The Harz — Witches' Mountains and Half-Timbered Towns
In the Harz, a steam narrow-gauge railway takes you up the Brocken, a suspension bridge spans the Rappbode dam and you sleep in half-timbered Quedlinburg. It is a mountain range on the border of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony where everything lies close together — the drives between stops take tens of minutes rather than hours, so the motorhome stays parked most of the time and you get around on foot or by train. For families it is a rewarding mix: the children are drawn by the steam locomotive, the rock outcrops above the Bodetal and the cable cars in Thale, the adults by the half-timbered towns and the mining site of Rammelsberg. The classic season runs from spring to autumn, but the narrow-gauge railway also operates in winter and Quedlinburg in Advent is a reason to come on its own.
The route from the Czech Republic runs via Dresden and Leipzig on motorways that are comfortable for a motorhome and free of mountain sections. You reach Goslar in the afternoon, so there is still time for a first walk through the half-timbered centre before dinner. The chimes on the market square perform several times a day with moving figures — a good introduction to the whole week.
The morning belongs to the Rammelsberg mine, a UNESCO-listed mining complex where ore was extracted for more than a thousand years. From April to October it is open daily from nine to six and the last tours set off at half past four; you can choose between a ride on the mine train and a walk through the Roeder gallery. In the afternoon you return to the town for the Kaiserpfalz, the imperial palace from the 11th century, and the lanes around the church of Saints Cosmas and Damian.
The drive to Wernigerode is short and can easily be done right after breakfast. The castle stands on a spur above the town and its historicist 19th-century appearance is one of the most photographed sights in the Harz; a footpath through the woods leads up from the centre. Leave the afternoon for the half-timbered old town with its town hall, which looks as though someone had built it as a set for a fairy tale.
You cannot drive to the summit of the Brocken — beyond Schierke the Brockenstraße is closed to motor vehicles and the only ways up are the steam narrow-gauge railway, your own feet or a bike. Harzer Schmalspurbahnen trains leave from Wernigerode and from Drei Annen Hohne, from where the final and steepest stretch takes about fifty minutes. The summit station stands at 1,125 metres and is the highest of all German stations served by an ordinary adhesion railway; the weather up there tends to be considerably harsher than in the valleys, so a jacket and a hat belong in your rucksack even in July. Buy the tickets in advance; in season and at weekends they sell out.
The Rappbodetalsperre is the highest dam wall in Germany and the Titan RT pedestrian suspension bridge spans the reservoir beside it; the mesh walkway sways gently underfoot, which makes it an experience even for those who are not fond of heights. In thunderstorms and strong winds the bridge closes, so have an alternative plan ready. In the afternoon you continue to Thale, where the Hexentanzplatz rock outcrop looks straight down into the Bodetal gorge. A cable car runs up to it and a chairlift to the Rosstrappe opposite, both daily from half past nine until six in the evening.
The last morning belongs to Quedlinburg, whose old town with more than two thousand half-timbered houses from eight centuries has been on the UNESCO list since 1994. Climb the castle hill to the collegiate church of St Servatius, from where the whole town lies at your feet. After lunch you set off back; the return is the longest drive of the entire trip, so allow yourself a reserve and do not plan your arrival for late in the evening.
Up to 3.5 t: Germany has no vignette and no motorway charge for cars or motorhomes up to 3.5 tonnes, so both motorways and federal roads are free of charge. Over 3.5 t: since 1 July 2024 a toll applies to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes used for the carriage of goods, but motorhomes are exempt from it just like buses — so even a heavier A-class does not register with Toll Collect. What you do pay for are the attractions the trip is built around: a return ticket to the Brocken with Harzer Schmalspurbahnen costs 65 € for an adult and 39 € for a child aged six to fourteen, while the family HSB-Mini GruppenCard for two adults and up to three children comes to 139 € and is valid all day across the whole network. Admission to the Titan RT bridge is 7.50 € for an adult and 5 € for a child aged four to fourteen. Check the prices before you travel, as carriers and operators do adjust them.
Harz-Camp Bremer Teich, Quedlinburg-Gernrode (Bremer Dammteich 3) — a large campsite by a swimming lake, a good base for both Quedlinburg and Thale · Camping am Brocken, Elbingerode / Oberharz am Brocken (Schützenring 6) — a motorhome pitch for around 10 €, electricity charged separately; waste dump and drinking water on site · Harz Camp Goslar, Goslar (Clausthaler Straße 28) — on the edge of Goslar, motorhome pitches from 18.50 € · KlosterCamping Thale, Thale (Wendhusenstraße 3) — walking distance to the cable cars and the Bodetal, motorhomes accepted · Womopark24 Thale Harz, Thale (Kahlenbergstraße 43) — pitches for motorhomes only, with electricity and a waste dump, around 12 € a night
Overnighting outside designated places is generally not permitted in Germany and it is policed particularly strictly in the Harz National Park; the law tolerates a single night when the driver is too tired to continue, but not setting out chairs and rolling out the awning. Do not drive into the historic centres of Quedlinburg and Goslar — the lanes are narrow, cobbled and one-way in places, so you park on the designated areas on the edge of town and walk in. Campsites fill up in high season and some of them close outside it; in both cases it pays to call ahead.
The most reliable service point on the route is Camping am Brocken in Elbingerode: drinking water is available at reception and by the sanitary block, and the waste water dump is at the end of the building next to reception. In the second half of the route Womopark24 Thale Harz has a dump of its own, so you can top up and empty for the last time before moving on to Quedlinburg. Shopping is easiest in Wernigerode and Goslar, where there are large supermarkets with car parks on the edge of town.
Adria Coral XL
Six days in the Harz mean five nights on campsites and only short drives between Goslar, Wernigerode and Thale, so it pays to choose a motorhome that is comfortable to live in rather than the smallest one available. The Coral XL offers family layouts with bunk beds for the children and a rear garage for bikes, which comes in handy on the cycle paths around the Rappbode dam and for getting from the pitch into town.
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