Hiking holidays in the Eifel: 32 Traumpfade trails from the door

Setting off without driving first

Most walking holidays begin with a drive. You have breakfast, pack your rucksack, drive twenty minutes to the car park at the trailhead and only then set off.

At the Riedener Waldsee that step falls away. The Waldseepfad starts at the car park by the lake, around 100 metres from the houses. It sounds like a small thing, and it changes the whole shape of your day: you can set off at seven, while the mist still hangs over the water, and be back by ten. Or add a short circuit in the afternoon because the weather clears unexpectedly.

On a walking holiday that counts for more than any list of facilities. Stay a week and you save yourself around two hours of driving. And the question “is it still worth setting off now?" gets a different answer when the trailhead is outside your door.

The Waldseepfad Rieden

A premium trail certified by the Deutsches Wanderinstitut, part of the Traumpfade, rated at 55 experience points.

The surface tells you more than the distance: 39 per cent unsurfaced track, 48 per cent lightly surfaced, 13 per cent asphalt. For a trail of this length that is a good ratio, and in practice it means you barely walk on tarmac.

People who underestimate this trail usually do so because of the ascent. The 464 metres are not spread evenly; they are concentrated in the climb up to the Gänsehals. Besides the car park by the lake, you can also start at the Kirmesplatz in Rieden or the walkers’ car park at the Gänsehals in Bell. Begin the circuit in Bell and the climb comes at the start rather than in the middle.

The Gänsehalsturm at the halfway point

The highlight of the circuit is the Gänsehals, a ridge of around 575 metres between Rieden and Bell. On top stands a 74-metre radio tower from 1976/77.

The figures look contradictory, but they are not: the 74 metres are the height of the whole structure. The part you can climb is the all-round viewing platform at 24 metres, reached by 108 steps. Everything above that carries the antennas.

Access is free. From the start of the frost period until Easter the tower is closed, because condensation forms ice. So do not count on it for a winter walk. On a clear day the view runs across the Eifel, the Pellenz, the Neuwieder Becken, the Siebengebirge, the Westerwald and the Hunsrück.

A second tower beside it, built in 1889 and a good nine metres high, is privately owned and not open to the public.

The short circuit around the lake

The Traumpfädchen Riedener Seeblick is the alternative for arrival day, for a morning, or for a day when the weather is uncertain.

“Easy" does not mean “flat" here. The 157 metres of ascent over five kilometres are noticeable, and the route crosses the dam wall and comes back along a lakeside path at the end. It is not suitable for pushchairs. For children who are walking on their own two feet, though, it is ideal.

What makes the Traumpfadeland special

The area is known as the Traumpfadeland Rhein-Mosel-Eifel and takes in 27 Traumpfade and 14 Traumpfädchen, 41 trails in all. The Traumpfade are full day walks; the Traumpfädchen are shorter routes of between three and seven kilometres.

The point that matters on a walking holiday: 32 of these 41 trails lie within around 25 kilometres of Rieden, and 17 of them start less than 15 kilometres away. Stay two weeks and you can walk a different trail every day, never driving more than half an hour.

In the interests of honesty: the walking quality seals are renewed every three years. For the Waldseepfad the seal ran out in November 2025, and for the Riedener Seeblick it runs out this month. We could not confirm whether both have already been recertified. That says nothing about the quality of the trails, but it does affect the words “currently certified".

The trails within a short drive

Driving distances from Rieden to each trailhead, worked out with a route planner, as at August 2026:

The Monrealer Ritterschlag was voted Germany’s finest walking trail in 2011 and leads through a half-timbered village with two ruined castles. The Vulkanpfad from Ettringen is the shortest of the Traumpfade here at 6.6 kilometres and runs over the Bellberg and the Kottenheimer Büden through old basalt quarries, shady and welcome in high summer.

Two trails you should not plan on

Both still turn up in walking tips for the area:

• Höhlen- und Schluchtensteig near Andernach-Kell: completely closed until further notice because of an acute risk of landslip.
• Booser Eifelturm: closed since October 2024 because it is at risk of collapse, and neither the tower nor the ground around it may be entered. The Traumpfädchen that ran past it has been rerouted.

Have a quick look at the trail operator’s website before every walk. In wooded country, closures for forestry work or wind-thrown trees happen regularly, especially in the winter half of the year.

What happens underfoot

One point that hardly any trail description mentions: the paths of the Osteifel run over volcanic ground, and basalt is coarser than forest floor. If you are used to soft upland paths, you will feel it in the soles of your feet on the second day.

In practice: wear boots you have broken in, with a firm sole, and do not make your first walk the longest one. If you have a dog with you, think about its paw pads in the same way.

Walking with a dog

In Rhineland-Palatinate there is no state-wide legal requirement to keep dogs on the lead in the forest. Landesforsten Rheinland-Pfalz, the state forestry service, does expressly ask you to keep dogs on the lead and to take their mess away with you.

In three situations it becomes binding:

• Breeding and rearing season from the beginning of March to the end of July: keep to the paths and keep dogs on the lead.
• Nature reserves: the Waldseepfad crosses the “Gänsehals, Schorenberg, Burgberg und Schmitzkopf" nature reserve, around 555 hectares. There you must keep to the paths.
• Hunting law: owners must stop their dog chasing game.

At the Riedener Waldsee itself, dogs are not allowed into the bathing area. Everything else on the subject is in Dog-friendly holiday home in the Eifel.

The best season for walking

May and June. Fresh green, long days, moderate temperatures. This is the time of year when you can still set off at eight in the evening.

Mid-September to the end of October. The most settled spell of weather in the year, autumn colour, empty trails. To our minds the best time here, and the view from the Gänsehals is often clearer in October than in high summer.

July and August. Warm, at times humid. Make the most of the early morning and choose shady routes such as the Vulkanpfad.

November to March. Bare trees, but long views. The Gänsehalsturm is closed during this period, and paths can be shut for forestry work or shooting, at weekends too. Barriers are there for your safety.

Where to eat along the way and afterwards

There is little on offer along the Waldseepfad, so food and drink belong in your rucksack. At the start and finish there are two places to eat:

As at August 2026. If you come back from a day walk at 15:00, it is worth knowing that the Al Lago does not open until 17:00 on weekdays. For a meal straight after your walk, the Seehütte is the more reliable address during the week.

Reaching the trailhead without a car

It can be done, but it takes planning. Bus route 820 stops at Rieden (Eifel) Waldsee, right by the car park at the lake, and connects with Mayen Ostbahnhof station, where the RB 23 and RB 38 lines call. The journey takes 20 to 25 minutes.

The limitations: from Monday to Friday the bus does not run to a clean hourly pattern, on Saturdays and Sundays only every two hours, and some journeys are RufBus services that have to be booked in advance. For a walking holiday without a car that is enough to get you here; it is not enough to reach a different trailhead every day.

After the walk

The part hotel guests do not get: your own outdoor sauna on the fenced terrace of every house. No opening hours, no booking, no shared room, no towels reserving places. After 14 kilometres and 464 metres of ascent, that is the difference between “I’ll just have a quick one" and “I’ll give it a miss".

Along with a wood-burning stove with the firewood ready beside it. Anyone who walks in autumn or winter knows what wet clothing means in a holiday flat with nowhere to dry it. Every house also has a whirlpool bath in the bathroom.

A practical detail for walkers: the terrace is fenced and has its own entrance, so boots and rucksacks never have to come through the living area.

FAQs

Who this place suits

For guests who want to set off in the morning without a car and who would rather not come back in the evening to a hotel spa with a booking list. For couples staying two weeks who walk a different trail every day. And for anyone who prefers 464 metres of ascent before breakfast to half an hour in the car afterwards.

If what you want is alpine tours, via ferratas or secured rock sections, the Osteifel is the wrong place. This is upland country: woodland, basalt, long views and trails you can walk without any mountain experience.

Your base camp: three homes at the trailhead

Both trails by the lake start around 100 metres from our three houses on the Sonnenterrasse. Susi has 82 square metres for two to four guests; Annika and Tommy each have 100 square metres for up to six, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Walk as a party of six and you will appreciate those two bathrooms in the evening. Every house has a washing machine, tumble dryer and freezer, plus an EV charging point outside the door in case you drive an electric car to the trailheads further away.

Two conditions bear directly on planning your walks: we let from three nights, and you can arrive Monday to Saturday, but not on a Sunday. The Waldseepfad and the Traumpfädchen are within walking distance; for the other 30 trails in reach you need the car, even though no drive takes longer than half an hour. From 195 euros per night, per house rather than per person. Pictures and facilities for all three houses are under Holiday Homes.