For those who love nature there are many possibilities for making a walk and discovering the beauty of nature here in Hohegeiß and its surroundings. The village of Hohegeiß offers a couple of tours that are well-indicated and that have a length of 5 to 12 kms. The village also has a "bare-foot-path", an interactive way to make your feet experience different materials and soils.
But in the entire region of Harz a large variety of possibilities for hiking is being offered. Here we would like to refer to the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg, the Wandernadel, the Baumwipfelpfad and, of course, the Brocken.
HARZER-HEXEN-STIEG (WITCH-HIKING-TOUR)
This „Premium-Hikingtour“ was given the official title of "Quality Tour" by the German Assosiation for Hiking (Deutscher Wanderverband) and passes through the Harz region over a length of 97 kilometers from west to east. This tour has been set up as a fully-indicated main-hiking-tour representing an interregional character. This tour offers the splendid possibility of getting to know the Harz in all its aspects all at once. The “Harzer-Hexen-Stieg“ really is, when putting together some parts of different Harzclub-hikes, an interesting "multiple-day"walking tour the length of which you can decide yourself, day by day. The beautiful landscapes, the large bio-diversity, the culture and the history you will see along your tour, all these aspects do offer you more insight in the geological, cultural and historical value of the Harz region. More information regarding the Hexen-Stieg and the itinerary itself you will find on www.wandern-im-harz.de/hexenstieg.
HARZER-WANDERNADEL (HIKING STAMPS PROGRAMME)
If you like taking challenges and if you like collecting stamps to achieve walking-levels, this Harzer Wandernadel offers the perfect basis to discover and explore the Harz region and its nature. This Wandernadel programme contains a total of 222 stamps. You will find these stamps near gastronomy sites, near shelter huts and interesting panoramic locations, always close to geologically and historically interesting locations. Near Hohegeiß you can also collect 2 stamps: number 45 „Dicke Tannen“ and number 206 „Hahnestein“ are easy to reach/get during your stay with us. Besides these "regular" stamps, some additional "special stamps" are to be collected as part of the „Harzer Grenzweg“ ("Former Border-Tour"); near Jungborn, near Zweiländereiche and near Dreiländerstein. The booklet for collecting the stamps costs about € 4,00 and is available at the Hohegeiß Tourist-Info, where you can also buy addtional hiking-maps and the badges achieved. Several stamps are also part of other hiking-tours such as the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg, the Harzer Grenzweg and the Goethe-Tour. If you complete/collect all stamps of one of these special tours, it even gives you special achievements! Attention: this Harzer Wandernadel may be addictive…
BAUMWIPFELPFAD/TREETOP TOUR (BAD HARZBURG)
Bad Harzburg offers you several walking tours such as the Teufelstieg, the Kästeklippentour or the Drei-Täler-Tour. This tree-top-path makes a perfect interactive addition to this experience of nature. The path has a length of about 1000 meters and is located at the height of 26 meters between the tree-tops. Over 50 information desks located on several platforms will help you to discover nature, environment and history of the Harz in an (inter)active way. More information available on www.baumwipfelpfad-harz.de.
BROCKEN MOUNTAIN
The definite and ultimate highlight of the Harz region is by far the mountain "Brocken" that reaches the altitude of 1.142 meters. Until the reunification of Eastern and Western Germany the top of this mountain was not accessible. Nowadays, when the weather is good and the skies are clear, you will have an amzing view all over the Harz. A trip all the way up to the Brocken; definitely a must-see for each visitor....
However, the Brocken can not be reached by traffic. From Schierke the Brockenstraße (Brocken-Street) leads all the way up, but is only to be used with special permission. A second option to visit this mountain, is by taking the Brockenbahn (railway), which is part of the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen (HSB); timetables and tickets are available online or at the Tourist-Info. For those who want to experience the top of the Brocken in an intense way, a walk all the way up will make this trip the once-in- a-lifetime experience! Several tours will lead you there, but please watch the signs that indicate the way to walk.
The information-centre Brockenhaus illustrates the diverse history of the mountain. For centuries, both spectacular and horrible stories about the Brocken are being told, the mountain that is covered in clouds and fog quite regularly. Mainly out of ignorance, the mountain was assigned being a refuge for whitches, devils and other "mythical" creatures. Even the great poet Goethe could not resist developing a fascination for this mountain and its myths; his masterpiece "Faust" (that describes the flights that witches took from the Hexentanzplatz in Thale) has not only turned out to be an excellent piece of literature, it also created the “Brockenhexe” (Brocken Witch) as the more or less official Harz-symbol.
RÜBELÄNDER CAVES
The small village of Rübeland is located directly at the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg (walking tour) and is very well known for its unique stalactite caves. Both, the Baumanns-cave as well as the Hermanns-cave, offer a large variety of stalagmites and stalactites. Masterpiece of the Baumanns-cave is by far the Goethezaal (Goethe-Hall), an underground natural stage in the main cave. The Hermanns-cave with its "Christal-Chamber" and its up to 48 meters high caves is the ultimate example of the creation of a cave-river. Both caves are located at appr. 300 meters from each other and can be visited on regularly organised guided-tours. More information is available on www.harzer-hoehlen.de.
BODETAL (BODE VALLEY) - ROßTRAPPE
Close to the Bodetal (Valley of the river "Bode") near the city of Thale you will find the Roßtrappe, a remarkable over 400 meters high rock-creation that is covered in myths and legends. There are several ways you can visit the Roßtrappe. From Thale as well as from the Bodetal steep, narrow and tortuous paths will lead you to the top of this bedrock. For those who prefer a more luxurious way, you can also reach it by car. But, a trip in one of the cable-car-cabins of the 670 meter long track is very inviting. By far the best known attraction on top of the Roßtrappe is the mysterious print of a horse-shoe. It is being told that this print was left when the horse of princess Brunhilde's horse jumped all over the Bodetal when she fled for the giant Bodo.
