Altschlosspfad Eppenbrunn Hike [Best red Rocks in Germany]

Marvellous massive red rock formations and leaf carpeted trails on the border of France and Germany invite you to wander.

I’ve hiked this trail 3 times. The Altschlosspfad Eppenbrunn hike just keeps getting better each time — and I want to share with you the pros and cons, how to do it and where you should stay to have an authentic Pälzer weekend away from tourists.

It’s truly astounding if you love red sandstone pillars and leaf carpeted trails.

Author’s tl;dr: The Altschlosspfad Eppenbrunn hike is an easy loop with magnificent rock formations that are a mile long and reach heights of 35 meters (115 feet).

Dog friendly, kid-friendly 5+.

8.0 miles and mainly leaf carpeted soft trails. You can shorten it if needed. Bring poles if you have them (it’s easy, but very randomly roots pop out on trail to twist your ankle when not expecting it).

If you want to make a weekend out of it and also hike the Eulenfels trail, the best place to stay is directly on trail at the lovely Hotel Kupper with sauna and biergarten.

❌ Do not do this hike if gunfire triggers you. The French military base holds exercises intermittently and sometimes you can hear gunfire.

Located about 20 min from Pirmasens, Germany this Pfalzerwald forest hike offers more rock formations than the nearby Dahn Germany hike or the Gimbelhof 4 Castles hike. It’s doesn’t have a mid-way stop hütte or restaurant however.

• What I really loved was the Altschlossfels (Old Castle Rocks).
• What I thought was rough was the intermittent firing range noise from the French military base.

Related: If you love dramatic red rocks on your hikes check out my Drachenfels hiking guide in or the Kirkel Tafeltour. These are two of the best hikes near Kaiserslautern with super cool rock formations.

Altschlosspfad Hiking Map

How to Use This Map:
Click on the icon on the top left-hand corner. You will now see an interactive list.

For more info on each, click on the map icons.

To see the map in more detail, click on the [ ] in the top right-hand corner. This will open a larger map where the details of each point can be found by clicking on the location point name in the list on the left.

You can also save the map for your own use by clicking the next to the map name. This will save the map to your Google Maps, where you can make a copy and use it for your own trip planning.

To view the saved map on your phone, open Google Maps, click “saved” on the bottom, and then “maps” on the lower right.

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Hike – My Experience

Bonus: It’s on the Camino de Santiago

My friend and I hiked it on a sunny day in February and we were surprised to see so many people out on a Wednesday. They were mostly French hikers with kids and dogs.

This area is along the German-French border and is one of my favorite hikes to view red rocks in Rhineland Palatinate.

What’s really cool is that it intersects with the Camino de Santiago and goes all the way to Finisterre on the Atlantic coast in Spain!

You will also like my related hiking guide: If you want more expansive views, the Kalmit or Kurpfalz hikes located on the other side of the Pfalz forest may be for you.

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Parking Lot – German-French Border (1:00)

The hike has a dedicated “wanderparkplatz” right in the village of Eppenbrunn.

Fortunately, the trail is well-marked and starts off near a lovely family-owned spa hotel and biergarten.

They even keep public restrooms open for hikers, even in winter. We had a nice chat with the owner who actually lived in NY until he was 6 years old.

The path is fairly flat to begin and follows the stream on your right and a steep pine forested mountain on your left. Do not go towards Teufel fels.

It can be a little muddy in winter, but not too bad.

German-French Border – Altschlossfels (1:35)

It’s always fun to walk along a national border. There are a few granite markers and for a short period the trail signs turn to French. It sounds a bit like Baumholder here with some live fire from the French military base.

Once you hit the fels, it’s just massive stone pillar after pillar.

Some are sideswiped and others are like sand drip castles. It’s truly amazing and there’s plenty of places you can climb through the fels themselves.

Altschlossfels – Parking (3:30)

This section is hard to move fast. Save your lunch if you brought one for here as there are just so many places to stop and marvel along this 1.5 km stretch.

The fels are really big and varied. You’ll simply follow the path until the end of the rock formation and then turn back toward the parking lot.

You’ll catch another bonus rock formation before descending on a dirt road toward the village.

Here you’ll walk along a flat trail next to a very long and still pond before coming back through the village to the parking.

How to get there

By Car

Driving is the easiest way to get to this hike.

Reaching the parking lot by car is a straightforward journey, with the park conveniently situated next to the village.

From these points, clear signage will guide you through the scenic wine country directly to the large car parks designated as Wanderpark platz Eppenbrunn for visitors.

By Bus

If you want to take the bus, you’ll need to get to Eppenbrunn via Pirmasens. There is a bus that runs here called 255.

More Images of this hike

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Craving Mountain Adventure?

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy rambling around the Rhineland Palatinate forest and catching some outdoor history and culture. How cool is that?

Have you experienced a cool trail nearby? We would love to hear how it was over on our facebook group Plan Hiking Adventures in Europe.

We hope this guide about the Altschlosspfad Eppenbrunn hike has given you some helpful information to plan your next adventure.