Cycling in Germany

Cycling in Germany rewards riders who look beyond the country's reputation for cycling infrastructure and discover what its mountain terrain actually delivers. Germany is not Mallorca or the French Alps in terms of cycling tourism saturation — and that is precisely its most compelling attribute. The Bavarian Alps above Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Black Forest above Freiburg offer climbing terrain that, while operating at a lower altitude ceiling than their Austrian and Swiss neighbours, is maintained to an exceptional road standard, carries significantly less tourist traffic than the famous passes further south, and comes embedded in a regional food and accommodation culture that is deeply satisfying on its own terms.

The Bavarian Alps constitute Germany's most serious cycling region. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany's highest town at 708m and the host of the 1936 Winter Olympics, sits at the foot of the Zugspitze (2,962m) and provides direct access to the Rossfeld Panoramastrasse above Berchtesgaden, the Oberjoch Pass's 106 hairpins into Austria, the Kesselberg's 17% maximum above the Walchensee, and the Sudelfeld-Tatzelwurm circuit in the Mangfall Alps. The region borders Austria directly — Innsbruck is 50km south — making it naturally combinable with the Tyrolean passes for riders seeking greater altitude. The quality of Bavarian road surfaces is a consistent revelation to cyclists accustomed to the rougher tarmac of equivalent French or Italian mountain roads.

The Black Forest, rising from the Rhine plain's eastern edge above Freiburg, provides a completely different German cycling experience. Lower in altitude than Bavaria — Feldberg at 1,493m is the range's highest point — but distinctively atmospheric: the dense spruce and fir canopy, the inner-highland plateau connecting the summit roads, and the proximity to the French Alsace and Vosges across the Rhine create a cycling region with a cross-border dimension unique in German cycling. The Schauinsland climb from Freiburg — host of the Bergrennen Schauinsland hillclimb since 1925 — is accessible directly from the city centre for riders not wanting a car shuttle. The Black Forest's gravel potential is substantial and largely unexplored by international cycling visitors: the inner highland's forest tracks constitute some of the finest unmarked gravel riding in Central Europe.

Cycling in Germany benefits from road infrastructure that reflects the country's engineering standards: excellent surfaces, clear signage, and predictable road behaviour from other traffic. The cycling culture in both Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg is genuinely strong — not the performative café culture of Girona or Mallorca, but a substantive riding tradition rooted in the Radmarathon and touring heritage that has produced serious amateur and professional cyclists for decades. Optimal seasons for both regions run May through September, with May and September offering the best balance of conditions and solitude.