°/7° | 20°/11° | 22°/12° | 22°/12° | 17°/9° | 11°/5° | 5°/1° | 1°/-2° |
| Low point, day / night | 4°/-1° | 5°/-1° | 9°/2° | 16°/6° | 20°/9° | 24°/13° | 25°/15° | 26°/14° | 20°/11° | 15°/7° | 8°/3° | 5°/0° |
| Rain, mm | 61 | 51 | 60 | 30 | 65 | 73 | 108 | 100 | 68 | 62 | 58 | 53 |
| Snow at high point | Possible | Possible | Possible | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Possible | Possible |
| Daylight | 8 h 24 | 10 h | 11 h 47 | 13 h 46 | 15 h 29 | 16 h 30 | 16 h 07 | 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.
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.
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 ferriesClosures and notices last checked 13 October 2026: Landratsamt Pirna: forest closure decree · Saxon Switzerland National Park: Bergsteig · Saxon Switzerland National Park: Daubemühle path · Saxon Switzerland National Park: Kohlichtgraben · Saxon Switzerland National Park: Schindergraben · Saxon Switzerland National Park: storm closure · Tourismusverband Sächsische Schweiz: Malerweg news. Check them again before you set out.
Getting there
Choose a stage or journey above to narrow the travel searches.
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.
The Tourismusverband Sächsische Schweiz gives about 116 km in eight stages, about 46 hours of walking, in 8 sections on our map. The guide's day planner offers an 8-day plan on the overnight stops, and you can choose your own nights.
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.
The S1 runs along the Elbe valley to Pirna (the S2 too), every half hour. The "Connect your journey" section has the travel details, with 2 more travel notes.
Book early, the tourism association says: single nights are hard to find from May to October, at long weekends and in the holidays.
Yes: the whole route and every section, free, for a GPS watch or a phone. The guide also saves your plan for offline use in the app.
Closures we know of are shown on the days and sections they affect, in the day planner and on the stage pages. We watch 7 official notice pages (Landratsamt Pirna: forest closure decree; Saxon Switzerland National Park: Bergsteig; Saxon Switzerland National Park: Daubemühle path; Saxon Switzerland National Park: Kohlichtgraben; Saxon Switzerland National Park: Schindergraben; Saxon Switzerland National Park: storm closure; Tourismusverband Sächsische Schweiz: Malerweg news); the date we last read them is shown with the notices on this page. Check them again before you set off.
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