Hiking trips around Berlin

Berlin is a rather green city in the sense of parks, forrests, lakes, rivers…. and thanks to the great infrastructure you can also be fairly quickly in Brandenburg to explore even more hiking trails.

I want to share a few of my highlights in and around Berlin. I have done a few hikes over the last couple of months in preparation of the “Mammutmarsch“, a 100km hike to be completed in 24h. After not having been able to participate last year, I am now looking forward to do this hike with my sister next Saturday.

66-Seen-Weg:

A 416km trail around Berlin which can be divided into day hikes as the trail regularly crosses villages which are served by train or even S-Bahn. Check out the full itinerary here (in German). I have hiked these parts of the trail so far:

Hennigsdorf-Wandlitz: About 35km trip, the first 10km are in a nice forrest setting but unfortunately on tarmac. However, the remaining 25km are just beautiful. I was particularly impressed with the Briesetal, a “flooded” part of the forrest which is really magical. Even if you are not up for a long hike, I would recommend this place. Park your car nearby and just walk around, sit down for a picnic at a hut or lunch tables and enjoy the nature. For more pictures and itinerary, please check my Komoot profile.
Trebbin – Potsdam: This was a long tour of 50km, usually this is done in 2 days. It starts in the nice city of Trebbin and quickly moves into the forrest and the first (and only) ascent to the “Löwendorfer Berg”. There you can climb up a look out and enjoy the view (if it’s not foggy as at my trip). It continues through forrests and lakes, due to the rain I didn’t take much pictures, but it was a nice hike. Make sure to have a stop in Caputh to enjoy a cake or visit the castle before continuing to Potsdam. Some pictures and the itinerary are on Komoot. (The last part between Caputh and Potsdam was not on the 66 Seen Weg but a shortcut to end at the train station).
Brieselang-Marquardt: This 25km hike has a few highlights, such as the part at the small river where you can see fishermen, but is mainly close to the highway and not well maintained. I wouldn’t recommend this part if you are not looking at completing the full trail. There are much nicer sections. The itinerary and pics are on Komoot (but don’t be fooled, I only took pics of the nice parts!)

Grunewald:

I live in Steglitz and love the Grunewald. It is huge and perfectly situated for me. It is my running area and especially while training for a half marathon I really get to see quite some parts of it. My regular running trail is from my home through Dahlem to the Grunewaldsee and around it, then back home (about 12km). This is perfect in any season and I just love running in snowy conditions! There are plenty of trails so you can easily explore yourself. There are also nice lakes to go for a swim, I especially like Krumme Lanke, but you can also go swimming at the Schlachtensee, Grunewaldsee, Teufelssee or enjoy the nice areas around the Lieper Bucht or the Wannseebad to go swimming in the Havel.

Havelhöhenweg: This is a nice trail especially in winter to get some lookouts on the Havel while hiking “above” the trail just next to the Havel. It starts at the S-Bahnhof Nikolassee and you hike up to Pichelsberg in around 15km. You can also make a stop to visit the Grunewaldturm. This leaflet with map can be helpful to find the trail and get more information (in German) or see my tour on Komoot.

Nice destinations for hiking trips:
- Grunewaldturm: The Grunewaldtower is a nice destination for a short hiking tour starting for example at “S-Bahnhof Heerstraße”. There are inside and outside restaurants and you can enjoy a beautiful view.
- Suicide cemetery: This cemetery is not easy to find, it is hidden in the middle of the Grunewald but worth a visit. You can for example visit the grave of “Nico”, Christa Päffgen (singer of “Velvet Underground”) and enjoy the peaceful location right in the middle of the forrest. Look for “Friedhof Grunewald-Forst” in Google Maps to locate it.
- Teufelsberg: The Teufelsberg is one of the most famous hills in Berlin although it is man-made from debris of the second world war. Its former US listening station on the top is famous and worth a visit, but you can also just enjoy walking around and to the other close-by hill, the Drachenberg.

South of Berlin

Potsdam-Caputh-Schwielowsee: This is a nice day hike starting at Potsdam Hauptbahnhof. The trail starts through forrest and continues around the lake “Schwielowsee”. I finished a bit earlier to take the train home but you can easily finish off the hiking tour back at Hauptbahnhof in Potsdam. My tour on Komoot was about 31km.
Sacrower See-Heilandskirche-Krampnitz: This rather short hike of 16km around the lake “Sacrower See” includes as highlights the visist of the beautiful church called “Heilandskirche” built in 1844.