Kurort Rathen : Via the Bastei to Wehlen

The hike begins at Kurort Rathen railway station. From here, it is just a short walk to the Elbe, where you can take the ferry from Niederrathen to Kurort Rathen.

On the other side of the Elbe, follow the signs to the Bastei. Halfway along the Basteiweg trail, you will come to the Malerweg trail, which you follow uphill via numerous steps. Along the way, short turnoffs always lead to the left to the Kanapee and Tiedge viewpoints.

Soon you will reach the Bastei Bridge between high rocks. It was built in 1851 from sandstone, is 76.5 metres long and replaced a wooden bridge from 1826. The view back to the rock towers is reminiscent of the views that Caspar David Friedrich sketched here – only without today's bridge. In the bridge area, an inscription commemorates Hermann Krone, who took some of Germany's earliest landscape photographs here in 1853.

At the end of the bridge, a short path branches off to the right to the Ferdinand View (Ferdinandstein). From here, you can enjoy what is probably the most famous view of the Bastei Bridge, often in rare tranquillity during the cold season.

Back at the beginning of the bridge, climb a few metres and take the steps on the left to the Bastei viewpoint. The platform was renovated in 2023 and offers a wide view over the Elbe Valley.

The path continues past the Berghotel Bastei. Behind the hotel, another short path branches off to the right to the Wehlstein viewpoint before following the Malerweg trail to the left into the forest. Here you can enjoy a leisurely walk to the Stone Table. This historic rest area with sandstone furniture was built in 1710 for an electoral hunt under Augustus the Strong.

From here, you could follow the Malerweg to Wehlen, but in winter the steep descent is sometimes icy. It is safer to descend via the Steinrückenweg and the Wehlener Grund, which leads leisurely to the town of Wehlen.

In the town, you reach the Elbe, take the ferry across and follow the signs to the right to Stadt Wehlen railway station.