Rennsteig Trail — Full Route (Hörschel to Blankenstein)

The Rennsteig begins at the Rennsteig-Wegweiser marker on the edge of Horschel, a village on the Werra river reached by regional train to Eisenach followed by a short taxi or bus ride; free parking is available near the trailhead for hikers doing shorter stages by car. The full route runs 168 km along the forested ridge of the Thuringian Forest and Thuringian Slate Mountains to Blankenstein on the Saale-Orla-Bahn line, with approximately 4,000 m of cumulative elevation gain spread over gentle undulating stages rather than sharp climbs, making it accessible to fit hikers without technical scrambling experience. The tread alternates between packed forest track, gravel forestry roads, and short paved stretches through villages, with long stretches of beech and spruce shade broken by open ridge meadows near Grosser Inselsberg and Schneekopf that expose walkers to wind and sun. Waymarking follows the white 'R' symbol on a black background at every junction. Key landmarks include the Wartburg above Eisenach, the Grosse Inselsberg summit, Oberhof's biathlon stadium, the Schneekopf plateau, and the source-region villages of the Saale near Blankenstein; common turn-around or resupply points for day-hikers are Eisenach, Oberhof, and Neuhaus am Rennweg, all served by public transport. Guesthouses, pensions, and mountain huts are spaced roughly every 10-15 km along the route, so multi-day hikers can walk hut-to-hut without carrying a tent, and villages along the way have shops and bakeries for restocking water and food; open water sources are not reliably potable, so refilling at guesthouses is recommended over stream water.