Landmann and other cliffs

This is a beautiful and adventurous trail - and most of it is relatively rarely visited. The trail follows description #15 of the guidebook 'Vergessene Pfade - Harz' (lost trails) by Richard Goedecke. While the book and the trails are very beautiful and fuel the appetite for more hikes in the Harz, the actual trail descriptions can be vague. As you are likely to follow GPS coordinates, you will not get lost. We advise not to use the Garmin Topo map for Germany, as many smaller trails are not marked - instead use the Freizeitkarte Germany (or a similar map with the same level of detail), which is freely available through the Open Street Map website.

The trail starts at the railway station in Schierke, which you can reach, of course, by train (from Wernigerode). There is also parking for cars available for 5 Euro/day. This is a private parking belonging to the station restaurant; it is not signposted by the local authorities, who otherwise are generous with parking signs to their municipal parking lots. These lots are marginally cheaper, but you have to add the ascend to the station to your trip.

If you arrived by car you do not want to miss the spectacle of arriving and departing steam engines.

The hike begins just next to the rails, with a few steps leading into the dark forest and your first cliffy rock of the day - the Feuerstein. A sign points out that even Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited it.

Before you reach your next 'Klippe', take note of the anthill at way point 03. Some 50 years ago there seemed to be anthills wherever you set foot into a forest, but now they have become a rare occurrence.

Next stop is the Ahrentklint, which means 'eagles' rock'. It has steel ladders to the top, though the views remain modest. We now make a turn to circumvent the Erdbeerkopf (Strawberry Hill) and arrive at waypoint 07 and 08 (called the spider). We will pass this spot again later on our return. For now, we continue straight on to reach the Trudenstein, also with ladders and somewhat better views.

Passing a forest station at way point 11, we reach the Arnoldsweg (Arnold's path) at way point 13. In July 2017, there was heavy logging work going on, and the path is dug up by heavy machinery in places. It might be possible to take a shortcut between way point 13 and way point 16, following the trails indicated on the digital maps (not on some printed maps). You will miss the Arnoldsklippe, which however is not that worthwhile while the logging is going on.

From way point 16, follow the 'Treppenstieg' path. At waypoint 17 is a rock decorated with shark teeth. From the other side it's a more friendly seal.

Do not miss the turn off into the owl path at way point 18! The main trail continues straight on and peters out after a few hundred meters. Instead, turn right at waypoint 18 into what looks like a serious bushwhack. Red dots are loosely sprinkled around. Continue more or less straight at way point 19 (which is jumble of rocks, fallen trees, bush and blueberries). The red dots lead you to some steep ascent across roots and rocks to reach a sort of plateau, on which the Landmann cliff is situated. Follow the dots around the cliff - and eventually up to the top. The last meters involve some scramble (T4). There is room for two or three people on the top. There is a summit log in a tin box. While you and your party are most likelyto be alone on the Landmann, your view will go to the Brocken sumit where, on a nice weekend, up to 15,000 visitors will scramble for Bratwurst and Beer in the summit restaurants.

From the Landmann, turn back to the indistinct way point 19, and find the red dots pointing southwards. Between way point 21 and way point 22 our GPS did not record a signal and shows a straight line - do not worry but simply follow the red dots and faintly visible tracks (and the trail marked on the digital maps - but not the Garmin Topo map!).

The red-dot-path continues wild and beautiful. At way point 23, a somewhat wider path joins. You pass the Grenzklippe and eventually reach the Leistenklippe. The Leistenklippe offers the best views on that side of the Harz mountain, and is more frequently visited from the town of Schierke. The cliff is easily accessible via iron ladders.

From the Leistenklippe, we take the most straightforward path down to Schierke station. Make sure you do not miss the boardwalk - very wide and solidly built and a pleasure to hike after the bushwhack near the Landmann.

Overall, this is a moderate hike save for the scramble to the top of Landmann. More difficult is route-finding, especially around the Landmann. With our GPS tracks it should not be a problem. If you intend to take the train from Schierke back to Wernigerode, make sure you arrive before the last train has left.

It should be possible to travel the hike in 5 hours, if you don't get lost and do not spend too much time at the Landmann or other cliffs and rests..