Odenwald Motorcycle Loop: Nibelungenstraße, Michelstadt and the Neckar Valley

The Odenwald is the wooded upland between Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Heidelberg and the river Main, and it is the home ground of riders from the whole Rhine-Main and Rhine-Neckar area. It is not high, with its tops at around 600 metres, but it is deeply folded, and almost every road between its valleys climbs, twists and drops again through beech and spruce forest. Between the riding there are half-timbered towns, castles above the Neckar and a lot of good country inns. This loop of about 200 kilometres from Michelstadt shows the best of it.

Planning an Odenwald trip

Michelstadt, in the Mümling valley in the middle of the forest, is the most central base, with its neighbour Erbach just down the road. Lindenfels in the west and Eberbach on the Neckar in the south are good alternatives. Two nights let you ride this loop and a second day north toward the Main.

The Odenwald sits between the A5 on the west and the A81 on the south-east, and the A67 and A3 pass close by, so it is easy to reach from anywhere in western Germany. Dutch riders come down the A61 and A67; riders from the north arrive on the A5 past Frankfurt. The Black Forest is about an hour and a half south, and many riders combine the two.

The loop

Michelstadt to Lindenfels on the B47 (about 30km). Leave Michelstadt west on the B47, the Nibelungenstraße, named after the medieval epic that is set partly in this landscape. The road climbs out of the Mümling valley over a series of wooded ridges, a mix of fast sweepers and slower bends through villages, to Lindenfels, a small town under a ruined castle with views west over the hills.

Lindenfels to the Bergstraße and back into the hills (about 40km). Carry on west to Bensheim on the Bergstraße, the old road along the foot of the hills where the Odenwald meets the Rhine plain, with vineyards and orchards on the slopes. Just north, near Reichenbach, the Felsenmeer is a hillside of tumbled granite boulders worth a short walk. Head back into the hills on the minor roads toward Fürth and the Weschnitz valley; these are typical Odenwald roads, narrow and winding, with climbs over every ridge.

South to the Neckar (about 50km). Ride south through Wald-Michelbach and the forest to Hirschhorn on the Neckar. The Neckar here runs through a deep wooded valley, and the B37 along it is a fast, flowing road. Head west to Neckarsteinach, where four castles stand above the river within a short distance of each other, then turn back east along the valley past Hirschhorn and its castle to Eberbach, a small town with a riverside old quarter.

Over the Katzenbuckel and north (about 50km). From Eberbach, climb east and north over the southern Odenwald toward the Katzenbuckel, at about 626 metres the highest point in the forest, an old volcano now covered in trees. The roads here are quieter than in the west, with long sweeping bends through the forest and open farmland on the ridges. Ride north through Mudau toward Amorbach, a baroque town on the eastern edge of the Odenwald.

Back to Michelstadt (about 30km). From Amorbach, return west over the hills to Michelstadt. Its town hall, a half-timbered building raised on wooden pillars, is one of the best known in Germany, and Erbach, a few minutes away, has a castle and a museum of carved ivory.

Weekend motorcycle bans

The Odenwald's popularity with riders has a downside: several of its best-known roads have been closed to motorcycles on weekends and public holidays because of noise and accidents. Examples have included the L3120 through the Obersensbachtal in the south, the L3108 on the upper Siegfriedstraße between Hetzbach and Kailbach, and the L3409 between Zotzenbach and the Kreidacher Höhe, which has been closed from Saturday afternoon. Rules change and new ones appear, so watch for the round "no motorcycles" sign with an extra plate giving days and times, and check with Hessen Mobil or the district offices (Odenwaldkreis, Kreis Bergstraße) before planning around a particular road. On the roads that stay open, a quiet exhaust and a steady pace through villages help keep them that way.

The roads

Surfaces are generally good, but the forest roads are narrow and often damp in the shade, with leaves and moss on the edges in autumn. Forestry and farm traffic leave mud at track entrances. Speed limits change constantly through the villages, and police checks for speed and noise are common on summer weekends. Deer cross at dawn and dusk.

When to go

April to October. Spring brings fresh beech leaves and blossom along the Bergstraße, which is one of the warmest corners of Germany; autumn colour in the forest is outstanding in October. Summer weekends are busy; weekdays are much quieter.

Riding in Germany

Motorcycles pay no motorway tolls in Germany. Limits are generally 50km/h in towns and 100km/h on country roads unless signed otherwise. See our riding in Germany page for kit rules and the low-emission zones.

A second day: Miltenberg and the Main

With a second day, ride north-east from Amorbach to Miltenberg on the Main, a town of half-timbered houses squeezed between the river and the wooded hills. From there, the roads along the Main valley lead upstream toward Wertheim, and north into the Spessart, a large, quiet forest on the far side of the river with long, sweeping roads and very little traffic. Return through the eastern Odenwald to Michelstadt, or along the Mümling valley if the light is fading. Together the two days give a good picture of the whole Odenwald, from the Rhine plain to the Main.

Where to stay

Michelstadt and Erbach are the most central bases; Lindenfels suits the west and Eberbach the Neckar. The nearest region on our site is the Black Forest, a natural next stop south, and the Swabian Alb loop is about two hours south-east. For more German roads, see the best motorcycle roads in Germany.