Plothen Ponds – 1000 Ponds Circular Trail loop from Knau

Hiking trails & Routes

Plothen Ponds – 1000 Ponds Circular Trail loop from Knau

Moderate

4.8

(35)

hikers

Plothen Ponds – 1000 Ponds Circular Trail loop from Knau

03:44

14.3km

110m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily walkable paths. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: October 28, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Naturpark Thüringer Schiefergebirge/Obere Saale

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

3.10 km

Dörringenteich

Highlight • Lake

Countless swans, geese and ducks cavort on the pond and the adjacent meadow.

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4.12 km

Little Hasenhöhe Pond

Highlight • Lake

In the land of 1000 ponds there are also 1000 things to discover... What a beautiful landscape.

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7.25 km

View of Hausteich (Plothen Ponds)

Highlight • Lake

Watch from minute 1.00

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7.73 km

Small Ponds Near the Youth Hostel

Highlight • Lake

Small pond next to the big one with the house on stilts. A youth hostel with beautiful outdoor facilities is right next to it.

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8.17 km

New Pond

Highlight • Lake

A beautiful place where you can find peace and relaxation!

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8.63 km

Plothen Ponds

Highlight • Lake

wonderful pond landscape, unique to Thuringia
you can swim in some ponds (e.g. Hausteich)
very nice for bird watching

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8.71 km

Hausteich Lake

Highlight • Lake

A walk around the Hausteich in the Land of a Thousand Ponds is worth a trip at any time of year

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8.83 km

1000 Ponds Circular Trail

Highlight • Trail

A beautiful circular route in a charming lake landscape.

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10.3 km

Alter Teich

Lake

11.7 km

Genscherodteich

Lake

14.3 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

8.43 km

2.71 km

2.22 km

925 m

Surfaces

5.13 km

4.24 km

3.38 km

1.07 km

465 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Tuesday 3 November

7°C

2°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Expect light wind and shifting conditions.

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

May 1, 2025,1000-Teiche-Rundweg ab Plothen

A wonderful tour in the land of 1,000 ponds. Forest, plenty of water, blue skies—everything perfect.

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February 11, 2024,1000 Teiche kreuz und quer♟️🤩

A wonderful round in a magical pond landscape🥰🤩👌
Unfortunately, the bird world was not so impressed by the heavenly water and was quite sluggish, but at least due to the dreary calm on Sunday there were a few wild geese and ducks, two cranes, deer and a pair of swans per pond to admire 😊
Highly recommended and we will …

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January 12, 2024,1000 - Teiche - Rundweg bei Plothen 🌊

It was a really very relaxing day.
Lots of nature.
Lots of pond.
Very quiet.
We'll definitely come by again.
If so, maybe in spring, when everything starts to bloom 🌼 and the little chicks 🐣 hatch, or in summer ☀️, when everything is green.
There are enough hiking trails 🥾 and/or gravel bike paths 🚲. There is also no …

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January 12, 2024,1000- Teiche- Rundweg bei Plothen🌊🥾👫🥾

We took advantage of the Friday off work, got into the car and drove to Plothen 🚙 Despite the cold and cloudy weather, we had a great and relaxing day at the Plothen ponds 🌊 A really beautiful spot on earth where, at least today, it was really quiet and was relaxed! There were plenty of rest and relaxation opportunities …

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February 14, 2024,PlothenerTeiche

Beautiful round without any climbs through a huge pond area that has grown over centuries.
There is also a lot of forest.
The animal observation huts are highly recommended.

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June 12, 2022,Blick auf den See – Pfahlhaus am Hausteich Runde von Plothen

Actually a pretty relaxed round. Many beautiful pond landscapes with swans, coots and ducks. It has not been an official signposted path. At the end we got to the circular route, which is 20 km long. Therefore, at the beginning there was very rough terrain with 1.50 m high grass ... see picture 5. Therefore I would not recommend this …

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September 24, 2022,Im Land der 1000 Teiche – Fürstenteichrunde

Enjoying the nice weather in September.
I've been here many times in the past and I'm always drawn to the unique pond landscape.
Plothener pond area, also called "land of a thousand ponds", was created 900 years ago by Benedictine monks. The tradition of fish farming, which was shaped by the monks, continues to this day. It's not 1000 ponds, …

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