Ilm District: Winter Trails, Culture and Cycling
Accommodation in Ilm District
For a winter trip to the Ilm District, the Rennsteig region offers a specific point of reference: it has groomed cross-country trails and ski touring routes. If you would like to include cross-country skiing or ski touring in your holiday plans, you can take these options into account when choosing where to stay. They should be distinguished from alpine ski slopes and lift facilities. The district’s other landscape, hiking, cycling and cultural destinations also give it a distinctive character.
Winter Landscapes and Mountain Ranges
At elevations of over 900 metres, the Rennsteig region in the Ilm District is one of the highland areas of the Thuringian Forest. The Rennsteig shapes the landscape and crosses the Ilm District from Oberhof towards Masserberg. For your planning, it is worth focusing on your specific interests: cross-country skiing and ski touring are the winter sports mentioned here; hiking trails, museums and cycling routes add to the choice at other times of year.
The Lange Berg is a distinctive ridge. It is 808 metres high, seven kilometres long and about two kilometres wide. As a watershed, it separates the catchment areas of the Ilm to the west and the Saale to the east. These details help you place the landscape between the towns without mistaking the ridge for a ski resort. The Reinsberge also offer a distinctive landscape: the hiking area on the 600-metre-high Muschelkalk rock offers views across the foothills of the Thuringian Forest. In good visibility, the panoramic view from the 861-metre-high Kickelhahn, the local mountain of Ilmenau, extends as far as the Harz Mountains.
Hiking Trails with Different Highlights
The Goethe Hiking Trail connects landscapes of the Thuringian Forest with places where Goethe worked in Ilmenau and the surrounding area, as far as StĂĽtzerbach. If you are interested in a longer route, the 21-kilometre Pilzsteig is clearly described: it leads from Gehren via the Lange Berg to the European Mushroom Park in Gillersdorf, then continues through the Reicheltal valley to Neustadt am Rennsteig. The stated distances and routes can help with planning a day out; by themselves, they do not indicate walking time or difficulty.
A shorter example is the two-kilometre Kleinbreitenbach Art Trail. Works of art adorn the Romanesque fortified church, the cemetery, the church square, the village and the path at the edge of the village. This makes it possible to combine a walk with visits to a range of art locations. In Geraberg, the Climate Trail is about 6.5 kilometres long and is designed as an educational trail with more than 20 information panels. It explains natural phenomena related to weather and climate in an accessible way grounded in scientific research.
Cycling Routes and Route Selection
There are also several mapped routes for a cycling trip. The Ilmtal Cycle Route is 123 kilometres long, 45 kilometres of which run through the Ilm District; it is certified with four stars. The Ilm-Rennsteig Cycle Route follows a former railway line and leads from Ilmenau to GroĂźbreitenbach 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.
The 54-kilometre Bach Cycle Experience Route passes through towns and landscapes in the districts of Gotha and Ilm that shaped Johann Sebastian Bach’s childhood and youth. Another option is the Forest Edge Route: between Pennewitz and Frankenhain, it includes a 32-kilometre section within the Ilm District. Eleven construction phases were completed there between 2016 and 2024. The routes vary in length and course, making it easier to choose one that suits your interests.
Culture, Places to Visit and Regional Cuisine
The cultural offering ranges from unusual collections to historic sites. The baroque doll city Mon plaisir is located in the New Palace in Arnstadt. In Großbreitenbach, the Thuringian Forest Creative Museum includes Germany’s first Dumpling Press Museum. Other museums and places to visit mentioned here include the Bunker Museum in Frauenwald, the Rennsteig Museum in Neustadt am Rennsteig, the Thermometer Museum in Geraberg and the Dwarf Museum in Gräfenroda.
In Gehren, the castle ruins and park also serve as a cultural venue, including for the large Schlosspark festival in August. The Town and Castle Museum presents the history of the princely house and the castle. Other places to visit include the Volle Rose show mine in Langewiesen and the ostrich farm in Kleinhettstedt. Families with children may also be interested in the Dwarf Trail in Frauenwald: this four-kilometre trail for children starts and ends at the Frauenwald Tourist Information Office.
Specialities mentioned in the Ilm District include Thuringian dumplings, Thuringian Rostbrätel and Thuringian Rostbratwurst. Germany’s first Bratwurst Museum is located in the Holzhausen district. Together with the Dumpling Press Museum in Großbreitenbach, it offers a distinctive way to explore regional food culture.
If you would like to consider a particular place as your base, find more information about Gehlberg, Stützerbach, Frankenhain, Bücheloh, Elgersburg, Gehren, Gräfenroda, Großbreitenbach, Neustadt am Rennsteig, Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig, Altenfeld, Geraberg, Herschdorf, Friedersdorf, Geschwenda, Ilmenau and Frauenwald.
For the wider travel overview: Thuringia.
