The Traufgänge in Albstadt – How to Plan a Hiking Vacation in the Swabian Jura

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You’re hiking along the edge of a plateau, the views of the valley below take your breath away, and beyond, there’s a glimpse of a castle with several towers and high walls upon a hill, and later a witches’ kitchen appears in the cliff as you come around a corner – sounds like a fairy-tale dream doesn’t it? But it’s real! The Traufgänge, ten Premium Hiking Trails located around the city of Albstadt, make these dreams come true. And this post will show you how to make a hiking vacation to the Swabian Jura on the Traufgänge your reality.

What are the Traufgänge in Albstadt?

The Swabian Jura, known as Swäbische Alb in German, is an over 200 kilometer-long low mountain range located in southwestern Germany (in the state of Baden-Württemberg). This unique region, formed under the sea during the Jurassic period, is a playground for hikers, climbers, and winter sporters. Not only are there the Traufgänge hikes around Albstadt, but several cross country skiing trails and multiple lifts. Albstadt itself is a city made out of a circle of nine villages of the Zollernalb region.

Over 100 Things to Do in Baden-Württemberg!

What’s a Traufgang?

The Traufgänge (Traufgang in singular) can be translated to “Trauf trails.” The Trauf, in local dialect, is the edge of the platau. On each hike, you spend a good bit of time walking along the ridge, giving you excellent views of the surrounding valleys. There are a total of 10 Traufgänge in Albstadt. The seven main trails are between 9 and 17 kilometers, which are excellent lengths for day hikes. Two trails are only available in winter, when the other Traufgänge close to rest for the season, which are 5 and 7 km long. A final trail was developed for families, just 4 km long and plenty of playgrounds along the way!

Why hike the Traufgänge in Albstadt?

Premium Wanderregion Albstadt

Besides having a collection of Premium Hikes in various categories, Albstadt also has accommodations and restaurants which are certified quality hosts who cater specifically to hikers. To become a Premium Hiking Region, they must also have adequate information about the hikes and region and a quality transportation system, as well as cooperate with local nature parks, national parks, and Germany’s top nature organizations. All of that makes it super simple to turn a visit to Albstadt into a hiking vacation on the Traufgänge!

Premiumwandern

Premium Hikes are designated as such if they have met certain criteria (leave it to Germany to determine what objectively makes a good hike!). These criteria include having various and alternating landscapes, geological and cultural highlights, reduced noise and street traffic, a minimum percentage of narrow, natural paths, adequate places to rest, and an obviously marked trail.

The Trail Marker

As a Premium Hike, the Traufgänge in Albstadt are all very well-marked. I didn’t find the markings to be as idiot-proof as in Frau Holle Land, but still good enough to hike without a map. That said, you should always hike with a map and a back-up (compass, digital version, etc.). You can get a free pamphlet with mini maps of each hike from the tourist office. Additionally, you can a Traufgang Stempelpass (trail passport) there to stamp along the way. There are 1-2 stamping stations per route.

Logistics

In planning your adventure on the Traufgänge in Albstadt, you won’t have to worry about too much. In this section, I’ll show you how to get around, how to book accommodations, and other important logistics for your trip to the Swabian Alb.

How to get to and around Albstadt

Though there are 4 train stops in Albstadt (Laufen, Lautlingen, Ebingen-West, and Ebingen), the regional trains going from Stuttgart to Sigmaringen stop at Albstadt-Ebingen. This map is helpful for planning day trips from Albstadt, so you can find which destinations are a short train ride away.

Public transportation through Albstadt’s 9 boroughs is sufficient. This PDF shows the local bus stops and lines, which is useful for planning your route to the hike. The bus system was pretty comprehensive around Albstadt and made getting to the hikes quite easy. Most busses go at least every hour. If you need a return ticket, the day ticket is worth your while. The bus drivers I encountered were just as friendly as in Ostfriesland (or maybe Berlin bus drivers have jaded me!).

Accommodation

Instead of searching common accommodation websites, you will surprisingly find more, better, and cheaper options when you visit the tourism website. A good place to start is at traufgaenge.de or schwaebischealb.de. I stayed at Studio Spitzgiebel and was really happy with my stay in the holiday apartment. It was centrally located and a relaxing retreat after a long day out. Another option is Josis Klause. I stumbled upon the adorable café one afternoon and enjoyed their delicious, homemade cake, but it is also where Kerstin from Paradise Found stayed when she visited Albstadt (her contribution to the Best Hikes of 2021 was the reason I went to Albstadt!).

Groceries

Without a car, I had to walk a bit to get groceries in Albstadt. All the big name ones lie between the Ebingen and Ebingen-West train stations. What I found cool in Albstadt is that there is a package-free shop in the city center. Also in the center are several Asian grocers and a few specialty markets. There’s a local market in Marktstraße on Saturdays.

Besides Hiking

Since Baden-Württemberg is one of my favorite places in Germany, there are TONS of things to do there. So if there’s a bad-weather day or you need to give your feet a break, here are some non-hiking options in and around Albstadt.

Day Trips around Albstadt

One of Germany’s most famous castles is Burg Hohenzollern. Though it’s not on the SchlossCard, the castle is really worth visiting! The views around the castle are amazing, making the Traufgang hike Zollernburg-Panorama a MUST. Another close-by option is Schloss Sigmaringen. I haven’t been personally, but it’s been on my bucket list for ages! For trips a bit further afield, check out these 100 Things to Do in Baden-Württemberg.

Rainy Day Tips

If you have a rainy day during your trip, there are a few options directly in Albstadt to make the most of your time. The whole city is full of outlet stores for various products, mostly undergarments! Get the brochure for a complete list of shops and locations at the tourist information. The art museum is free to visit and contains three floors to explore. Near the pool is the club-run aquarium

This region of Baden-Württemberg is part of the UNESCO Global Geopark – schwäbische Alb, which includes caves, quarries, museums, geological points of interest, information points. In Albstadt, you can visit the Kräuterkasten, a museum about the cultural development of the region, local fauna, and the local geology including fossils. 

The Experience on the Traufgänge in Albstadt

Okay, so now you know how to plan a trip here, but what is the hiking actually like? Below are my experiences on three of the Traufgänge in Albstadt.

Traufgang in Albstadt: Schlossfelsenpfad

The Schlossfelsenpfad is a 15 km trail located directly in Albstadt-Ebingen. For the more adventurous hiker, I would recommend hiking up to the Trauf to get to this trail. If you’d prefer fewer meters of altitude, take the bus to the start. What I loved about this hike are the varied, beautiful landscapes along the way – forest, fields, farms, heath, and more. The trail crosses a busy road twice, so be careful!

Alternate Start

Following it upwards to the right, you arrive at the Schlossfelsenpfad trail and the Schlossfelsenturm tower. 

This alternate way of reaching the trail adds two kilometers and many meters of altitude. I was glad to have done it because the Traufgang Schlossfelsenpfad is does not have challenging altitude and spends less time on the Trauf than the other trails. I also liked getting to see some of the cliff formations from below. 

On the trail

From the tower, it wasn’t far until Waldheim which has a restaurant and playground. The Hexenküchle trail and the Schlossfelsenpfad intersect one another continuously, so make sure to pay careful attention to the signs. I went further past the game reserve for wild boars, but I didn’t see any animals. After a while in the forest, I came to the juniper fields, which joins the Traufgang of the same name: Wacholderheide (juniper heath). Then the trail alternated between many different landscapes until I reached the farm Fohlenweide where there were many animals and another restaurant. 

After the farm, I finally reached the Trauf. There were several viewpoints over the Schmiecha Valley looking towards Albstadt-Ebingen. My favorite spot was the Schleicherhütte, a pavilion over a beautiful viewpoint. From there it wasn’t long until I reached the tower again and began the 2km descent down to the city. 

I was happy to have traveled clockwise on this Traufgang because the parts along the Trauf with the panorama views were at the very end. This trail connects to the Traufgang Wacholderheide, so if you’d like to make a very long route, you can put them together.

Traufgang in Albstadt: Zollernburg-Panorama

If you’re into photogenic views of incredible castles, then this 16 km hike is the you want to go on! Its name doesn’t lie – for a long stretch of this there is an incredible view of Burg Hohenzollern.

Get there

Slow beginnings

The first few kilometers, I was disappointed to be just on a dirt road through fields. The Raichberg-Turm was closed when I got there, but I wanted to go up because it would have had a good view of Onstmettingen. Then there were just more fields and I felt like I was going in a circle.

Upwards onto the Trauf

Once I got to the Kohlwinkelfelsen, the trail got better. The view was fantastic and from here I was finally hiking on the Trauf. I went to several outlook points, but basically on the Trauf everywhere felt like a fantastic view point. It is incredible to hike the ridge. I went to the Backofenfels and Hängender Stein.

The Panorama

I came around a bend and got my first view of Burg Hohenzollern. It was amazing! The day was very cloudy, so I waited a while until the wind blew them out of the way. All the while, I watched the sun take over the shade and get nearer and nearer to the castle.

The wind was really intense on the day I went hiking. In the forest I put my hood up so that my head had a little bit of protection in case a stick or branch fell down. I didn’t see too much debris lying around, so it made me feel better that there wasn’t too much dead wood up in the trees still.

Zeller Horn 

Onwards I hiked to the Zeller Horn which takes you to the viewpoint closest to the castle. From there, you can leave the Traufgang to hike to the castle itself. The trail was tempting, but the castle was then closed weekdays for repairs (luckily I had visited once before). The wind was unbelievable and I moved away from the edge when it got really gusty despite my need to incessantly take photos. I hiked back and realized that I had missed a turn somewhere but found my way anyways. 

The hike back continued through the forest along the Trauf. At one point I went through a wood of tall pine trees which swayed mesmerizingly in the blustering wind, as if they were ready to snap. Out of the woods, I entered the Blasenberg, an agricultural field. It reminded me of the one we saw in Wilsede in the Lüneburger Heide, where grazing livestock prevent saplings from growing under the big, old trees. 

Then it wasn’t too far to my starting point at Stich/Allenbergstrasse. Nearly the whole way was on the Trauf until the steep end before Stich.

I liked hiking counter-clockwise because the castle view came as a surprise. However, the advantage to hiking clockwise, is that leading to the Zoller Horn, you have many views of the castle. Hiking in the other direction, you have to continuously look back to see the castle.

Traufgang in Albstadt: Felsenmeersteig

To reach the 17 km-long Traufgang Felsenmeersteig, you can take bus 45 to Margarethausen Süd oder to Margarethausen Ortsmitte. I began at Margarethausen Süd and hiked counter-clockwise. I liked hiking this direction because I felt that the big highlights came towards the end.

The Weather doesn’t Play Along

As I began hiking up and up and up, I could look back and see the convent. I continually had great views over the Albstadt neighborhoods of Lautlingen and Margarethausen. It began to drizzle and sometimes there was icy, snowy rain. Though only lonely patches of white remained, when I arrived at the top of the Heersberg, the precipitation fell in big wet flakes. Here the regular Traufgang intersects the winter Traufgang, which may have been doable a few days earlier, but now all the snow was gone. The trail leveled out here and it was an easier hike to Burgfelden, Albstadt’s tiniest town. Along the way, the visibility declined. A fog settled in and I could barely see the next trail signs, which was challenging since I was blindly walking through a field.

Böllat

After cutting through Burgfelden, there should have been more views below the ridge, but nothing was visible in the fog. Up ahead I saw a nice picnic table and decided to take a break there. While eating my sandwiches, I read on the sign that this is one of the best viewpoints on the Zollernalb, called Böllat. I could barely see the houses across the field from me. Soon, with some wind, the fog cleared and I could see all of Burgfelden and hoped that when I went up to the viewpoint that I could see to the Black Forest as promised on the info sign (just kidding, I wasn’t that hopeful). By the time I packed up my backpack, Burgfelden had disappeared in another cloud. I went to the viewpoint anyways, thinking that another gust of wind might clear the view. 

Despite the clouds the view was still impressive. I knew I hiked up a bunch, but here I could clearly see how much by looking over the edge of the cliff. I was about to hike on when the fog cleared a bit more. The view was fantastic! I don’t think I saw the Black Forest, but I could see farther than I had expected on a day like this. 

Mammoth Trees

I hiked further, heading downhill towards the Mammutbäume. Just 200m off-trail are giant 150 year old Sequoia trees brought over from the US by special mandate from the king. Though I found the tall trees impressive, they are apparently meager compared to the 3500 year old ones in the US. 

Schalksburg

Back on trail, I hiked upwards towards Ruine Schalksburg. Here you make another detour from the trail to hike a short loop out to a viewpoint and then to a reconstructed tower, which you can climb up for another view. The settlement at the top of this ridge dates to back several centuries BCE, though the first castle structure came about in the 11th century. 

Felsenmeer

Later on the trail, I came to the Felsenmeer, from which the trail gets its name. Felsenmeer translates literally to “cliff sea” or “rock sea.” Appropriate, since there is a sea of giant and smaller boulders at this section of the route. The limestone structures here remain from a time when the whole Alb was underwater and connected to the sea. This part of the trail said „nur für geübte,“ which means “only for practiced.” If you aren’t surefooted you may want to take the detour around this section. There are lots of rocks to step over on and around, though I think most hikers can handle it. 

For the end of the hike, I traveled downhill through the forest until I reached a field in Albstadt-Lautlingen. The trail back to Margarethausen traverses the peaceful Eyach stream and passes a Kneippbecken (cold water pool for circulation therapy) before coming back into the village. 

Hike the Traufgänge in Albstadt!