The Rheinsteig along the right bank of the Rhine, from the Marktplatz in Bonn to Schloss Biebrich in Wiesbaden, in its twenty-one official Etappen: the Siebengebirge, the lower Middle Rhine by Linz and Koblenz, the upper Middle Rhine by the Loreley, then the Rheingau.
Best season: All year. The trail body marks every month as suitable on every Etappe. In 2026 the limits are elsewhere: no trains on the right bank until 11 or 12 December, the scheduled KD boats only to 18 October (then one winter round trip between Rüdesheim and St. Goarshausen, with a minimum number of passengers), ferries stopped or limited by the low Rhine in October, and driven hunts closing short sections on announced autumn Saturdays. Autumn leaves hide roots and stones, the trail body's safety page warns. Before you go
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Checking the seasons, closures and current conditions for today…
Twenty-one Etappen of about 8 to 24 km, each with the trail body's own time, the longest 7 hours. Every Etappe ends at a town or village, though the official end is often on the heights, 1 to 3 km above it by the yellow access path, and several partner hosts are across the Rhine by ferry. Some Etappen are short: the 18-day plan joins three pairs of them. Until 11 or 12 December 2026 the right-bank railway is replaced by buses. 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 Marktplatz in Bonn through Beuel into the Siebengebirge and on to Königswinter: 23.8 km, 7 h, moderate, the trail body says; 22.2 km on our line. The Foveaux stairs in Bonn have been closed since 2 June 2026: take the signed detour by the Foveaux-Weg, about 500 m longer. The repair is planned for 2027/28, with no firm date; the short stairs under the motorway bridge stay open, with care.
Königswinter Town or village
The Etappe ends on the trail above the old town; the yellow access paths lead down to the Rhine and the ferry to Bonn-Mehlem. The official host list shows no certified partner here: the Siebengebirge tourist board lists rooms.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 2: Through the Siebengebirge to Bad Honnef: 14.1 km, 4 h 25, moderate.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
The Etappe ends on the trail east of the town, by the youth hostel; the station is about 2 to 2.5 km down the access path.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 3: By the Erpeler Ley to Linz: 18.5 km, 6 h, moderate; 17.4 km on our line, which passes the foot of the Erpeler Ley instead of walking out round the plateau and back. On Saturday 7 November 2026 a driven hunt closes a section: follow the red line on the trail body's map, as the detour is not marked on the ground.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A small town on the Rhine. The partner hosts near it are across the river at Remagen, by the Linz – Remagen-Kripp ferry, which takes public-transport tickets while the trains are replaced.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 4: From Linz to Bad Hönningen: 13.4 km, 4 h 30, moderate.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
The official Etappe end, on the trail east of the town. The partner hosts are across the Rhine in Bad Breisig, by the car and passenger ferry (Monday to Saturday 05:30 to 23:00, Sunday from 07:00).
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 5: To Leutesdorf: 16.2 km, 5 h 30, moderate.
Leutesdorf Town or village
A village on the Rhine. The official host list shows no certified partner here: the Romantischer Rhein tourist board lists rooms.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 6: Up onto the Westerwald heights to Rengsdorf: 18.6 km, 6 h, moderate. Rengsdorf has no station: buses run to Neuwied.
Rengsdorf Town or village
A village on the Westerwald heights with no station: buses run to Neuwied. The official host list shows no certified partner here.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 7: Down to Sayn: 15.1 km, 5 h, moderate.
Sayn Town or village
Bendorf-Sayn, by Schloss Sayn. The official host list shows no certified partner here. Bus 8 runs to Vallendar station.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 8: From Schloss Sayn to Vallendar: 13 km, 4 h, moderate. The trail is closed at the Galgenberg for building work until about the end of February or early March 2027, the City of Bendorf says: follow the long signed detour. The official stage record still carries an older text closing the Etappe after storm damage (last changed on 24 July 2026); it is not clear whether it still applies.
Vallendar Town or village
The Etappe ends by the Rathausplatz. The official host list shows no certified partner here.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 9: To Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein, below the fortress: 9 km, 3 h, easy.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
The Etappe ends in the Hofstraße below the fortress. Koblenz is across the Rhine, with the partner host.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 10: Over the heights to Niederlahnstein: 12.3 km, 4 h 30, moderate.
Niederlahnstein Town or village
The Etappe ends where the trail meets the Lahn valley cycle path, east of Niederlahnstein. The official host list shows no certified partner in Lahnstein.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 11: To Braubach: 8.4 km, 3 h, easy.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A small town; the Etappe ends in the centre, by the partner host.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 12: From Braubach to Kamp-Bornhofen: 16.4 km, 6 h, difficult, with 793 m of climb.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A village on the Rhine. The partner hosts listed for it are across the river in Boppard; the host pages do not say which ferry to take.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 13: To Kestert: 12.5 km, 4 h, moderate.
Kestert Town or village
The Etappe ends where the Kestert access path leaves the trail, above the village. The official list names a partner hotel in Kestert, the Hotel Restaurant Krone (more than 25 rooms), which we could not place on the map.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 14: To St. Goarshausen: 12.2 km, 4 h 15, moderate.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
The Etappe ends in the Hasenbachtal. The partner host listed is across the Rhine above St. Goar, by the Loreley ferry (every 20 to 25 minutes, all year; the Deutschlandticket is not valid on it).
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 15: By the Loreley to Kaub: 21.8 km, 7 h, difficult, with 817 m of climb, the most of any Etappe. After the rockfall of 31 August 2026 the visitor area of the Loreley plateau is closed until the rock-safety works end, expected three to five months from 28 September 2026 (the Mythos hall and the toilets stay open), and the B42 below is closed for about 400 m. The closure is not on our map and our line is not changed for it: follow the signs on the spot.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
The Etappe ends in the Zollstraße, by the partner host.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 16: From Kaub to Lorch: 13.9 km, 4 h 30, moderate. On Saturdays 31 October and 7 November 2026, from 08:00 to 17:00, a joint hunt between Kaub and Weisel closes part of it, with a signed diversion.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A small town; the Etappe ends in the centre. The Lorch – Niederheimbach ferry was out of service for low water on 13 October 2026.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 17: To the Niederwalddenkmal above Rüdesheim: 20.5 km, 6 h 30, moderate. The cable car or the access path leads down to the town.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
The Etappe ends at the Niederwalddenkmal above the town; the cable car or the access path leads down to Rüdesheim, where the partner hosts are.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 18: Into the Rheingau to Johannisberg: 15.3 km, 4 h 10, moderate.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
The Etappe ends in the Ansbachtal below Johannisberg, with no station: Oestrich-Winkel station is about 3 km away, and bus 183 runs to Geisenheim.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 19: To Kiedrich: 15.5 km, 4 h 30, moderate.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A village with no station: bus 172 runs to Eltville station, where the partner host is.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 20: Up to the spa town of Schlangenbad: 9.7 km, 3 h, easy.
Schlangenbad Town or village
The official Etappe end in the spa town, with buses only: line 173 runs to Eltville station. The official host list shows no certified partner here: the Rheingau tourist board lists rooms.
Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 21: Down to Schloss Biebrich on the Rhine in Wiesbaden: 17.9 km, 4 h, moderate; 17.2 km on our line.
Longest day: day 1, 7 h.
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 rheinsteig.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. Bonn to Königswinter | Königswinter · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 2. Königswinter to Bad Honnef | Jugendherberge Bad Honnef | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 3. Bad Honnef to Linz | Hotel Pinger | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 4. Linz to Bad Hönningen | Hotel Zur Mühle | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 5. Bad Hönningen to Leutesdorf | Leutesdorf · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 6. Leutesdorf to Rengsdorf | Rengsdorf · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 7. Rengsdorf to Sayn | Sayn · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 8. Sayn to Vallendar | Vallendar · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 9. Vallendar to Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein | Hotel Brenner | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 10. Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein to Niederlahnstein | Niederlahnstein · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 11. Niederlahnstein to Braubach | Landgasthof Zum Weissen Schwanen | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 12. Braubach to Kamp-Bornhofen | Hotel Perle am Rhein | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 13. Kamp-Bornhofen to Kestert | Kestert · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 14. Kestert to St. Goarshausen | Landgasthof Rebstock | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 15. St. Goarshausen to Kaub | Hotel Deutsches Haus | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 16. Kaub to Lorch | Gästehaus Weingut Rößler | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 17. Lorch to Rüdesheim | Hotel Altdeutsche Weinstube | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 18. Rüdesheim to Johannisberg | Hotel Burg Schwarzenstein | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 19. Johannisberg to Kiedrich | Parkhotel Sonnenberg | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 20. Kiedrich to Schlangenbad | Schlangenbad · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
| 21. Schlangenbad to Wiesbaden-Biebrich | Wiesbaden-Biebrich · accommodation in town, not checked | Each host has its own season | Book with a host | |
Loading the forecast for low point (44 m) and high point (380 m)…
Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (44 m) and the highest point (380 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Mixed |
| Stages rated good on typical weather | 0/21 | 0/21 | 21/21 | 21/21 | 21/21 | 21/21 | 18/21 | 20/21 | 21/21 | 21/21 | 9/21 | 0/21 |
| High point, day / night | 4°/-1° | 5°/-1° | 9°/1° | 14°/4° | 18°/8° | 21°/11° | 23°/13° | 22°/12° | 18°/9° | 13°/6° | 8°/3° | 5°/0° |
| Low point, day / night | 7°/1° | 8°/1° | 12°/3° | 17°/6° | 21°/9° | 24°/13° | 26°/14° | 25°/14° | 21°/11° | 16°/7° | 11°/4° | 7°/2° |
| Rain, mm | 77 | 65 | 67 | 48 | 66 | 71 | 89 | 77 | 67 | 74 | 73 | 88 |
| Snow at high point | Possible | Possible | Frost | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Possible |
| Daylight | 8 h 26 | 10 h 01 | 11 h 47 | 13 h 45 | 15 h 27 | 16 h 27 | 16 h 05 | 14 h 37 | 12 h 43 | 10 h 49 | 9 h 01 | 8 h |
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.
No booking is needed for the trail itself; book each night with the host. The trail body lists certified Rheinsteig partner hosts, all offering luggage transfer, a shuttle, packed lunches and a drying room, and luggage-free packages ("Wandern ohne Gepäck"), such as Bonn to Wiesbaden in 17 Etappen over 19 days. Several partners at Linz, Bad Hönningen, Koblenz, Kamp-Bornhofen and St. Goarshausen are across the Rhine: check the ferry's hours before you book.
All trains between Troisdorf and Wiesbaden are stopped from 10 July to 11 December 2026 (Deutsche Bahn says 12 December) for works on the line. Purple replacement buses serve every station, with express lines Wiesbaden – Rüdesheim – Koblenz and Koblenz – Bad Honnef – Bonn-Ramersdorf – Troisdorf; they carry no bicycles, except folded folding bikes. The ferries at Königswinter, Linz and Erpel take public-transport tickets, the Deutschlandticket too. The left-bank railway keeps a basic service. Deutsche Bahn, read 13 October 2026.
Deutsche Bahn: replacement buses on the right bank of the RhineAfter the rockfall of 31 August 2026, the B42 between St. Goarshausen and Kaub has been closed since 28 September for about 400 m at the Loreley rock, for an expected three to five months, and the visitor area of the Loreley plateau is closed until the works end; the Mythos hall and the toilets stay open. This is on Etappe 15, and the closure is not on our map: follow the signs on the spot. The road closure may also change the replacement buses between Kaub and St. Goarshausen. The trail body's own rail notice, dated 11 August, still calls the B42 open. LBM Rheinland-Pfalz, read 13 October 2026.
LBM Rheinland-Pfalz: B42 at the Loreley closedThe Foveaux stairs in Bonn have been closed since 2 June 2026: a signed detour by the Foveaux-Weg is about 500 m longer. The repair is planned for 2027/28, with no firm date. City of Bonn, read 13 October 2026.
City of Bonn: the Foveaux stairs closedBetween Sayn and Vallendar the trail is closed at the Galgenberg for building work until about the end of February or early March 2027, with a long detour signed on the ground. City of Bendorf, read 13 October 2026.
City of Bendorf: diversion on the RheinsteigDriven hunts close short sections on announced days: on Etappe 3 on Saturday 7 November 2026, where the detour is only on the trail body's map, not marked on the ground; on Etappe 16, between Kaub and Weisel, on Saturdays 31 October and 7 November, 08:00 to 17:00, with a signed diversion. The trail body shows its notices on each Etappe's page. Read 13 October 2026.
Rheinsteig: path noticesOn 13 October 2026 the low Rhine had stopped the Lorch – Niederheimbach ferry; the Kaub ferry ran again from 11 October, for vehicles up to 3.5 t; the Loreley ferry runs all year, but the Deutschlandticket is not valid on it. The KD boats run to 18 October, then only one winter round trip between Rüdesheim and St. Goarshausen. Ferry operators, read 13 October 2026.
Romantischer Rhein: the Rhine ferriesClosures and notices last checked 13 October 2026: Stadt Bendorf: Rheinsteig diversion · Rheinsteig: home page notices · Rheinsteig: rail works and B42 notice. 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.
Bonn Hbf has regional trains and, during the works, an hourly long-distance train each way between Mainz, Koblenz, Bonn and Köln; the trains between Berlin and Bonn start and end in Köln until the works end. A yellow access path leads from the station to the start on the Marktplatz.
Deutsche Bahn: the transport plan for the worksMost Etappe ends have a station on the right-bank railway, served by replacement buses until 11 or 12 December 2026. Rengsdorf, Johannisberg, Kiedrich and Schlangenbad have buses only: Kiedrich and Schlangenbad to Eltville station (lines 172 and 173). The Kasbachtalbahn from Linz to Kalenborn runs as normal.
Deutsche Bahn: replacement busesThe trail ends at Schloss Biebrich. The official record names no onward connection; from Wiesbaden the RB 10 to Frankfurt runs during the works.
RMV: journey plannerTake your trip with you
Prepare each Etappe while you still have a connection: in the side valleys and the forests on the heights 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.
Romantischer Rhein Tourismus gives 311.4 km and about 98 hours for the whole trail, and about 318 km by the sum of its twenty-one Etappen, in 21 sections on our map. The guide's day planner offers plans from 18 to 21 days on the overnight stops, and you can choose your own nights.
All year. The trail body marks every month as suitable on every Etappe.
Bonn Hbf has regional trains and, during the works, an hourly long-distance train each way between Mainz, Koblenz, Bonn and Köln; the trains between Berlin and Bonn start and end in Köln until the works end. The "Connect your journey" section has the travel details, with 2 more travel notes.
No booking is needed 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 3 official notice pages (Stadt Bendorf: Rheinsteig diversion; Rheinsteig: home page notices; Rheinsteig: rail works and B42 notice); the date we last read them is shown with the notices on this page. Check them again before you set off.
Route & sources
Romantischer Rhein Tourismus GmbH, which runs the trail, publishes the Rheinsteig as twenty-one Etappen, numbered north to south from the Bonn Marktplatz to Schloss Biebrich in Wiesbaden, with an official stage time for each, shown beside ours on every stage: about 318 km by the sum of the Etappen, 311.4 km and 98 h 05 by its whole-trail record, and 320 km on its portrait page. The Etappen end at points on the blue-marked trail, where the yellow access paths (Zuwege) lead down to the towns and stations, often 1 to 3 km more. The line here is the twenty-one Etappe relations of the Rheinsteig on OpenStreetMap (superroute 2685, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 312.8 km, cut at the official Etappe ends. Etappe 1 is 22.2 km on our line against 23.8 km, and on Etappe 3 the line passes the foot of the Erpeler Ley instead of walking out round the plateau and back (about 0.75 km). The line is not changed for the current diversions: follow the signed detours round the Foveaux stairs in Bonn (Etappe 1) and the Galgenberg near Sayn (Etappe 8). On Etappe 15 the visitor area of the Loreley plateau is closed for rock-safety works, and that closure is not on the map. 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.
Rheinsteig: the EtappenMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation
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