Der klassische Nordwaldkammweg

Set off for several days while gently slowing down. Those who have already tried it know the fascination of long-distance hiking. Step by step, important things become less important and at the end of the day you have found yourself a little closer to yourself.

The mystical Nordwaldkammweg with its striking blue ridge markings is also a section of the European long-distance hiking trail E6 from the Baltic Sea via the Wachau to the Adriatic (2,796 km).

The classic hiking trail on the Central European watershed, the oldest long-distance hiking trail in Austria, is around 162 km long and runs from the Šumava National Park through the northern Mühlviertel, often close to the Czech border, via the Hochficht, Sternstein, Braunberg, Nebelstein and Mandelstein to the Pyhrabruck border crossing near Gmünd/NÖ. With the variants II and III in the European Green Belt and the 15 connecting trails in between, beautiful circular hiking trails with a total length of over 500 kilometres have been created. A detailed description of the 17 daily stages can be found in the guidebook "Nordwaldkammweg - Weitwandern im Grenzland" by the Freistadt Alpine Club, published by Verlag Pustet, and is available online/offline at Outdooractive.

Daily stages

1st Dreisselberg - Schöneben
23.7 km, walking time 7 hrs. , 753 m ascent, ↘ 915 m ascent
2nd Schöneben - Haslach/Mühl
23.2 km, walking time 6 hrs. 45 min., 420 m ascent, ↘ 833 m ascent
3. Haslach/Mühl - Bad Leonfelden
27.8 km, walking time 8 hrs. 15 min., 900 m ascent, ↘ 662 m ascent
4th Bad Leonfelden - Freistadt
21.4 km, walking time 6 hours, 419 m ascent, ↘ 612 m ascent
5th Freistadt - Sandl
26.7 km, walking time 8 hrs. 15 min., 831 m ascent, ↘ 457 m ascent
6. Sandl - Nebelstein
25.4 km, walking time 7 hours, 596 m ascent, ↘ 522 m ascent
7th Nebelstein - Nové Hrady (CZ)
19.6 km, walking time 5 hrs. 30 min., 307 m ascent, ↘ 770 m ascent

The exact route description can be found here.

Request the folder and further information on the entire Nordwaldkamm Trail and the Nordwaldkamm Panorama Trail at anfrage@muehlviertel.at

Guest pick-up Nordwaldkammweg

Some accommodation establishments along the Nordwaldkamm Trail also offer a pick-up and drop-off service for hikers:

Schwarzenberg - Hotel Bergkristall
Haslach an der Mühl - Pension Sunnseit'n
Bad Leonfelden - Berggasthof Waldschenke
Freistadt - Hotel Hubertus
Lasberg - Gasthof Stadler "zur Haltestelle"

Nordwaldkammweg - History

1908 Ridge trail of the German Bohemian Forest Association around the Czech Republic to Poland with "Kammlogo"
1960 Opening of the Nordwaldkammweg (NWKW), the oldest Austrian long-distance hiking trail in Freistadt
1967 Creation of the NWKW hiking badge
1973 Integration of the Nordwaldkammweg into the new European long-distance hiking trail E6
1977 5th edition of the guide, 20,000 copies sold
2002 Idea of a return route in the Green Belt
2005 Award for the idea of a cross-border trail in Budweis near Radmbuk
2012 Opening of the Nordwaldkammweg II in Oberhaid
2017 7th edition of the NWKW guide published by Pustet