The route in Germany follows the signposting "National Park Cycle Route". The route in the Czech Republic is not uniformly signposted: From Bucina, you follow cycle route 331 to Kvilda, from here you mainly head west on cycle route 33 to cycle route 2116, which you follow to cycle route 2113 to Debrnik and - via the Ferdinandsthal border crossing - back to Zwieselerwaldhaus.
Variant: The fully signposted National Park Cycle Route (109 km) leads from the Ferdinandsthal border crossing near Zwieselerwaldhaus along the route described above to Finsterau and Bucina, from there via Strážny and Stožec (Stožec-Haidmühle border crossing) to Haidmühle. If you want to make a round trip out of it (around 210 km), cycle back from Haidmühle to Stožec and from there via cycle route 33 to Kvilda. From there, cycle back to the starting point at Zwieselerwaldhaus as described above. The National Park Cycle Trail and National Park Cycle Route have some steep inclines.
Tip: The most extreme climbs between Hans-Eisenmann-Haus (Neuschönau) and the Finsterau/Bucina border crossing can be overcome with the national park bus ("Igelbus"). But not every bus takes bikes. Timetable: http://www.bayerwald-ticket.com
GPS data
You can find the GPX track for this tour in the MYBIKE Collection on komoot
Journey:
The Bavarian Forest National Park region is easy to reach by train via Plattling www.bahn.de and www.bayern-takt.de
By car via the A3 motorway to the Deggendorf motorway junction. From there, follow the "National Park" signs via Patersdorf, Regen and Zwiesel to the "Haus der Wildnis" visitor centre near Ludwigsthal. From here it is only a few kilometres to the starting point of the tour at Zwieselerwaldhaus. The "Hans-Eisenmann-Haus" visitor centre near Neuschönau can be reached via the A3 (Hengersberg/Grafenau exit) and the B 533 (Grafenau, Neuschönau).
Information:
Tourismusverband Ostbayern e.V., www.bayerischer-wald.de
Ferienland Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald, Wolfkerstr. 3, 94078 Freyung, Tel. 08551/57114, mailto:touristinfo@lra.landkreis-frg.de , http://www.bayerwald-info.de
Information about the Czech part of the cycle route can be found at http://www.czechtourism.com
Accommodation:
Hotel Scharnagl with Waldgasthof am Falkenstein, Zwieselerwaldhaus 2, 94227 Lindberg (district Zwieselerwaldhaus), Tel. 09925/262, Fax 09925/902079, http://www.waldgasthof-scharnagl.de
The primeval forest areas "Watzlikhain" and "Mittelsteighütte" are just around the corner.
Pension Koishüttlerhof, Kiesweg 23, 94556 Neuschönau, Tel. 08558/974100, http://www.koishuettlerhof.de
With adjoining horse ranch. Treetop walk and animal enclosure are within walking distance.
Guesthouse Edhof in Witzmannsberg, www.edhof.de
Hotel Arberresidenz in Bayerisch-Eisenstein, www.arberresidenz.de
Hotel Haidmühler Hof in Haidmühle, www.haidmuehler-hof.de
Bike hire and guided tours:
Krammer bike hire, Im Neubruch 24, 94556 Neuschönau, Tel. 08558/1239.
Worth seeing:
The Hans-Eisenmann-Haus Visitor Centre (Böhmstraße 35, 94556 Neuschönau) offers exciting information and changing exhibitions on the Bavarian Forest National Park, tel. 08558/96150. The Visitor Centre also has an outdoor animal enclosure and a treetop walk which are well worth seeing http://www.baumwipfelpfad.by
In the Haus zur Wildnis visitor centre (94227 Ludwigsthal), the theme of the national park is also presented in an exciting way with 3D cinema and interactive exhibitions. There is also a reconstructed Stone Age cave and a beautiful outdoor animal enclosure. Tel. 09922/50020. http://www.nationalpark-bayerischer-wald.de
For information on guided ranger tours (free of charge) in the Bavarian Forest National Park, please visit http://www.nationalpark-bayerischer-wald.de/aktuelles/veranstaltungenby telephone on 0700/00776655 (landline rate). Further guided national park tours (including cycle tours) at http://www.waldzeit.de
Tour combinations
Danube Cycle Path, Regental Cycle Path, National Park Cycle Path, Danube-Ilz Cycle Path, Adalbert Stifter Cycle Path, Munich-Prague Cycle Path,
Iron Curtain Trail
Literature / Maps:
The Bavarian Forest National Park Cycle and Mountain Bike Map, on which the National Park Cycle Route and National Park Circular Cycle Route are very well marked, is available for a nominal charge of two euros. Available from the Tourismusverband Ostbayern e.V., tel. 0941/585390, mailto:info@ostbayern-tourismus.de
On http://www.bayernbike.de you will find a route description and an elevation profile of the National Park Cycle Route (part of the National Park Cycle Circuit).
The full-length article from issue 3/2011 is available as a free PDF download.
