Painten: Forests, Far-Reaching Views and Trails on the Jura Plateau

Experience nature in the Tangrintel

The Tangrintel nature experience area is freely accessible and brings together several different features: a barefoot path, an herb garden, a stone pile, an insect hotel and an amphitheatre with rows of seats made from Jura stone. The garden reflects the plant life of the surrounding area: typical plants of nutrient-poor grasslands and ruderal sites grow there, as they do around Painten. The barefoot path is all about sensory experiences that are possible even with your eyes closed. In this way, the area offers something different from the hiking trails: the focus here is on individual nature stations and a variety of sensory impressions. The rows of Jura stone seats give the amphitheatre a local connection, without reducing the place to just one feature.

Hiking trails with their own character

The Painten Circular Hiking Trail 1 is an easy tour across the Jura heights between Painten and Kelheim. Flowering meadows and the shaded Painten Forest define the route. If you are looking for a trail that is explicitly described as easy, this one offers clear guidance between open landscapes and woodland.

The Fossil Loop has a different focus: it is a leisurely hike across the Jura Plateau near Painten, with far-reaching views across open countryside to the horizon. From Painten’s market square, the route first heads north along Schmidgasse, then crosses open countryside to Mantlach and Netzstall. Along the way, there are repeated views of the Painten quarry. The named starting point and waypoints make the loop particularly easy to locate if you want to plan around a specific route.

The Pure Pleasure Trail also runs between Kelheim, Ihrlerstein and Painten. The section from Painten towards Gasthaus Glashütte follows trails and gravel sections. The Painten Mushroom Discovery Trail, by contrast, starts in the Maierhofen district, at the junction of Hauptstraße and Forststraße. Its location is another distinct reference point when exploring the trails around Painten.

Painten as a starting point for planning your holiday

When choosing a holiday apartment, it helps to first sort out the themes of your trip: if the nature experience area and Painten’s trails are at the heart of it, you can focus your search on Painten. The routes differ in character and have named starting points; looking at these can help you prioritise your activities. That way, you begin choosing a location not with an unsupported idea of a place to stay, but by asking which landscapes and trails you would like to include in your holiday. If you also want to consider other destinations within the wider Kelheim travel region, plan for them as separate regional highlights.

Kelheim in a wider context

The wider Kelheim travel region offers additional nature and cultural themes that are distinct from Painten’s own trails. The northern part of Kelheim district, including Kelheim, Essing and Riedenburg, lies within the Altmühltal Nature Park. The Weltenburger Enge, Hirschberg and Altmühlleiten nature reserve, located in Kelheim, includes the Danube Gorge. Kelheim is also home to the Befreiungshalle, commissioned by King Ludwig I, a memorial to the victorious battles against Napoleon during the Wars of Liberation from 1813 to 1815. In the southern part of Kelheim district, including Abensberg, Neustadt an der Donau, Biburg, Rohr i. NB and Mainburg, a different regional highlight begins: these towns are part of the Hallertau, the world’s largest contiguous hop-growing region. The wider Kelheim region thus complements Painten’s landscape with distinctly different regional themes.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Rohr in Niederbayern, Siegenburg, Aiglsbach, Ihrlerstein, Volkenschwand, Kelheim, Elsendorf, Saal an der Donau.

Back to the main travel overview: Kelheim.