Harz: half-timbered towns and the Brocken
UNESCO mining heritage in Goslar, the Brocken view from Torfhaus, a record-breaking dam bridge and the witches’ plateau above the Bode Gorge.
- Distance
- 80 km (50 mi)
- Driving
- 1 h 06 min
- Suggested days
- 3
- Stops
- 8
- Countries
- Germany
- Updated
- August 5, 2026
At a glance: 3-day road trip of about 80 km (50 mi) with 8 stops, from Goslar to Quedlinburg. About 1 h 06 min of driving in total.
Route description
Goslar’s old town and the Rammelsberg mine above it share a UNESCO listing: spend a morning underground and an afternoon among the half-timbered guild houses and the Imperial Palace. Then take the B4 up into the Harz National Park.
At Torfhaus the forest opens onto moorland with the Brocken on the horizon; walk the boardwalks or stop at the visitor centre. Drop down to Wernigerode, whose colourful town hall and castle make it the most photogenic town in the Harz; the steam trains of the Harz narrow-gauge railway leave from here for the Brocken summit, which is closed to private cars.
Head south-east to the Rappbode Dam, where you can walk across the dam wall or brave the long suspension bridge beside it. Continue to Thale and ride the cable car or drive up to the Hexentanzplatz, then walk down through the Bode Gorge if you have a few hours.
End in Quedlinburg, a UNESCO town with more than a thousand half-timbered houses and a castle hill above the old streets. Roads in the Harz are good, but the climbs are steep for heavy motorhomes; late spring and autumn colours are the best seasons.
Stop-by-stop itinerary
In driving order. Distances are estimates between consecutive stops.
- 1Start
Goslar
Germany - 22 km
Rammelsberg Mine
HistoryGoslar, GermanyA silver and copper mine worked for more than a thousand years, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Guided tours go underground on foot or by mine train; bring a jacket.
- 316 km
Torfhaus Brocken view
ViewsAltenau, GermanyA high moorland pass on the B4 with the classic view of the Brocken, the Harz’s highest summit. Boardwalks lead into the moor and the national park visitor centre is beside the car park.
- 422 km
Wernigerode
Germany - 516 km
Rappbode Dam
OdditiesOberharz am Brocken, GermanyGermany’s highest dam wall, with one of the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridges strung beside it. The road crosses the dam crest and there are car parks at both ends.
- 612 km
Hexentanzplatz
ViewsThale, GermanyA plateau above the Bode Gorge linked to Walpurgis Night legends, reached by road or cable car from Thale. The riverside path through the gorge below is one of the finest walks in the Harz.
- 72 km
Thale
Germany - 810 km
Quedlinburg
Germany
