Georgenberg: Hiking and Discoveries

Hiking Trails and a Destination in the Granite Boulder Field

The Oberpfälzer Wald Association maintains around 164 kilometres of marked hiking trails in the municipality of Georgenberg. This figure describes the municipality’s trail network. For a specific tour in the immediate area, a marked hiking trail leads from the Planer-Höhe hiking car park via the Tafelbuche and through a granite boulder field to the ruins of Schellenberg Castle. The walk takes about half an hour. This gives you both an extensive trail network and a clearly named individual hiking destination to help you plan.

The Old Mill in Gehenhammer is another destination in the immediate area around Georgenberg; it was built in 1834. Together with the ruins of Schellenberg Castle, it adds places with historical connections to the hiking options. When choosing your accommodation, these destinations can be a reason to focus on hiking and discoveries in the surrounding area, rather than planning your stay around just one outing.

Neustadt an der Waldnaab: More Options for Days Out

In the wider Neustadt an der Waldnaab travel region, the district lies in the Upper Palatinate Forest. The tourist offer there includes hiking, cycling, museum visits and swimming in numerous bathing waters. This regional setting broadens your options: you can compare shorter hikes with longer routes or cultural destinations, without planning every outing around the same activity.

The Bockl is one example of a longer route: this 52-kilometre trail follows a historic railway line from Neustadt an der Waldnaab to Eslarn and can be used on foot, by bike or on inline skates. It is mostly paved and free of traffic; gradients rarely exceed 3 percent. Compared with the roughly half-hour trail to the ruins of Schellenberg Castle, the Bockl offers a different scale for planning your day. The starting point in Neustadt an der Waldnaab is directly accessible by train. Trains run every hour to the terminus of the Nuremberg–Neustadt an der Waldnaab line; from there, you can switch directly to a bicycle. Check the timetable before travelling.

Geology and Culture in Parkstein and Speinshart

In Parkstein, the historical walking tour begins at the Landrichter Castle, which houses the Vulkanerlebnis Parkstein Museum. A volcanic eruption is depicted there every hour and can be experienced across three levels; showing times may change. Geopark rangers offer guided tours of the basalt wall, the rock cellars and the basalt cone. Check the availability of the tours before travelling. The basalt cone’s awards also provide a historical perspective: in 2003, it was included in the list of Bavaria’s 100 most beautiful geotopes, and in 2006 it received the designation “National Geotope.”

Speinshart offers another cultural highlight. The abbey church is one of the most significant Baroque buildings in southern Germany and is distinguished by its Italian High Baroque furnishings. The monastery and its preserved historic village together constitute a cultural asset of European standing. A public guided tour of the abbey church takes place every Sunday and public holiday at 3 p.m. As tour times may change, it is advisable to check the monastery’s official website before travelling.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Waldthurn, Weiherhammer, Kirchendemenreuth, Schirmitz, Tännesberg, Pressath, Pleystein, Theisseil.

Back to the regional travel guide: Neustadt An Der Waldnaab.