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Großer Feldberg

879 m

Germany

Elevation
879 m
Prominence
670 m
Difficulty
1/10
Easy walk
Best Season
Apr–Oct
Routes
1

Routes

1
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The classic walk from the end of Frankfurt's U3 line: from the Taunus information centre at Hohemark (306 m) up the Urselbach valley to the Teufelsquartier car park, then a steep path to the summit plateau, the Feldberghaus and the tower. About 570 m of ascent and roughly 7 km to the top; the official loop returns via the Sandplacken and the Celtic Heidetränk oppidum (16.7 km, 5¼ hours).

Elevation Profile

approximate line
2004006008001,0000 km2468HohemarkGroßer Feldberg
Distance
8.1 km
one way
Ascent
+580 m
start → summit
High Point
880 m
Time Up
3h 01m
DIN 33466
Time Down
2h 37m
DIN 33466 · same way back

Start at the Taunus-Informationszentrum (TIZ) and car park at Oberursel-Hohemark (306 m), the terminus of the U3 from Frankfurt. Follow the black horizontal V marking north-west up the Urselbach valley on forest roads and paths to the Teufelsquartier car park. Cross the road there, go left and take the steep path up to the summit plateau of the Großer Feldberg, with the Feldberghaus restaurant, the 1902 observation tower (fee), the old television tower, the hr transmitter mast and the Brunhildisfelsen quartzite rock on the northern edge. The Taunusklub-marked trails give about 7 km from Hohemark to the summit, with about 570 m of ascent. The terrain is wooded upland on mostly unpaved forest roads and paths; only the climb above the Teufelsquartier is steep. The official Taunus tourism loop (TIZ-Rundtour 1) descends on the black T marking to the Sandplacken pass (669 m), then follows the red dot over the Kolbenberg (684 m) and past the ring walls of the Celtic Heidetränk oppidum back to Hohemark: 16.7 km, 568 m of ascent and about 5¼ hours in total. Buses 50, 51 and 57 from the Sandplacken back to Hohemark shorten the day. A popular alternative ascent goes via the Fuchstanz saddle (662 m) between the Großer and Kleiner Feldberg and the Altkönig.

Start

Hohemark302 m

  • U3 from Frankfurt to Oberursel-Hohemark; bus 57 (Hohemark – Oberreifenberg – Feldberg – Königstein) serves the summit, and buses 50, 51 and 57 the Sandplacken.
  • Parking at the trailhead

Stages

DayStagekmm ascentm descentTime
1Hohemark → Großer Feldberg8.158063h 01m

Waypoints

  1. Station:
    Hohemark302 m
  2. Parking:
    Teufelsquartier817 m

    Cross the road here and take the steep path uphill

  3. Feature:
    Feldberghaus878 m

    Summit restaurant on the plateau (not on route line)

  4. Summit:
    Großer Feldberg879 m

Key Passages

  • Urselbach valley
  • Steep path above the Teufelsquartier car park

Equipment

0/3 packed
Footwear
Clothing

Downloads

Route confidence 70%
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Overview

The highest point of the Taunus and the whole Rhenish Massif (879 m), a quartzite plateau with an observation tower, transmitters and a restaurant, 25 km north-west of Frankfurt and reached on foot from the end of the U3 in about 7 km and 570 m of ascent.

The Großer Feldberg rises above the Rhine-Main plain north-west of Frankfurt, with the Kleiner Feldberg 1.4 km to the south-south-west and the Altkönig, with its Celtic ring walls, 2.85 km to the south-east. Its prominence is 670 m and its nearest higher ground is the Rhön, about 100 km away. The plateau is Taunus quartzite and often 5 °C or more colder than the lowlands, with about 1,000 mm of precipitation a year.

The summit is busy and built up: a 40 m observation tower of 1902 (rebuilt in 1949 after a plane crashed into it in fog in 1943), the 1937 television tower, a 116 m transmitter mast, the Feldberghaus restaurant, a falconry and a mountain-rescue post. On the northern edge stands the Brunhildisfelsen, a quartzite rock linked to the Nibelung legend and recorded as early as 1043. The Roman Limes crosses the north flank.

For walkers it is the classic day hike from Frankfurt: marked Taunusklub trails climb through beech and spruce forest from Oberursel-Hohemark, Königstein, the Sandplacken and Oberreifenberg, and the E1 and E3 long-distance paths meet on the summit. On clear days the view extends across the Rhine-Main plain to the Odenwald and Spessart.

Climbing Notes

An easy but full day walk: about 570 m of ascent and 7 km from Hohemark to the top, or 16–19 km for the usual loops, 5–6 hours. Good walking shoes are enough in summer; there are no technical difficulties, but paths are steep in places. Carry a warm layer, as the plateau is noticeably colder and windier than Frankfurt. In winter the paths can be deep in snow or icy, and poles or microspikes help. Bus 57 reaches the summit and buses serve the Sandplacken, so one-way walks are easy. The Feldberghaus and a kiosk on the summit and restaurants at the Fuchstanz and Sandplacken provide food.

History

Goethe climbed the Feldberg and wrote of the view drawing him 'ever further into the distance'. In 1786 an optical-acoustic telegraph experiment linked the summit with Frankfurt. The first summit house opened on 12 August 1860, and in 1868 the 'Bund der Feldbergläufer', today's Taunusklub, was founded here. The Feldbergfest, first held as a gymnastics festival in 1845, is the oldest mountain gymnastics festival in the German-speaking world. The observation tower dates from 1902; it burned after a Luftwaffe aircraft struck it in fog on 2 December 1943, killing 11 people, and was rebuilt by Hessischer Rundfunk in 1949. From 1935 the summit was a test site for early German television, and the Feldbergrennen car and motorcycle race ran over the Sandplacken from 1920 to 1954.

Season

Best Apr–Oct
  1. January: Good
  2. February: Good
  3. March: Good
  4. April: Best (best window)
  5. May: Best (best window)
  6. June: Best (best window)
  7. July: Best (best window)
  8. August: Best (best window)
  9. September: Best (best window)
  10. October: Best (best window)
  11. November: Good
  12. December: Good
Jan
Snow or ice on the paths in cold spells; cross-country trails groomed when snow allows
Feb
Winter conditions possible
Mar
Muddy paths
Jul
Shady forest walk; summit busy at weekends
Aug
Feldbergfest usually held in August
Oct
Autumn colours
Nov
Often foggy and wet
Dec
Snow or ice possible

Access & Permits

Fees
  • Observation tower: entry fee
  • Falconry: entry fee (summer half-year)
Rules
  • Naturpark Taunus: summit car parking is limited (spaces near the summit belong to the restaurant; public parking near the Taunusklub hostel and below the plateau on the L3024)
Getting There

Oberursel (Taunus); Königstein im Taunus

Frankfurt Airport (FRA)

  • U3 from Frankfurt to Oberursel-Hohemark (Taunus-Informationszentrum)
  • Bus 57 from Oberursel-Hohemark via Oberreifenberg and the Feldberg summit to Königstein station; buses 50, 51 and 57 serve the Sandplacken
  • Weekend and holiday shuttle bus serving car parks around the mountain
  • Car: spur road to the summit from the L3024 between the Rotes Kreuz and Sandplacken passes

Hazards

  • Weather
Researched from 5 sourcesConfidence81%UnreviewedUpdated 8 Oct 2026
Sources & Caveats
  • merged with Wikidata/OSM names
  • Natural Earth 10m point-in-polygon + 300 m border buffer; Wikidata P17 countries whose border is within 5 km
  • Elevation: the official figure is 879 m (Hessian Statistical Office); the summit-cross plaque says 879.5 m and a laser scan 880.9 m. The skeleton value of 879 m is kept.; The Taunusklub youth hostel in the tower was not confirmed as offering overnight stays to walkers, so it is not listed as a hut.; No separate ascent time for the Hohemark route is published; only loop totals.; Bus routes and the weekend shuttle come from Wikipedia and Taunus tourism; check current RMV timetables.
  • normalizeGrade of the easiest researched route
  • OSM states 879.5 m
  • Kirmse analysis gives 666 m (raw GLO-30 672 m)
  • P4552 chain
  • 99% OSM trail graph, 0% short gaps between OSM fragments, 0% DEM least-cost, 0% straight (approx)
  • elevation from copernicus_glo30