Sheep in the verdant valley heading into Nankendorf’s Schroll Brewery
This pretty little circuit packs a lot of punch into a compact trail that’s well-marked and has some varied terrain. It also gets you to three great breweries with little effort.
Breweries: 3 (Krug, Schroll, Heckel)
Length: 12.5km
Starting Point: Waischenfeld is the most logical point but Breitenlesau is also a good home base. Waischenfeld is the more scenic but it depends on your other hiking plans. The former is closer to Burg Rabenstein and the latter to the Aufseß.
Stage 1: Waischenfeld to Nankendorf (3km) takes you over the short Höhenweg with views over a lush green valley often dotted with sheep, fitting as a lamb is the logo on Nankendorf’s Schroll Brewery. That’s a great stop for a beer and snack.
Scenic Nankendorf & Schroll’s lamb logo
Stage 2: Nankendorf to Breitenlesau (4km) rises steeply out of Nankendorf before flattening out into open farmland. It’s a pleasant stroll that brings you to one of the areas big players, the Krug Brewery in Breitenlesau. Enjoy one of their many beers on tap and a hot meal in their atmospheric pub or Biergarten.
Gorgeous light along the trail & Schnitzel at Krug-Bräu
Stage 3: Breitenlesau to Waischenfeld (5.5km) is the longest section of the circuit but that’s okay, there’s always Heckel-Bräu in Waischenfeld to quench your thirst. The route is varied with some forested sections and the last bit is the same as your start. It goes along the river with nice views of Waischenfeld’s atmospheric castle tower.
Pretty Waischenfeld & my wife on the trail there
Places to stay: Krug has rooms and there are a few hotels in Waischenfeld. There are also numerous rooms/apartments in all three towns.
How to get there? This is best reached by car but there are infrequent local buses which originate in different places depending on which town you are trying to get to.
If you have any questions regarding access, please feel free to drop me a line. If you don’t feel up to doing in on your own, I’m available for guided trips into this pretty valley with timeless breweries.
Not your kind of hike? Why not have a look at the Fünf Seidla Steig?
If you’d like to find out more about beer hiking around all of Bavaria, please consider consulting my book, Beer Hiking Bavaria oder auf Deutsch: Bierwandern Bayern.
