Hiking the Rhine Castle Trail, Romantic Rhine Valley

The Upper Middle Rhine Valley is one of the most romantic places in Germany.

Fortunately, there are many different ways to enjoy the region: by boat, by bike, by train, and by foot.

There are two main hiking trails in the Rhine Gorge: RheinSteig and the RheinBurgenWeg (Rhine Castle Trail).

The RheinBurgenWeg (Rhine Castle Trail) is a 200-km route that stretches from Rolandsboden to Bingen. The trail is divided into 13 stages.

Rhine Castle Trail Stages South to North

Stages 1 through 7 are in the are in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley (Oberes Mittelrheintal). Stages 8 through 13 are in the Lower Middle Rhine Valley (Unteres Mittelrheintal ).

Upper Middle Rhine Valley Stage 1: Bingen – Trechtingshausen (10.6 km, 4 hours)
Upper Middle Rhine Valley Stage 2: Trechtingshausen – Bacharach (21.6 km, 7 hours)
Upper Middle Rhine Valley Stage 3: Bacharach – Oberwesel (13.3 km, 4:30 hours)
Upper Middle Rhine Valley Stage 4: Oberwesel – St. Goar (8.8 km, 3 hours)
Upper Middle Rhine Valley Stage 5: St. Goar – Bad Salzig (19.2 km, 6 hours)
Upper Middle Rhine Valley Stage 6: Bad Salzig – Rhens (15.6 km, 4 hours)
Upper Middle Rhine Valley Stage 7: Rhens – Koblenz (13.2 km, 5:30 hours)
Lower Middle Rhine Valley Stage 8: Koblenz – Winningen (14.6 km, 5 hours)
Lower Middle Rhine Valley Stage 9: Winningen – Bassenheim (15.7 km, 6 hours)
Lower Middle Rhine Valley Stage 10: Bassenheim – Andernach (13.7 km, 4 hours)
Lower Middle Rhine Valley Stage 11: Andernach – Bad Breisig (19.4 km, 6:30 hours)
Lower Middle Rhine Valley Stage 12: Bad Breisig – Remagen (15.7 km, 5 hours)
Lower Middle Rhine Valley Stage 13: Remagen – Rolandsbogen (14 km, 4:30 hours)

Rhine Castle Trail: Oberwesel to Sankt Goar

Hiking the Rhine Castle Trail, Romantic Rhine Valley, Germany | Moon & Honey Travel — Oberwesel

We hiked Stage 4 of the RheinBurgenWeg, between the towns of Oberwesel and Sankt Goar.

This 8.8 km hiking route begins steeply as you ascend through vineyards overlooking the river.

After roughly 1 km, you’re confronted with a choice of hiking the more challenging trail via Maria Ruh and Oelsbergsteig (6.8 km to Sankt Goar), or a slightly longer trail via Skulpturenweg and Günderodehaus (7.6 km to Sankt Goar).

We opted for the route via Oelsbergsteig, which is a short via ferrata section, with fixed ropes and stirrups to help you manage the near vertical climb.

The hike winds through a verdant forest and plateaus in a rapeseed farm region.

When we hiked in mid-May, the rapeseed fields were in full bloom.

At Maria Ruh, you’ll be rewarded with a view of the Loreley Rock and Burg Katz, a castle first built around 1371 and rebuilt in the late 19th century, after being bombarded by Napoleon. This hike took 3 hrs.