Rennsteig · Stage 8
Walking time as outdooractive.com states it for this stage; measured on the mapped line: 5 h 30. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights. Outdooractive.com
Down to the Saale at Blankenstein: 20.8 km, 6 h, 88 m up and 377 m down.
Best season: April to October. The Regionalverbund's brochure gives April to October as the walking season. From mid-November to the end of March the trail is groomed for cross-country skiing, and the brochure says to go then only on skis. The Rennsteiglauf, a running race of up to 15,000 runners, is usually held in May, and on its weekend most rooms are booked. 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 hamlet. The Regionalverbund's list (2023) names the Rennsteighaus Brennersgrün, beds only, and holiday flats (FEWO Rennsteig 48); TrailSplits could not place either on the map, so check them yourself. Bus 610 comes here only on weekday mornings: the stage pages suggest walking on to Lehesten, about 4.6 km, or a host who picks you up.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage end · overnight
Town
The end, at the Saale in Blankenstein, with trains of Deutsche Bahn from Blankenstein (Saale). The list names five places to stay, among them the Gasthaus Rennsteig on the trail.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Café und Pension Am Rennsteig · Hotel
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
Make it your trip
There is nothing to book for the trail itself: book each night with the host. The Regionalverbund's list of hosts by Rennsteig kilometre (the 2023 edition) shows which take single nights and which move luggage; several also drive walkers to and from the trail, which helps at the small stage ends. Sleeping in the trail's shelters is not allowed, and the only campsite on the trail is a trekking site at Rennsteig kilometre 133.6 in the Frankenwald. Avoid the Rennsteiglauf weekend in May, when most rooms are taken.
The Regionalverbund's eight stages, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe western half in three stages, to the Grenzadler at Oberhof.
Plan this journeyThe eastern half in five stages, by the Großer Beerberg and Neuhaus am Rennweg to the Saale.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (417 m) and high point (742 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (417 m) and the highest point (742 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 |
| High point, day / night | 0°/-5° | 2°/-5° | 5°/-2° | 11°/1° | 16°/5° | 19°/9° | 21°/11° | 21°/10° | 16°/6° | 10°/3° | 5°/0° | 1°/-3° |
| Low point, day / night | 2°/-3° | 4°/-3° | 8°/0° | 14°/3° | 18°/7° | 22°/10° | 23°/12° | 23°/11° | 18°/8° | 13°/4° | 7°/1° | 3°/-2° |
| Rain, mm | 93 | 73 | 79 | 53 | 68 | 80 | 107 | 78 | 82 | 86 | 86 | 106 |
| Snow at high point | Likely | Possible | Possible | Frost | – | – | – | – | – | – | Possible | Possible |
| Daylight | 8 h 28 | 10 h 02 | 11 h 47 | 13 h 44 | 15 h 25 | 16 h 24 | 16 h 03 | 14 h 35 | 12 h 43 | 10 h 50 | 9 h 03 | 8 h 03 |
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.
The Regionalverbund's stage 4 page, read 13 October 2026, says the Rennsteig is diverted at Stein 16 near Oberhof for building work at the Oberhof water reservoir, probably until the end of September. The page names no year and does not describe the detour, so it may already be over. Check locally or on the stage page before you go, and follow the signs if the detour is still there: our line shows the mapped route.
Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: stage 4The Berghotel at the end of stage 2 has been closed until further notice since May 2024, with no food, the stage 2 page said when read on 13 October 2026. Stay at the Ferienpark Ebertswiese, 0.8 km off the trail, or in a village below; the stage 3 page suggests a host who offers a transfer, as the nearest bus is about 2 km away.
Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: stage 2The places to stay in this guide come from the Regionalverbund's accommodation list by Rennsteig kilometre, read 13 October 2026. It is the 2023 edition, so a host may have closed or changed: check each one before you book. The list also shows which hosts move luggage.
Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: accommodation list (PDF, 2023)Buses on the eastern half are rare, and their times do not suit walkers: bus 610 comes to Brennersgrün only on weekday mornings. The stage pages suggest walking on to Lehesten, or choosing a host who picks you up. Guests with a Gästekarte from a taking-part host ride many buses and some trains free with the NahTour-Ticket (terms of 1 January 2026, checked 13 October 2026).
Bus Bahn Thüringen: NahTour-TicketFrom mid-November to the end of March the trail is groomed for cross-country skiing: walk it then only on skis, the brochure says. The shelters along the trail are for rests, not for the night, and there is no wild camping plan: the only campsite on the trail is the trekking site at kilometre 133.6.
Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: RennsteigGetting there
Travel around Brennersgrün to Blankenstein.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Regional trains of Deutsche Bahn stop at Hörschel; Eisenach is the nearest station for long-distance trains. Both ends have free car parks.
Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: stage 1Ruhla, about 2.2 km below Ascherbrück, has a bus stop: check its lines in the timetable, as the line the stage pages name may be out of date. Bus 851 stops at Neue Ausspanne, about 2 km from the Ebertswiese. Buses reach the Grenzadler at Oberhof and Allzunah, more of them at weekends. The Rennsteig-Shuttle trains of Erfurter Bahn link Bahnhof Rennsteig (stage 4) with Ilmenau and Erfurt at weekends and on holidays. Neuhaus am Rennweg (stage 6) has hourly trains, and bus 706 runs from Spechtsbrunn to Sonneberg a few times a day.
Deutsche Bahn: timetablesThe trail ends at the Saale in Blankenstein, with trains of Deutsche Bahn from Blankenstein (Saale). Back to Hörschel takes about four hours with three changes, the brochure says.
Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: stage 8Take your trip with you
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection: on the forest ridge between the villages 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 Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald e.V., the region's tourism body, publishes the Rennsteig in three divisions: eight stages for leisurely walkers ("Genießer", 17.5 to 25.2 km), six longer ones (to the Dreiherrenstein, Grenzadler, Neustadt am Rennsteig, Ernstthal, Brennersgrün and Blankenstein, 21 to 34 km) and four of 40 to 45 km. This guide follows the eight, from the Werra at Hörschel to the Saale at Blankenstein, 169.5 km by their tour pages (169.3 km in the brochure), with an official stage time for each, shown beside ours on every stage. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 398874, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 169.0 km, cut at the eight stage ends, each stage within 0.4 km of the official figure. It follows the mapped route, not the signed detour near Oberhof on stage 4, if that is still in place. Our climb is measured on terrain heights and comes out higher than the Regionalverbund's on every stage.
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.
Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: RennsteigMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation