Elgersburg combines circular hikes to springs with trails leading to the places where Edvard Munch made sketches for his Elgersburg paintings. This gives you different options when planning your stay: you can choose a hike by distance and duration, or focus on the town’s cultural heritage.

Water Trails and Hikes

The Small Spring Hike around Elgersburg is 7 km long and takes about 2.5 hours. The Large Spring Circular Hike covers 14.5 km and offers places to stop for refreshments at three forest inns. You can compare the shorter route with the longer loop and consider whether having places to stop is important for your plans. Check in advance whether the forest inns are open if you plan to take a break there.

Elgersburg’s water trails also have a historical background: Germany’s first cold-water sanatorium was founded here in 1828. Today, a water-treading pool, a cold-water shower, and numerous bubbling springs and fountains serve as reminders of it. The springs and fountains are located along the Spring Circular Hiking Trail. This links the theme of water to the town’s history and to a specific hiking route, without implying that any spa treatment is available today.

Edvard Munch and Cultural Perspectives

The Edvard Munch Circular Hiking Trail leads to the places where Edvard Munch made sketches for his Elgersburg paintings. A guided Munch hike was scheduled for 10 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month from April to November. Check before your trip whether any dates are currently being offered. This will help you decide whether to explore the sites on your own as the theme of your hike or plan a guided tour.

The wider travel destination of Ilm-Kreis also offers cultural points of interest in other towns. In Arnstadt, the baroque doll city “Mon plaisir” is housed in the New Palace. The Thuringian Forest Creative Museum in Großbreitenbach includes the 1st German Dumpling Press Museum. Specialties of Ilm-Kreis include Thuringian dumplings, Thuringian Rostbrätel, and Thuringian Rostbratwurst. These examples add further regional perspectives to Elgersburg’s hiking and cultural themes without attributing them to the town itself.

More Trails in Ilm-Kreis

For hikers, the Goethe Hiking Trail connects landscapes of the Thuringian Forest with places where Goethe worked in Ilmenau and the surrounding area, extending as far as Stützerbach. The 135 km Panorama Trail Schwarzatal runs through the districts of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, Ilm-Kreis, Hildburghausen, and Sonneberg, connecting the Rennsteig with the castle region along the Saale. These two routes offer different regional points of interest when planning further hikes in Ilm-Kreis.

Cycling routes also offer a range of profiles. The 123 km Ilmtal Cycle Route is certified with four stars; 45 km of it runs through Ilm-Kreis. The Ilm-Rennsteig Cycle Route follows a former railway line from Ilmenau to Großbreitenbach or Neustadt am Rennsteig. It connects the Ilmtal Cycle Route with the Rennsteig Cycle Route, is almost entirely paved, and is signposted as a cycle street. This information helps you compare regional options by route type and course, while the spring hikes and Munch Circular Hiking Trail shape a stay in Elgersburg itself.

Discover more destinations: Ichtershausen, Plaue, Wachsenburggemeinde, Herschdorf, Gehlberg, Ilmenau, Behringen, Wolfsberg.

For the overview of the wider travel destination: Ilm-Kreis.