Brocken from Schierke by the Eckerloch

The walk starts from the Am Winterbergtor car park in Schierke and goes up through the village to the national park house, where the paths begin. The Eckerloch path climbs beside a stream over boulders and roots, crosses the line of the Brocken Railway, passes a shelter and comes out on the Brocken road for the last stretch to the summit at 1,141 m. The way back follows the road down for a while, then leaves it for the line of the old bobsleigh run and a forest track back to Schierke.

It is 13.1 km with 520 m of ascent; allow about 4¾ hours. The grade is Moderate. The Eckerloch is steep, rocky and slow; the descent is easy, a third of the whole on tarmac.

The Brocken is the highest summit in northern Germany, a bare dome above the tree line with fog on more than 300 days a year and a climate of its own: take warm, windproof clothes at any season. From 1961 to 1989 it was a closed military zone on the inner German border.

Steam trains of the Brocken Railway run from Schierke to the top if you want to ride one way. In the national park keep to the marked paths and keep dogs on a lead. In winter the Eckerloch is under snow and ice.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.