Heinrich Heine Trail (Ilse Valley) – Upper Ilse Falls loop from Ilsenburg (Harz)

Hiking trails & Routes

Heinrich Heine Trail (Ilse Valley) – Upper Ilse Falls loop from Ilsenburg (Harz)

Moderate

4.8

(590)

1,662

hikers

Heinrich Heine Trail (Ilse Valley) – Upper Ilse Falls loop from Ilsenburg (Harz)

04:54

15.8km

480m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: September 16, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Nationalpark Harz

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

1.06 km

Heinrich Heine Trail (Heinrich-Heine-Weg) along the River Ilse

Highlight • Trail

A beautiful valley with admirable nature - we could see dippers, brown trout and, when it rains, numerous fire salamanders. Several seating areas along the river invite you to take a break.

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1.96 km

Ilse Valley

Highlight • Gorge

The path always goes along the roaring Ilse. Very nice.

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2.14 km

Heinrich Heine Trail (Ilse Valley)

Highlight • Trail

Nature lovers should definitely prefer the hiking trail along the Ilse to the gravel road. The stony path is easy to walk when the brook splashes, surrounded by trees and rocks.

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3.24 km

Ilse Waterfalls on the Bremer Trail and Heinrich-Heine Trail

Highlight (Segment) • Waterfall

Probably the most beautiful way to the Brocken. The Ilsetal is always worth a trip, even if it doesn't go all the way to the top.

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4.48 km

Upper Ilse Falls

Highlight • Waterfall

The Ilse Falls plunge leisurely over a distance of one kilometer about 120 meters into the beautiful Ilsetal. The roaring Ilse can be heard from afar. The picturesque river has …

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8.61 km

Ferdinand's Stone

Highlight • Natural Monument

The Ferdinand stone is reminiscent of the last free-living wolf, which was killed by Count Ferdinand to Stolberg-Wernigerode and is located on Schindelstieg above Ilsenburg.

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11.9 km

Paternoster Cliff

Highlight • Natural Monument

The paternoster cliff is located about 2.8 kilometers south-southwest of the Ilsenburg core town. At the rock formation the trail leads from Ilsestein to Plessenburg

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13.0 km

Ilsestein (HWN 030)

Highlight • Viewpoint

The vantage point in the Ilsetal!
Stamp point of the Harzer hiking pin and on weekends there is also a summit beer.

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15.8 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

6.09 km

5.19 km

2.68 km

1.59 km

264 m

Surfaces

9.52 km

4.47 km

1.45 km

297 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Tuesday 6 October

19°C

7°C

-- %

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Comments

April 12, 2026,Ilsenburg (Harz): Ilsefälle - Plessenburg

Today I had arranged a cozy round with a pilgrim friend and his wife. The Ilsetal is always a dream and the two of them didn't know it yet. This route leads over very varied paths along the rushing Ilse, with more or less stones and rocks, but all easily manageable and all through wonderfully green forest. Here we were …

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September 13, 2022,Nationalpark Harz 🌲 🌲- Auf den Spuren von Heinrich Heine

Heinrich Heine wrote during his journey through the Harz Mountains: "I climbed the mountain happily. Soon a forest of sky-high firs greeted me.".... 🌲🌲
The forest no longer exists 😪. What would he write today? 🤔
Despite everything, today was another great lap and I will remain loyal to the Harz Mountains. 😍

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July 30, 2022,🌲 Ilsenburg | Empfehlenswerte Familienwanderung am Wasser entlang mit 5 Stempeln

Finally back in the Harz after a long time :)
The Ilsetal is definitely one of the most beautiful hiking trails.

stamp offices:

HWN-6, Bremen Hut
HWN-7, Plessenburg
HWN-8, stamped beech
HWN-16, Ferdinandstein
HWN-30, Ilsestein

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January 30, 2025,Heinrich Heine Weg – Ilsefälle 💧Ilsenburg NP HARZ 💛🏔️

Very nice start, even ☀️ came out briefly... .. stony stream-overflowed paths today... the second half was reduced to views 😊 well, it is what it is

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March 7, 2023,2 vs Harz 2023 - Dienstag

Stempeltour Harzer Wandernadel
THIS 030
THIS 007
THIS 016
THIS 008
THIS 006

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October 24, 2021,Kopf aus Runde Ilsenburg (HWN 6, 7,8,16,30)

Super nice round through the autumnal Ilsetal 🌞🍁🍂. Only the shingle climb down from Ferdinandsstein is currently more like a climbing and crawling course 😂

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May 22, 2022,Durchs Ilsetal zum Schindelstieg

A little surprise shortly after the start. A raccoon sleeps in a crevice. First we always walk along the Ilse. There is a lot of dead wood in the stream bed between the Lower and Upper Ilse Falls. If that doesn't backfire the next time it rains. The Bremer Hütte (HWN 6) is just behind the Oberen Ilsefall. From here …

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November 10, 2024,Von Ilsenburg HWN 6,8,16,7,30+ Sonderstempel

Hello hiking friends,

that was one of the most beautiful hikes.
It was cold and foggy at first, then blue skies and bright sunshine.

Have a cozy Sunday everyone

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