About the Palatinate Wine Trail

The Pfälzer Weinsteig has an official total length of 185 kilometres, which can be walked in eleven daily stages. Opened in 2010, the long-distance hiking trail is the longest of the three certified hiking trails in the Palatinate Forest, ahead of the Palatinate Forest Trail and the Palatinate High Trail. The trail is marked with a red and white wave and runs in a north-south direction from Bockenheim near Grünstadt to Schweigen-Rechtenbach on the German-French border. It alternates repeatedly between the Palatinate wine-growing region on the German Wine Route and the heights of the Palatinate Forest. In total, there are about 6,000 metres of altitude difference to be climbed along the entire route. Highlights of the tour include the Kalmit, the Weinbiet, Bad Dürkheim, Annweiler with its Trifels group of castles, the Peace Monument and many small winegrowing villages along the way.

We were on the Palatinate Forest Trail in mid-March 2021 and decided to reduce the number of stages to seven, resulting in a daily stage length of about 25 kilometres. Due to the Covid-19 situation in 2021, all accommodation was closed and the nights were still too cool for bivouacking. So we were on the road with two vehicles and always parked one vehicle at the end point in the morning and drove to the starting point with the second vehicle. We spent the night in the vehicle, some of which had very nice places to stay overnight. Have we aroused your interest? Then come with us on our journey along the Palatinate Forest Trail!

Day 5 - From the Buschmühle to Eußerthal

Today's fifth stage turned away from the previous route along the Rhine Graben and led into the Haardt and the Palatinate Forest. Pine trees still dominate the beautiful Haardt forest here. For us, this was a nice change from the beech, oak and fir forest we were used to and a beautiful sight. However, the forest in its present form also bears witness to excessive human intervention in nature. Until the 3rd millennium BC, the Haardt was mainly covered with beech and oak, later joined by sweet chestnut with the Roman invasion. Due to the medieval colonisation of the peripheral areas of the Haardt, the forests were increasingly taken over for agricultural use. The forest was systematically exploited by paper mills, iron and glassworks and, last but not least, viticulture. Excessive utilisation led to the damage or devastation of many Haardt forests. The removal of organic material impoverished the soil of the forests and only the most undemanding tree species, such as pines, were able to survive. Today, 70% of the Haardt consists of pine trees.

Today's stage was rather sparse in terms of highlights. We visited the Neuscharfeneck castle ruins (closed) and the Orensfelsen rock with a great view of the valleys around Annweiler. So it was more of a quiet tour with a relaxed hike through the Palatinate Forest. After a short stage, we arrived in Eußerthal in the early afternoon.

On the subject of sustainability, a positive note on the marking and labelling of the route on the Weinsteig. Nowadays, many certified hiking trails are paved over with metal or plastic signposts to show hikers the right way. In our opinion, the Weinsteig sets a good example here. Apart from places outside the forest, where posts with plaques are necessary to show the way, there are almost exclusively coloured, red and white markings on trees in the forest. Over a good 180 kilometres of trail, a lot of metal and plastic is saved here! Incidentally, the trail is always perfectly marked and it is practically impossible to get lost. Thanks to the organisers for this!

Watch the video of the fourth and fifth day on the Palatinate Wine Trail here

The tour on Komoot