The ridge trail of the Thuringian Forest, from the Werra at Hörschel to the Saale at Blankenstein, in the Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald's eight stages for leisurely walkers: Oberhof, the Großer Beerberg, the middle of the trail by Neustadt, Neuhaus am Rennweg and the Frankenwald.
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
Loading your plan…
Checking the seasons, closures and current conditions for today…
Eight stages, the Regionalverbund's own, each of about 17 to 25 km. Several stage ends are small: the Ebertswiese has no village, and Allzunah, Friedrichshöhe and Brennersgrün are a few houses with poor buses, so book every night ahead. Oberhof splits the trail into two 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.
Stage 1: From the Werra at Hörschel up onto the ridge to Ascherbrück above Ruhla: 19.1 km, 6 h 30, 445 m up and 103 m down. The stage ends at the Hubertushaus, a forest inn with rooms; Ruhla is about 2.2 km down.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A forest inn on the ridge above Ruhla, the Hubertushaus, with rooms. Ruhla's hotels and its bus stop are about 2.2 km down the valley.
Stage 2: On along the ridge to the Ebertswiese: 25.2 km, 7 h 30, 649 m up and 478 m down, the longest stage and the most climb. The Berghotel at the Ebertswiese has been closed since May 2024, with no food: book a stay nearby, ideally with a host who picks you up.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
A meadow on the ridge with no village. The Berghotel here has been closed since May 2024, with no food: the stage 2 page says beds and meals are scarce. The nearest bus is about 2 km away at Neue Ausspanne (line 851); the stage 3 page suggests a stay whose host offers a transfer.
Stage 3: From the Ebertswiese to the Grenzadler at Oberhof: 17.5 km, 5 h, 295 m up and 199 m down. Oberhof's hotels are 1 to 2 km from the stage end.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
The Grenzadler car park and bus stop at Oberhof's ski arena. Oberhof's hotels and guest houses, about 20 on the Regionalverbund's list, are 1 to 2 km away.
Stage 4: Past the Großer Beerberg, at 971 m the high point of the stage, and Bahnhof Rennsteig to Allzunah: 20.2 km, 5 h 05, 293 m up and 380 m down. The Regionalverbund's stage page, read 13 October 2026, says the trail is diverted at Stein 16 near Oberhof for building work at the Oberhof water reservoir, "probably until the end of September", with no year and no route given. It may be over: check locally, and if the detour is signed, follow the signs, not our line.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A few houses and a bus stop on the ridge; the village of Frauenwald, with three more places on the list, is a short way down.
Stage 5: By the exact middle of the Rennsteig and Neustadt am Rennsteig to Friedrichshöhe: 24.5 km, 7 h, 429 m up and 369 m down. Friedrichshöhe is a handful of houses with very poor bus links.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A handful of houses with very poor bus links: bus 508 to Limbach, then 501 to Neuhaus am Rennweg and its trains.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 6: By Neuhaus am Rennweg, Thuringia's highest station at 832 m, to Spechtsbrunn: 23 km, 6 h 30, 297 m up and 414 m down.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A village with two guest houses on the list. Bus 706 to Sonneberg and its trains runs only a few times a day.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 7: Into the Frankenwald to the hamlet of Brennersgrün: 19.2 km, 5 h, 197 m up and 161 m down. About 6 km run on a road before Steinbach am Wald; the stage page offers a nature-trail alternative.
Brennersgrün Town or village
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.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 8: Down to the Saale at Blankenstein: 20.8 km, 6 h, 88 m up and 377 m down.
Longest day: day 2, 7 h 30.
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 outdooractive.com 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. Hörschel to Ascherbrück | Waldgasthof und Rennsteighotel Hubertushaus | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 2. Ascherbrück to Ebertswiese | Ferienpark Ebertswiese | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 3. Ebertswiese to Grenzadler | Schlossberghotel Oberhof | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 4. Grenzadler to Allzunah | Ferienhaus Allzunah | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 5. Allzunah to Friedrichshöhe | Pension Hirschblick | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 6. Friedrichshöhe to Spechtsbrunn | Gasthaus und Pension Am Rennsteig | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 7. Spechtsbrunn to Brennersgrün | Brennersgrün · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 8. Brennersgrün to Blankenstein | Café und Pension Am Rennsteig | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
Loading the forecast for low point (195 m) and high point (975 m)…
Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (195 m) and the highest point (975 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 | 7/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 0/8 | 0/8 |
| High point, day / night | -1°/-5° | 0°/-5° | 4°/-2° | 9°/1° | 14°/5° | 17°/8° | 19°/10° | 19°/10° | 14°/7° | 9°/3° | 3°/-1° | 0°/-4° |
| Low point, day / night | 4°/-1° | 5°/-1° | 9°/1° | 15°/4° | 19°/8° | 22°/11° | 24°/13° | 24°/13° | 19°/9° | 14°/6° | 8°/3° | 5°/0° |
| Rain, mm | 104 | 90 | 94 | 60 | 81 | 71 | 124 | 89 | 93 | 88 | 101 | 116 |
| Snow at high point | Likely | Likely | Likely | Possible | – | – | – | – | – | – | Possible | Likely |
| Daylight | 8 h 24 | 10 h | 11 h 47 | 13 h 46 | 15 h 28 | 16 h 29 | 16 h 07 | 14 h 37 | 12 h 44 | 10 h 49 | 9 h | 7 h 59 |
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.
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 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: RennsteigClosures and notices last checked 13 October 2026: Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 1 · Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 2 · Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 3 · Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 4 · Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 5 · Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 6 · Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 7 · Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 8 · Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig · Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig accommodation list. 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.
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.
The Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald gives about 169 km (169.3 km in its brochure) in eight stages, about 48 h 35 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.
April to October. The Regionalverbund's brochure gives April to October as the walking season.
Regional trains of Deutsche Bahn stop at Hörschel; Eisenach is the nearest station for long-distance trains. The "Connect your journey" section has the travel details, with 2 more travel notes.
There is nothing to book for the trail itself: book each night with the host.
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 10 official notice pages (Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 1; Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 2; Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 3; Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 4; Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 5; Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 6; Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 7; Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig stage 8; Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig; Regionalverbund Thüringer Wald: Rennsteig accommodation list); the date we last read them is shown with the notices on this page. Check them again before you set off.
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
Checking snow-monitoring coverage... Notifications require permission on this device; on iPhone use the installed Home Screen app. No email alerts are sent.