The tripto catalogue lists 15 national parks – from the North Sea coast to the Alps. Almost all are free to enter; you only pay for visitor centres, treetop walks and parking.
Saxon Switzerland National Park on the Elbe has about 400 km of trails among sandstone rocks, table mountains and gorges, including the Schrammsteine and the Kuhstall. Berchtesgaden National Park is Germany's only Alpine national park, with Königssee, St Bartholomew's and the Watzmann. Bavarian Forest National Park is the country's oldest; the animal enclosure and the Hans-Eisenmann-Haus are free, and the treetop walk costs €13. Jasmund National Park on Rügen, the smallest, shows white chalk cliffs and the Königsstuhl skywalk. The Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea is Germany's largest national park and a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, and Müritz National Park, with more than a hundred lakes, is the largest on land, home to white-tailed eagles and cranes.
The national parks in the catalogue are spread across many states; Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has three (Jasmund, Müritz, Western Pomerania Lagoon Area) and Bavaria two.
In practice: allow at least half a day, and several days for the Wadden Sea or Saxon Switzerland. Only go mudflat hiking with a guide and according to the tide tables. Stay on marked trails – core zones require it. The best time is May to October; in autumn, cranes gather around the Müritz.
National parks
Bad Schandau
Saxon Switzerland National Park near Bad Schandau protects one of Germany's most dramatic landscapes: sandstone towers, table mountains, deep gorges, and forests along the Elbe River. Famous sights such as the Bastei Bridge, the Schrammste…
National parks
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden National Park in the far southeast corner of Bavaria is Germany's only Alpine national park. Stretching from the emerald Königssee lake to the 8,900-foot summit of the Watzmann, it packs fjord-like scenery, high pastures, lim…
National parks
Neuschönau
Bavarian Forest National Park is Germany's oldest national park and one of the wildest woodlands in Central Europe. Stretching along the Czech border in eastern Bavaria, it protects mountain forests around the peaks of Rachel, Lusen and Fa…
National parks
Sassnitz
Jasmund National Park near Sassnitz on the island of Rügen is Germany's smallest national park and home to its most famous coastal scenery: brilliant white chalk cliffs up to 118 meters high, topped by ancient beech forests that are part o…
National parks
Tönning
The Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park is Germany's largest national park by far, covering about 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles) of tidal flats, salt marshes and sandbanks along the North Sea coast. Part of the Wadden…
National parks
Kargow
Müritz National Park in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is Germany's largest national park on land and one of the best places in the country to see wild nature without mountains or crowds. Spread out east of Lake Müritz, it is a mosaic of mo…
National parks
Bad Schandau
Saxon Switzerland National Park near Bad Schandau protects one of Germany's most dramatic landscapes: sandstone towers, table mountains, deep gorges, and forests along the Elbe River. Famous sights such as the Bastei Bridge, the Schrammste…
National parks
Sassnitz
Jasmund National Park near Sassnitz on the island of Rügen is Germany's smallest national park and home to its most famous coastal scenery: brilliant white chalk cliffs up to 118 meters high, topped by ancient beech forests that are part o…
National parks
Neuschönau
Bavarian Forest National Park is Germany's oldest national park and one of the wildest woodlands in Central Europe. Stretching along the Czech border in eastern Bavaria, it protects mountain forests around the peaks of Rachel, Lusen and Fa…
National parks
Tönning
The Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park is Germany's largest national park by far, covering about 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles) of tidal flats, salt marshes and sandbanks along the North Sea coast. Part of the Wadden…
National parks
Kargow
Müritz National Park in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is Germany's largest national park on land and one of the best places in the country to see wild nature without mountains or crowds. Spread out east of Lake Müritz, it is a mosaic of mo…
National parks
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden National Park in the far southeast corner of Bavaria is Germany's only Alpine national park. Stretching from the emerald Königssee lake to the 8,900-foot summit of the Watzmann, it packs fjord-like scenery, high pastures, lim…
National parks
Schleiden
Eifel National Park near Schleiden in western Germany is North Rhine-Westphalia's only national park and an easy nature escape from Cologne, Bonn and Aachen. Its beech forests, winding reservoirs and open uplands sit close to the Belgian b…
National parks
Unstrut-Hainich
Hainich National Park in Thuringia, between Eisenach, Mühlhausen and Bad Langensalza, protects one of the largest unmanaged deciduous forests in Germany and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its star attraction is the treetop walkwa…
National parks
Wernigerode
Harz National Park in central Germany, between Wernigerode, Bad Harzburg and the Brocken summit, is one of the country's largest forest national parks and the best place to experience real mountain wilderness in the north. Steam trains puf…
National parks
Hilscheid
Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park in southwestern Germany, spanning the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland between Trier and Idar-Oberstein, is one of the country's newest national parks. Its quiet beech and spruce forests, hillside…
National parks
Vöhl
Kellerwald-Edersee National Park in northern Hesse protects one of the last large old-growth beech forests in Central Europe, rising straight from the shores of the Edersee reservoir. Its steep slopes, gnarled oaks and quiet trails earned…
National parks
Wilhelmshaven
Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park stretches along Germany's North Sea coast from the Dutch border to Cuxhaven, taking in all seven East Frisian Islands. Its main UNESCO visitor center is in Wilhelmshaven, about an hour and a quarter fr…
National parks
Baiersbronn
Black Forest National Park at Ruhestein, on the scenic Black Forest High Road between Baden-Baden and Freudenstadt, is the first national park in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Here the dark fir and spruce forests of the northern B…
National parks
Schwedt/Oder
Lower Oder Valley National Park near Schwedt in Brandenburg, about 1.5 hours northeast of Berlin by public transportation, is Germany's only river floodplain national park. Every winter the Oder River is allowed to flood the valley, turnin…
National parks
Zingst
Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park, on Germany's Baltic Sea coast around Zingst, the Darss peninsula, Hiddensee island and western Rügen, is the largest national park in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It is famous for wind-sculpte…
No, the national parks themselves are free. Individual facilities charge, such as the treetop walk in the Bavarian Forest (€13), the Königsstuhl National Park Centre (€14) or the Multimar Wattforum (€15).
The largest is the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea, and the largest on land is Müritz National Park. The oldest is Bavarian Forest National Park.
The Wadden Sea is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. The beech forests in Jasmund and Müritz National Park (Serrahn) are part of the 'Ancient Beech Forests' World Heritage Site.
Updated: · Opening hours and prices can change — check the attraction page before you go.