We can look to our neighbors on the other side of the river, we can see them fishing and looking after animals, but we can’t go there. What a strange feeling. One of the many ways, a virus can change our lives.
Tag: Wanderung
The Best Hikes In Berlin And Brandenburg
… even for people who did them all :-))
In the last years I was kind of busy exploring hikeable areas in Berlin and Brandenburg. Here is a list of most of my hikes in Berlin and Brandenburg including a rough evaluation of the public transport possibilities to get there. Behind every link you’ll find pictures and most of the time a short description including a map of the trail I took.
As always, most of the links include maps which I recorded during my hikes. As I change direction spontaneously—based on weather, on an attractive area I spotted, on my mood or on the fact that it gets dark quickly—I recommend to explore the areas with openness to hike another trail or change the direction whenever you like to. I recommend the landscapes, not necessarily the exact trail I took. Don’t forget to use maps and GPS :-). I highly recommend MapOut offline maps.
……………………………………
How to read the charts:
Location and month:
I noted the month in which I hiked because every landscape looks different with the seasons. For some of them you can have an impression of another weather and therefore another atmosphere of the trail and scenery.
Public Transport Rating:
I always looked up from Berlin Central Station/Hauptbahnhof. This is what set rating means:
★★ = It’s easy and even better to get there by public transport than by car
★☆ = It’s already more complicated to get there by public transport, sometimes you have to walk for a while to reach the trail, sometimes you have to change trains for more than 3 times
☆☆ = You can go everywhere by public transport, but in this case you’ll spend really a lot of time and it’s very complicated to get there
Please use Open Street Map with public transport layer to get a visual impression where you want to go and where you have to get out of the train/bus/tram. And look up on BVG.de how long it will take you to go there.
Favorite:
❤️ = The hikes marked with a heart are my personal favorites. Great lake, picturesque villages or cultural sites to see, or just a very divers hike. This doesn’t mean, that the other hikes aren’t worth while. I just liked them more. Hikes I didn’t like at all are not listed here.
……………………………………
The best hiking areas in the North of Berlin
Schloß Liebenberg
Liebenberg
Liepnitzsee
Volkspark Pankow
Wedding
Werbellinsee
Wildpark Schorfheide
Werbellinkanal
mushroom
Wildpark Schorfheide
Wildpark Schorfheide
Tegeler See
| Location and Month | Notes | Public Transport Rating | Favorite |
| Briesetal (September) Briesetal (March) Briesetal (July) Briesetal (November) |
Wonderful and magical landscape, forest in a river, swans and picturesque wooden bridges | ★★ | ❤️ |
| Mühlenbecker Land (December) Summt (June) |
Castle on a lake near the city | ★★ | |
| Tegeler See (August) | Wilderness in the city along the lake shore | ★★ | |
| Zehdenick (August) Zehdenick (August) Gransee (August) |
Former clay mining area with lots of lakes and old industry | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Hellsee (June) Hellsee (April) Lobetal (October) |
Romantic hike through the forest along a murmuring creek and a lake | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Bernsteinsee (June) Bernsteinsee (October) |
Divers landscape with silent lakes an sandy beaches | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Kyritz an der Knatter (March) | Beautiful lakes | ★☆ | |
| Biesenthal (February) | Vast, lonely landscape with lots of ranting birds | ★☆ | |
| Tegeler Fließ (January) | Beautiful pasture landscape near the city center | ★★ | |
| Grumsiner Forst (November) | Huge and bright beech tree forest | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Hobrechtsfelde (October) | Horses, historical buildings and vast fields | ★☆ | |
| Liepnitzsee (September) Bogensee (March) Regenbogensee, Wandlitz (March) Wandlitz (January) |
Beautiful sparkling lakes, huge forests and WW2 architecture | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Wildpark Schorfheide (December) Wildpark Schorfheide (September) |
Huge parc with animals who used to live in the Brandenburg forests (wolves, lynx, horses, moose, … ) | ☆☆ | ❤️ |
| Arkenberge (December) | Mountains at the city border, great views over the city form above | ★★ | |
| Schönerlinder Teiche (November) Schönerlinder Teiche (November) |
Rare buffalo species around small lakes | ★★ | ❤️ |
| Schönholzer Heide (November) | City parc with Russian war monument | ★★ | |
| Liebenberg (February) | Great landscape, romantic castle, lakes and swans | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Botanischer Volkspark Pankow (January) | Big parc with deer | ★☆ | |
| Werbellinkanal, Eichhorst (March) | Serene hike along a river | ☆☆ | ❤️ |
……………………………………
The best hiking areas in the West of Berlin
Sacrow
Sacrow
Ketzin
Grunewald
Paretz
Wannsee
Paretz
Havelhöhenweg
| Location and Month | Notes | Public Transport Rating | Favorite |
| Havelhöhenweg (August) | Nice lake views from above | ★★ | ❤️ |
| Grunewaldsee (April) | Meet thousands of different dogs and their owners | ★★ | |
| Teufelssee (June) | Visit an abandoned post WW2 spy station | ★★ | |
| Kloster Lehnin | Faboulous monastery in vast landscape | ★☆ | |
| Jungfernsee (February) | Always along lakes | ★☆ | |
| Döberitzer Heide (June) | Long hike without possibility to shortcut through forests and flat landscapes with a view tower | ★☆ | |
| Wannsee, Düppeler Forst (January) | Wild forest near the city | ★★ | |
| Sacrow (February) | Along lakes with a castle and a chapel on the shore | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Paretz (February) | Very divers hike, historical village, historical clay mining area with many lakes | ★☆ | ❤️ |
……………………………………
The best hiking areas in the East of Berlin
Waldsieversdorf
Strausberg
Biesow
Rehfelde
Schönerlinder Teiche
Stienitzsee
Strausberg
Reichenow
Garzau
Garzin
Altfriedand
Bötzsee
Bötzsee
| Location and Month | Notes | Public Transport Rating | Favorite |
| Müggelsee, Müggelberge, Teufelsmoor (May) Müggelsee (February) Müggelsee (February) |
Visit the second highest mountain in Berlin (115m) and walk along a wooden runway through the marshland “of the devil” | ★★ | ❤️ |
| Seddinsee, Schmöckwitz (April) Seddinsee (February) |
Very simple hike always along a lake or a river | ★☆ | |
| Stienitzsee (March) | Fine lake but with some obstacles. Sometimes you cannot reach the shore because it’s fenced privat land | ★☆ | |
| Herrensee (October) Herrensee (January) Herrensee (May) |
Beautiful wild lake surrounded by marshland forests. Beware of mosquitos in summer. | ★★ | ❤️ |
| Stobbertal (July) | Magical forest atmosphere along a creek | ☆☆ | ❤️ |
| Garzau und Garzin (October) Rehfelde (February) |
Divers landscape, some lakes and a pyramid | ★★ | |
| Altfriedland (November) | Thousands of birds, picturesque village, beautiful lakes but you can’t reach the shore because it’s protected or private area | ☆☆ | |
| Ihlandsee (December) | Beautiful lake in the forest | ★☆ | |
| Strausberg (January) | Nice forest hike along a small river near the city | ★★ | |
| Oderbruch (September) | Vastness and Silence | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Blumenthal (November) | Wild forest and a small, old forest settlements | ☆☆ | ❤️ |
| Biesow (October) Biesow (February) |
Absolut silence around the lakes and a tiny, cute settlement in the middle of nowhere | ☆☆ | ❤️ |
| Köthen (July) | Mesmerizing views from the top of a look-out, nice lakes | ☆☆ | |
| Erkner (September) | Wild paths and lakes | ★★ | ❤️ |
| Buckow, Märkische Schweiz (October) Waldsieversdorf (February) |
Hilly landscape, beautiful lakes and a picturesque small town with delicious ice cream | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Spreeauen (October) | Lyrical landscape and a natural river | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Leuenberg (March) | Divers hike with forests , lakes and fields | ★☆ | |
| Werneuchen (March) | Dark green lake in the forest | ★★ | |
| Spitzmühle (April) Spitzmühle (October) Spitzmühle (January) Bötzsee (October) |
Wonderful, scenic and easy hike around lakes. | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Möllensee (July) | Very divers Hike around lakes | ★☆ | |
| Treptower Park (April) | Tiny hike, almost in the City Center | ★☆ |
……………………………………
The best hiking areas in the South of Berlin:
Beelitz Heilstätten
Albrechts Teerofen
Albrechts Teerofen
Pfaueninsel
Beelitz Heilstätten
| Location and Month | Notes | Public Transport Rating | Favorite |
| Scharmützelsee, Bad Saarow (March) | Hike with a look-out and beautiful lakes, opportunity to visit Bad Saarow (Bath) | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Prieros (April) | Divers hike, partially on a small path directly on the shore of Schmöldesee | ☆☆ | |
| Albrechts Teerofen (November) | Interesting landscape and Western/Eastern Berlin History | ★☆ | |
| Beelitz Heilstätten (October) | Take a hike above the trees and look at an ancient abandoned asylum | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Pfaueninsel (June) | Meet the peacocks and hike where already Emperor Willhelm II took a walk | ★★ | |
| Nuthe-Nieplitz (April) | Marvellous and wild nature reserve | ★★ | ❤️ |
| Sperenberger Gipsbrüche (April) | At least six small lakes and a very beautiful and wild landscape | ★☆ | ❤️ |
| Schwielowsee (March) | Beautiful lake | ★★ |
……………………………………
And the map …
Die schönsten Wanderungen in Berlin und Brandenburg
Berlin Day Hike: Light Caught In Lakes Near Waldsieversdorf
I didn’t have a lot of time today so I chose this tiny hike not far from where I have been. I was blessed with three wonderful lakes in bright sunshine. This hike can easily be extended, for example direction Buckow or Kesselsee. The landscape around there is wonderful and compared to everything around Berlin […]
Berlin Day Hike: Around Frosty Ihlandsee And The Christmas Market In Strausberg
Location: Along western shore of Ihlandsee, Along eastern shore of Ihlandsee / Distance: 4,5 km / from city center: 50 km / East / Weather: 4 °C, cloudy / Camera: iPhone X
Berlin Day Hike: Buffalos At Schönerlinder Teiche
The Schönerlinder Teiche are an area just behind the Berlin city limits in the north. We didn’t have a lot of time but we could also have hiked the Arkenberge, which are the highest “mountains” in Berlin (incredible 120m above sea level) and in visible distance from the lakes. On this short hike – approximately […]
Berlin Day Hike: Sunny Sharpness At Tegeler See
Location: Bernauer Strasse – Uferpromenade – over the Borsigdammbrücke – Greenwichpromenade – Tegeler Hafenbrücke – until the “archaic Archangel” – and back / Distance: 8,5 km / from city center: 14 km / northwest / Weather: 22 °C, sunny with massive clouds / Camera: Nikon D90, 35 mm lens
Wanderlust? Need To Escape The City? The Best Hikes in and around Berlin
Die besten Wanderungen rund um Berlin
I’m stuck, I thought, in this outrageously flat area. But finally I made peace and even fell in love with this landscape around my second home town. It’s beautiful, it’s divers and if you drive for a while there are even some (small) mountains. Go and explore, and I promise, you won’t regret it!
And please: Tell me YOUR favorite hikes around Berlin. I’m ready to walk them all!
I didn’t write down a distance because all hikes are adjustable and even I didn’t plan them like you see it on the maps. I only recommend the areas, not necessarily the exact trail I took. Walk less or walk for some more miles. Please use maps and GPS :-). I highly recommend MapOut offline maps.
HYOH! (Hike your own hike!)
New Post with more hikes around Berlin and better overview
1: The enchanted woods of Briesetal
Where to start: Borgsdorf
Direction: North
Distance: 27 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
Fancy and extraordinary landscape through a marshland forest. If you are lucky you’ll see swans and beavers.
Links:
Briesetal in Summer
Briesetal in Winter
2: Animals, lakes and solitude: Sperenberger Gipsbrüche
Where to start: Mellensee
Direction: South
Distance: 61 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
Partly “mountainous” landscape (if you can call it like that :-)), a lot of small lakes – if I counted exactly there where about 17 lakes with very different atmospheres on my way. There is a watchtower and as it is rather far from Berlin I saw no people but some deers, rabbits, woodpeckers and wild gooses.
Link: The Hike through Sperenberger Gipsbrüche
3: Murmuring creek: The romantic Hellmühler Fließ
Where to start: Lanke
Direction: North
Distance: 38 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
Diverse Landscape with lakes, forests and creeks. The hike next to Hellmühler Fließ (which is basically a creek) is very natural and romantic with birds singing and water murmuring. On one occasion you can even swing on a rope over the small river.
Links:
Hike around Hellmühler Fließ 2016
Hellmühlen Fließ, Summer 2017
4: Mountains and Devil’s Moor: Müggelberge and Teufelsmoor
Where to start: Müggelturm
Direction:: East
Distance: 20km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
You won’t believe it but this is actually IN Berlin. Ok, it’s not the city-center but still. The Müggelberg is Berlins highest “mountain” (115m above sea level).
Link: Hike trough Teufelsmoor and Müggelberge
5: Sandy beaches and vast forests: Bernsteinsee und Pregnitzfließ
Where to start: Prenden
Direction: North
Distance: 45 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
Fantastic sandy beaches and beautiful forests around Bernsteinsee and Eiserbuder See. Go get a coffee with lake view in Rühlsdorf at wake and camp.
Link:
Hike near Bernsteinsee
Prendener See on a rainy sunday
6: Crystal clear lakes and old industry in Zehdenick
Where to start: Burgwall
Direction: North
Distance: 68 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
You walk alongside Havel river. The trail follows a former clay mining area with uncountable and mostly crystal clear lakes. You will cross the area of an industry museum where you can admire old machines, tractors and buildings.
Link: Hike near Zehdenick
7: Creepy history and beautiful lakes: Bogensee and Regenbogensee
Where to start: Wandlitz, an den Pfühlen
Direction: North
Distance: 35 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
If you like to combine nature and culture, this is the right trail for you. You’ll see Goebbels (Nazi-Germanys Minister of Propaganda) ruined nature retreat and his huge villa. On the same area you’ll find the old training center for young GDR socialists. Regenbogensee on the other hand is a well hidden, very small and enchanted lake. I don’t know why, but for me it is one of the most beautiful lakes I saw 🙂
Link:
In Summer, including a map
In Winter, including the entire, creepy history
8: Nature Reserve Nuthe-Nieplitz, Beelitz Heilstätten
Where to start: Wildenbruch
Direction: South-West
Distance: 46 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
By far the hike with the most animals I have seen around Berlin. Deer, rabbits, crazy singing, ranting and clucking birds everywhere. I even saw the speciality of Nuthe-Nieplitz, the Ortolan, which is a small bird with a yellow stomach (take the spring track).
If you are more interested in history you have to visit Beelitz Heilstätten which is an old hospital. Recently they have build a pathway which leads through the tree tops and around the old buildings. It’s expensive but it’s worth it.
Links:
In Summer, including Beelitz Heilstätten and Großer Seddiner See
In Spring, Nuthe-Nieplitz including GPS Track
9: Old Spree near Mönchwinkel
Where to start: Wasserwanderrastplatz Mönchswinkel
Direction: East
Distance: 47 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
You walk alongside the old Spree in a beautiful and natural landscape. It is so beautiful, without any noise, with sheeps grazing and young cows playing, that I imagined myself in the times of Fontane.
Link: Spreeauen
10: Simply natural: Erkner
Whereto start: Erkner
Direction: East
Distance: 41 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
Romantic landscape with creeks, lakes and rivers, small houses and vast forests. Be careful not to approach the highway 🙂
Link: Erkner
11: Unesco Natural Heritage: Ancient beech forest in Grumsin
Where to start: Near Altkünkendorf
Direction: North-East
Distance: 79 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
Marvelous old and huge trees and a wonderful vast landscape.
Link: Grumsin
12: Our personal Switzerland: Buckow
Where to start: Waldsieversdorf
Direction: East
Distance: 53 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
The landscape is called “Märkisch Switzerland” which basically means that there are some modest mountains (hills) to climb. Visit Café Tilla in Waldsieversdorf! Grandma style interior, really nice innkeeper and great cakes.
Link: Märkische Schweiz
13: Wonderful lakes in Spitzmühle
Where to start: Postbruch near Straußberg
Direction: East
Distance: 34 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
Easy hike mostly next to lakes. You’ll see four really different lakes on your way.
Link: Spitzmühle
14: Small paradise next door: Mühlenbecker Land
Where to start: Summt
Direction: North
Distance: 21 km from the center of Berlin
What’s so good about it?
It’s near, it’s beautiful, there is a castle and there are some great lakes. Be careful in Summer: “Summt” means buzz and nomen est omen.
Links:
Summt in Winter
Summt in Summer
So: What are your favorite hikes around Berlin?
I’m really curious to walk them.
Berlin Day Hike: Unesco Natural Heritage – Ancient Beech Forest in Grumsin
Location: near Altkünkendorf – Kleiner Grumsinsee – Sperlingsherberge direction Groß Ziethen – Großer Kagelpfuhl – Großer Schwarzer See – direction Altkünkendorf / Distance: 11,5 km / Weather: 9 °C, cloudy
Kleiner Grumsinsee:
Sperlingsherberge:
Großer Schwarzer See:
BTW: Do not expect the information point in Altkünkendorf to be open on Sundays. (Why would they? All tourists come during working hours :-)) And a “hikers rest area” is a fenced, windy space equipped with some seats but without a roof or any other similar amenities.
Berlin Day Hike: Golden Sunday in Spitzmühle
Yeah, the days are getting shorter and darker. But there is still this kind of autumn magic when warm sun rays hit the yellow and red trees. The golden days of autumn.
Location: Postbruch near Straußberg – Bötzsee – Spitzmühle – Fängersee – Kesselsee – and back on the opposite shores / Distance: 17 km / Weather: 13 °C, sunny
Bötzsee:
Fängersee:
Kesselsee:
Map:
Berlin Day Hike: Dramatic Skies Over Spreeauen
Location: Mönchwinkel – cross the small bridge south of Mönchwinkel – don’t follow the paths, you can easily walk the meadows/ Distance: 5 km / Weather: 8 °C, sunny and cloudy
We left a little late this saturday and we got into this weather shortly before the sun went down. This is the river Spree in its natural state. We walked alongside the river on the meadows even if there weren’t any paths on my map. Sometimes you have to detour because of animal fences.
Map:
hikeminded 