Rheinsteig

Overview

Length: 320 km (199 mi)

Standard direction(s) of travel: Either

Season: March-October, but the trail is open and accessible year round

Trail Association:

Permits and Regulations

• There are no permits needed to hike the Rheinsteig, the land that the Rheinsteig runs through falls under standard German right-to-roam legislation.

Maps

Online Maps

• Rheinsteig on LongTrailsMap.net
• https://www.romantischer-rhein.de/a-rheinsteig-gesamt-nord-sued#dm=1&dmdtab=oax-tab8

Printed Maps

• Rheinsteig: Wander-Tourenkarte 1:50000, KOMPASS, ISBN: 3850269833

Information Resources

Websites

• https://www.rheinsteig.de/en/rheinsteig

Guidebooks

• "Rheinsteig: von Wiesbaden nach Bonn" (Outdoor Wanderführer) ISBN:3866866976

Sections

• The Trail is divided into 4 Sections: Siebengebirge, Lower Middle Rhine Valley, Upper Middle Rhine Valley and Rheingau. There's also an official division into 21 stages, each of them representing an easy day hike. It's not important to follow these though, as they are mainly intended for dayhikers.

Water

• Water is plentiful, as the trail runs through a town every day, and there's plenty of streams flowing into the Rhine river that are safe to drink after filtration.

Weather

• Extreme weather conditions are not common. Expect normal German weather.

Resupply

• Resupply is plentiful as the trail usually runs through a town with a supermarket every day.

Geographic Features

• The trail runs along the valley side east of the Rhine river, which is one of the biggest rivers in Europe. Although the trail's highest point is only at 365 m (1197 ft), it racks up a significant amount of elevation as it constantly ascends and descends the steep valley walls.