View of the Rhine and Linz loop from Unkel

Hiking trails & Routes

View of the Rhine and Linz loop from Unkel

Hard

4.8

(496)

1,941

hikers

View of the Rhine and Linz loop from Unkel

07:56

26.6km

800m

Hiking

Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

Last updated: September 16, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Naturpark Rhein-Westerwald

Naturpark Siebengebirge

Waypoints

Start point

Get Directions

3.94 km

Landwehr

Archaeological Site

7.36 km

Rheinsteig Trail in Naturpark Rhein-Westerwald

Highlight • Trail

The Rheinsteig is a 320 km hiking trail along the right bank of the Rhine River in Germany. It offers stunning views of forests, vineyards, and the Rhine Valley, connecting Bonn, Koblenz, and Wiesbaden through 21 scenic stages. A paradise for nature lovers and hikers! e-zpassct.com

Tip by

10.3 km

Picnic area with views of the Rhine Valley

Highlight • Viewpoint

nice place to take a break & a wonderful view included!

Translated by Google •

Tip by

10.3 km

Sonnenberg Vineyard and Old Vineyard Wall

Highlight (Segment) • Trail

Beautiful, narrow path, coming from Unkel, first at the foot of the "Sonnenberg" vineyard and shortly afterwards along an old vineyard wall...

Translated by Google •

Tip by

14.8 km

View of the Rhine Valley from the Erpeler Ley

Highlight • Viewpoint

As with many (view)points whose name contains the component „Ley“, the naming points to slate as the underlying rock.

Showing Translation

Tip by

14.9 km

View of the Rhine and Remagen from the Erpeler Ley

Highlight • Viewpoint

Willy Weis/Hildegard Funk
"... Das für den 2. August 1909 in der Presse angekündigte historische Ereignis über die erste Ankunft eines 136 Meter lenkbaren Luftschiffes mit der Typenbezeichnung LZ 5, unter dem Namen „ZU" fahrend, wurde von der hiesigen Bevölkerung volksfestartig mit viel Spannung und Spektakel aufgenommen. Die „ZU", mit ihrem Eigengewicht von 13 Tonnen und einer Nutzlast von 4,7, wurde am 31. Juli 1909 vom Bodensee nach Frankfurt gefahren, um auf der damaligen ILA (Internationalen Luftfahrtausstellung) nochmals gezeigt zu werden. Der Flug zu dem neuen Standort Köln erfolgte am 2. August durch den Erfinder, den ehemaligen Kavalleriegeneral Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin (8.7.1838-8.3.1917) selbst und führte rheinabwärts über Bingen, Koblenz und Weißenthurm. Von hier aus kämpfte sich der aus 17 Traggaszellen mit einem Gesamtvolumen von 15.100 Kubikmetern Wasserstoff gefüllte Zeppelin bei äußerst schlechtem Wetter bis zur Erpeler Ley durch, wo er jedoch machtlos gegen die Eishagelschauer und Sturmböen bis nach Andernach abgetrieben wurde. Wegen seiner maximalen Höchstgeschwindigkeit von 49 km/h konnte er gegen die widrigen Winde bis zu maximal 20 Sekundenmetern (= 72 km/h) nicht mehr anfahren. Daraufhin drehte er zum Ausgangspunkt Frankfurt ab. Weit über eine Stunde hatte der Kampf über der Sinziger und Remagener Flur um sein Vorankommen gedauert. Zeitzeugen in Kripp erkannten deutlich das Hin- und Herschlagen der umspannten aus Baumwollstoff leicht verletzlichen Außenhülle über dem Aluminiumgerippe, das jederzeit zu zerreißen drohte. Nur haarscharf entging der Luftriese einer Katastrophe, als er durch die Unbilden der Naturgewalten bis annähernd 20 Meter an die schroffe Felswand der Erpeler Ley gedrückt wurde. Die Kripper staunten nicht schlecht, als sie erstmals die gigantischen Ausmaße eines Luftschiffes sahen, und Jubel entbrannte ringsum bei den auf den Bergkuppen mit Tüchern winkenden angesammelten Menschen, als sie in den Luftriesen in Zigarrenform mit dem Surren der motorschwirrenden Propellergeräuschen wahrnahmen.
...
Die Inschrift des 2,40 Meter hohen und 100 Zentner schweren, oberhalb der ehemaligen Ludendorffbrükke stehenden Monolithen lautet: „Gedenkstein der ersten Fahrt eines lenkbaren Luftschiffes über den Rhein, Sturmfahrt SR. EXL. des Grafen von Zeppelin mit ZU am 2ten August 1909. Gewidmet von der Gemeinde Erpel. ..."
kreis-ahrweiler.de/kvar/VT/hjb1998/hjb1998.29.htm

Tip by

16.7 km

Viewpoint

17.7 km

View of the Rhine from the Rhein-Westerwald Nature Park

Highlight • Viewpoint

Everyone shines at the view

Translated by Google •

Tip by

18.6 km

View of the Rhine and Linz

Highlight • Viewpoint

Good panorama with a view of the Kripper Rheinwiesen.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

19.7 km

Burg Linz

Castle

25.6 km

Historic village center of Bruchhausen

Highlight • Historical Site

>

"The witch trial against Anna Katharina Spee from Bruchhausen became particularly well known. She was a victim of the witch hunts in 1631 in Erpel with at least 20 executions: including 18 women and two men under the witch commissioner Dr. Jan Möden. In these witch trials, Anna Katharina Spee was tortured Statements by accused women accused of pacts with the devil Among others, the accused Els Istfels said her godmother Anna Katharina Spee was a "witch".

The fate of Anna Katharina Spee is still linked to the votive image of the Sorrowful Mother Mary in the parish and pilgrimage church of St. Johann Baptist in Bruchhausen. It was donated in 1636 by the children of Anna Katharina Spee after she was burned as the witch queen of Bruchhausen. The oil painting still hangs there today. The writing in the black wooden frame gives the names of the donors, who are kneeling in front of Maria in the picture – relatively small: Johann Jakob Spee and Agnes Spee with her husband Andreas Bachem.

In 1675 Margaretha Spee (died 1676), who lived in Bruchhausen after her time in the monastery, had problems paying for the masses of her mother, who had been executed 44 years earlier. The sale of a part of the castle led to a financial settlement between Margaretha Spee and the parish church in Bruchhausen. The foundation that was subsequently established in 1675 guarantees the financing of a mass for Anna Katharina and her family every Saturday to this day."

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruchhausen_(Landkreis_Neuwied)

Translated by Google •

Tip by

26.6 km

End point

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

14.6 km

6.93 km

4.10 km

477 m

465 m

Surfaces

9.58 km

6.49 km

4.67 km

2.76 km

2.64 km

444 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (310 m)

Lowest point (60 m)

Weather

Friday 9 October

15°C

9°C

23 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 19.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

February 26, 2025,Rheinsteig Tag 3: Rheinbreitach - Linz

Today, my legs are heavy and my muscles are sore. I was glad the route was shorter.
After checking in, I strolled around Linz and went to the mouth of the Ahr River.
This was my first time in rehab and I celebrated having made it the 15 km from Bad Neuenahr (by bike).
Since then, I've been here once …

Showing Translation

October 20, 2023,🏨 Rheinsteig (16): Linz - Bad Honnef 🎟️

The Rheinsteig runs for around 320 km between Bonn and Wiesbaden. A saving of 25 meters in altitude coming from Wiesbaden doesn't matter at 10,000 meters up and 10,000 meters down (I've also read about 9,000 or 11,000) - either way: it's hard on your legs! The path is of course signposted in both directions.
The public transport connection is …

Showing Translation

April 5, 2025,Rheinsteig 03. Etappe Bad Honnef - Linz (Nord-Süd) 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️☀️🌳🥾🌸🪻

Arrived in Bad Honnef yesterday and today on the 3rd stage of the Rheinsteig in fantastic weather ☀️☀️

Showing Translation

June 6, 2022,Rheinsteig 03. Etappe Bad Honnef - Linz (Nord-Süd)

First objective for the day: Eye of God.
It goes straight into the forest and constantly up and down, which is damn hard.
At this moment we realize that the next stages will most likely continue in the same way.
Arriving at the Eye of God, we take a short break and enjoy the fantastic view. It's great hiking weather, …

Showing Translation

November 13, 2024,Rheinsteig (Süd-Nord) ✦ Etappe 19 ✦ Linz – Bad Honnef

Not only is the profile of the Rheinsteig a constant up and down, the weather is just as good at the moment. After the rays of sunshine on the last stage, today I had to make do with a mixture of light grey and dark grey, this time garnished with a little drizzle.

Showing Translation

July 6, 2024,Rheinsteig Etappe 3: Bad Honnef nach Linz

4/5 ⭐, the route mostly runs along forest and meadow paths, but is a bit monotonous at the beginning as it is mostly on wide forest paths. From the war graves memorial at the height of Bruchhausen, the route becomes more challenging and varied and leads past old vineyards, the Unkel cascade, over the Stuxhöhe to the Erpeler Lay, where …

Showing Translation

July 15, 2024,Rheinsteig Etappe 3 Linz - Bad Honnef (Süd - Nord)

In beautiful sunshine we went along the Rheinsteig from Linz am Rhein to Bad Honnef. A change of asphalt roads, wide paths through forest and meadows and narrow paths with some steep climbs made the tour very varied. Numerous rest areas invited you to linger.

Showing Translation

May 14, 2023,3. Etappe Rheinsteig von Bad Honnef nach Linz

With all the rain of the last few weeks, today was a nice day. The way to the Rheinsteig was a bit connected with search and navigation but it worked.
The paths were partly very soft and muddy and partly the water flowed along the paths, so you had to be careful not to slip.
Twice there was a tree …

Showing Translation