Especially in winter the German Erz Mountains are a great travel destination for all the family as they offer great winter sports facilities.

Oberwiesenthal is the alpine centre of the Erz Mountains and there you can go downhill skiing and snowboarding. The bobsled in Altenberg is one of the most modern in the world and therefore world famous and the right destination for curling-fans would be Geising. If you want to go cross-country skiing the Kammloipe ski run between Johanngeorgenstadt and Schöneck will certainly be your number one. But there are many other cross-country ski runs everywhere in the Erz Mountains.

Erz Mountains ©ohaoha/flickr.com

Oberwiesenthal close to the Czech border has the highest peaks of the Erz Mountains, the Fichtelberg (1215 m) and the Czech Klinovec (1244 m). Oberwiesenthal not only is a spa town but Germany’s highest town. Besides skiing, snowing and cross country-skiing you can also go hiking in the nature reserves and forests in the area.

Altenburg offers not only the famous bobsleds but also more than 30 kilometres of cross-country ski runs, over 30 kilometres of ski-hiking trails and of course downhill-pistes.

Johanngeorgenstadt was founded in 1654 by the elector Johann Georg I and was famous for its silver, tin and iron-mining. From 1960 on it became a centre of tourism with cross-country ski runs as well as downhill pistes.
Of course the Erz Mountains also offer a great variety of accommodation matching everybody’s taste.

There are some really beautiful ski resorts in Bavaria, Germany. The most famous probably is the ski-region of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The town held the Olympic winter games in 1930 and here the downhill races on the famous Kandahar course take place. Garmisch-Partenkirchen can easily be reached by car or train from Munich.

Also easy to reach from Munich by car or train is the small Bavarian village of Oberammergau. Here you find cross-country ski runs; you can go hiking or visit famous Linderhof Castle.  Oberammergau also is Germany’s Passion play village.

Oberstdorf as well as Garmisch-Partenkirchen is one of the top ski resorts of the German Alps. And as well as Garmisch-Partenkirchen it is also famous for its ski jumping competitions. Oberstdorf is located between Munich and Lake Constance and can also easily be reached from Stuttgart.

Skiing in Germany doesn’t always mean you will have to do it in the Alps. There are beautiful ski resorts in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) too.

There is the ski-region Haldenköpfle on the Schauinsland the local mountain near the beautiful town of Freiburg with its famous minster. This is a ski-region especially for families, and also suited for snowboarders.

The ski-region of the Feldberg is probably the most famous of the Black Forest here you find 50 km of downhill pistes, 15 km for beginners, 20 km intermediate and 15 km advanced.  You also find 45 km of cross-country ski runs and for those visitors who don’t fancy skiing there are also toboggan runs. You can of course go hiking as well.

Another beautiful ski-region is in Todtnau. 28 km of downhill pistes, 5 km for beginners, 18 km intermediate, 5 km advanced. The cross-country ski runs have a length of 60 km and there are about 70 km of hiking trails.

After your day out skiing you can enjoy the typical food specialties of the region like Black Forest gateau or Black Forest style smoked ham. And the Black Forest also is the home of the famous cuckoo clocks. And in the carnival season you might be able to see the witches, devils and carnival fools in their traditional costumes.