Germany
Indian Summer: 5 colorful trips into golden October
© Stefan Körber / Adobe Stock
Where is October the goldendest and almost as spectacular as the “Indian Summer” in the USA and Canada? We have 5 excursion tips for long baths in the colorful autumn forest.
The classic “Indian Summer” like in the USA and Canada with its brightly colored foliage does not exist in this country – but Germany’s forests are known to quickly put on a colorful dress in autumn before they fall naked and bare into hibernation.
Most of us have a city forest, a park or even a lot of nature nearby – but where is the golden October in Germany actually the most spectacular? Here are 5 forest regions where you can feel like you’re in the paint box.
Kellerwald-Edersee National Park, Hesse ©Roland Abel
The Edersee is the second largest reservoir in Germany. And it is in the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park, which consists largely of old red beeches and is part of the Unesco World Heritage Site with the awkward name “Old beech forests and primeval beech forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe”. Here you can pick up a full package of “Indian Summer”: You can walk around the Edersee in a few days on the jungle trail, you are almost the whole time in the forest and with luck you will also meet little owls and fire salamanders (https://touren.edersee.com).
Hainich National Park, Thuringia © Joerg / Adobe Stock
The Hainich is a ridge in western Thuringia and the largest contiguous deciduous forest area in Germany. Protected by a military restricted area, beech forests have been able to develop here for decades, which, like the Kellerwald, are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here you can get very close to the colorful foliage on Germany’s highest treetop path or bathe extensively in the forest on the numerous circular and long-distance hiking trails (www.nationalpark-hainich.de).
Swabian Alb, Baden-Württemberg © Christian Pedant / Adobe Stock
When the deciduous forests change color on the steep slopes, the Swabian Jura is even more beautiful than usual. Especially from above: From Hohenneuffen Castle, from the Breitenstein or from the Reußenstein castle ruins, you can experience the blaze of color of the deciduous forests on the Albtrauf in combination with the Jura rocks and meadow orchards (www.schwaebischealb.de).
Bavarian Forest, Bavaria © Thilo Wagner / Adobe Stock
Founded in 1970, the Bavarian Forest is Germany’s first national park. Since then, the forest has been able to develop unaffected by forestry. In the higher areas, mostly spruce trees, there are many beeches on the slopes, which provide a color contrast to the dark green of the conifers. A widely ramified network of hiking trails runs through the old forests, leads to streams, gorges and around 70 peaks (the Großer Arber is the highest at 1456 metres). If that’s not enough for you, you can go on cross-border hikes in the bordering Czech Bohemian Forest (www.bayerischer-wald.de).
Spreewald, Brandenburg © Johann Pavelka / Adobe Stock
Floating through the widely branched canals in a punt or canoe while the foliage forms a colorful tunnel overhead is pure pleasure. Autumn is colorful everywhere in the Spreewald Biosphere Reserve, which is criss-crossed by Spree branches and canals. The 250-kilometer-long cucumber cycle path is also a great way to indulge in the riot of colors (https://www.spreewald.de).