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Heinrich Heine Trail (Ilse Valley) – Brocken Summit loop from Ilsenburg (Harz)

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Heinrich Heine Trail (Ilse Valley) – Brocken Summit loop from Ilsenburg (Harz)

Hard

4.7

(805)

2,930

hikers

Heinrich Heine Trail (Ilse Valley) – Brocken Summit loop from Ilsenburg (Harz)

07:31

23.9km

860m

Hiking

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

Last updated: April 22, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Nationalpark Harz

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

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1.05 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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1.99 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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3.10 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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4.34 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 already inspired Heinrich Heine, who actually writes everything about it in his Harzreise:

"It is indescribable how cheerfully, naively and gracefully the Ilse tumbles down over the adventurously formed pieces of rock, so that the water hisses wildly up here and then scuttles over the small stones again like a lively girl. Yes, Ilse is a princess who runs down the mountain laughing and blooming.”

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8.26 km

View of the Eckertalsperre

Highlight • Viewpoint

The Brocken departure is quite steep on this side and consists almost exclusively of the holey concrete slabs. That can sometimes be quite rough. In between, there are always recessed gutters made of concrete. The first one surprised me absolutely at tempo 50 - then I was completely concentrated again.

Very bumpy, but still very fast. You have to be careful. I drive a hardtail with the 26 inch tires. So you do not "bang" over everything just like that. But a great experience that I would repeat at any time.

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9.17 km

Viewpoint

10.5 km

Brocken Summit

Highlight • Summit

The highest peak in the Harz above the tree line. Certainly not the most exciting climb on a mountain bike, but still a must, simply because it's there. ;-)

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