Urwaldsteig Edersee — ancient trees and clear blue water

Hiking Collection by Anette

Tours

20:27 h

43.6 mi

5,800 ft

On forest trails, you hike under the canopy of ancient beech and gnarled oaks. The entire ground is covered with thick foliage and the sound of your footsteps is dampened by the leaves. Climbing over a fallen giant tree lying across the path, you can see blue water flashing out between the mighty trunks. After a few steps, the trees reveal the view and below the steep slope path lies the Edersee lake as it glitters in the sun.

The Urwaldsteig Edersee, marked with a white "UE" on a blue background, meanders in six daily stages over a total distance of around 67 kilometers (39 miles). It takes you through traditional forest trails and scenic slope paths as you circumnavigate the Ederstausee. In spring, the landscape awakens to a new life as the lake slowly fills with meltwater. In summer, the slopes become a lush green color before changing to a rainbow of browns and oranges in the fall. In winter, the snow comes back to the valley and packs the area with high snow-banks, bathing the banks of the lake in white.

The Edersee, with its National Park station in Herzhausen and Bad Wildungen, is easily accessible from all directions. The starting and finishing points of each stage are connected between April and October and can be reached by bus or by boat, so you can also choose to complete individual stages as day hikes. It's guaranteed, however, that once you immerse yourself in this unique forest landscape, you will not finish your hike before the end of the sixth stage.

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Urwaldsteig Edersee

41.0 mi

5,500 ft

5,525 ft

Last updated: February 5, 2023

Tours & Highlights

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Etappe 1: Von Waldeck nach Hemfurth – Urwaldsteig Edersee
02:07
4.63 mi
2.2 mph
350 ft
900 ft
Intermediate
Intermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
Your first stage on the Urwaldsteig will spoil you with spectacular views. You start in the small village of Waldeck, around 150 meters above the reservoir. From here, the path continues along the slope and leads you to numerous great vantage points. The view of the Edersee, which winds its way through…
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Etappe 2: Durch den Nationalpark nach Bringhausen – Urwaldsteig Edersee
03:26
6.99 mi
2.0 mph
1,400 ft
925 ft
Intermediate
Intermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
The second stage takes you directly into the jungle of the national park. From your starting point in Hemfurth it goes up steep serpentines to the small and large Hegekopf. There you will find natural forest paths between huge beech and spruce trees.

Note that you are entering the jungle region here…
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Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Etappe 3: Auf schmalen Waldwegen nach Kirchlotheim – Urwaldsteig Edersee
03:57
8.59 mi
2.2 mph
975 ft
1,225 ft
Intermediate
Intermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
On your third stage, you go back into the jungle of the national park. After you start in Bringhausen, the Urwaldsteig runs along the lake shore for a short distance. You pass the creek mouths of the Banfebach and the Bärenbach before heading up the slope on forest paths.

In the shade of the towering…
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Etappe 4: Am Seeufer entlang nach Asel – Urwaldsteig Edersee
03:20
7.49 mi
2.2 mph
675 ft
700 ft
Intermediate
Intermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
At the beginning of the fourth stage you cross the Eder near Herzhausen. The root of the reservoir is also located here, because from the Ederbrücke the river becomes the reservoir.

After you have left Herzhausen behind you, the jungle trail runs comfortably along the lake shore. Without having to overcome…
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Etappe 5: Über den Lindenberg nach Scheid – Urwaldsteig Edersee
03:10
6.56 mi
2.1 mph
875 ft
825 ft
Expert
Expert Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Sure-footedness, sturdy shoes and alpine experience required.
You start the fifth jungle climb stage in Asel and first walk up the Katzenberg. Here you have another gorgeous view of the sunken bridge when the water of the lake is low enough.

The hiking trail now runs along the slope to the Lindenberg, whose ridge extends far into the reservoir. At the top of the…
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Etappe 6: Unter Urwaldbäumen nach Waldeck – Urwaldsteig Edersee
04:27
9.35 mi
2.1 mph
1,550 ft
1,250 ft
Intermediate
Intermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
The last day on the Urwaldsteig will spoil you again with great views and enchanted forests. Starting from Scheid, you hike into Nieder-Werber Bay. The slope path meanders around numerous narrow valleys, which were formed here by streams.

In Nieder-Werbe you cross the Werbe, a tributary of the Eder, and…
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