The wonderful location amid the Thuringian Forest is one of the distinctive features of Suhl and many other towns in the region. Remarkable however are the numerous hiking cabins around the city. Even comparisons with the highly frequented Alps show that there are not as many hiking cabins in a limited space as there are around Suhl. The cabins are mostly run on a voluntary basis by rambling clubs. This is the reason why regular hikers visit the cabins frequently. There is no better way to get in contact with locals. The menus focus on basic cabin food, which however is hefty, lovingly arranged and tastes delicious. In addition the prices are low and the locations of the cabins are idyllic.

If you also take the restaurants into account you will see that if you don't want to snack in the open you don't need to. Meals and drinks are available everywhere. The cabins are normally open on weekends starting from 10 am., on Saturdays until 10 pm. and Sundays until 5 pm.

General description of the hiking area

Suhl lies amid the Thuringian Forest and the Thuringian Forest lies amid Suhl. Right from the town centre, the citizens' favourite mountain Domberg arises and at 675 m it is a somewhat smaller copy of the proper Thuringian mountains.

Suhl is located just below the highest elevation of the Thuringian Forest's massif, the "Großer Beerberg" (982 m) and therefore it is a perfect starting point for hiking tours. It takes a 7 km walk to reach the most famous hiking trail on the ridge of the mountains in Germany, the Rennsteig. 9 of the 10 highest mountains are just a stone's throw away, seven summits of over 900m were joined to form a Seven Peaks Trail. Even the winter sport centre Oberhof can be reached on foot on well signposted trails. Because of the altitude the region has mostly enough snow in winter. About 100 km cross-country ski trails as well as ski hiking trails, ski lifts and two challenging ski slopes can be used in winter.

The districts Goldlauter-Heidersbach and Vesser were given the title "state- approved resort town". Vesser is located in the protected UNE

SCO biosphere reserve "Oberes Vessetal". In the core zone of this biosphere reserve grows the virgin forest of the Thruringian Forest.

Theme hiking trails

You can inform yourself about theme hiking trails by taking along some flyers (mining hiking trails, token fee 25 ct) from the Tourist Information Office.