IllustrationCome to Naturpark Frankenhöhe for old fruit trees, oak woods and walks that give children something to investigate along the way.
Come to Naturpark Frankenhöhe for old fruit trees, oak woods and walks that give children something to investigate along the way. This is a large, lived-in stretch of Franconia, covering roughly 1,100 square kilometres around villages, farms and river valleys. Pick one base for the day: Burgbernheim for orchard meadows and the Bernatura exhibition, or Colmberg for forest trails beneath and beyond its hilltop castle.
Around Burgbernheim, tall fruit trees stand apart in grassland, leaving room for flowers below and birds among the branches. The town has around 30,000 orchard trees. Their crooked trunks are part of the attraction: compare a young tree with an old one, look at the different crowns and see how much more is happening here than fruit growing. These are working orchards, so keep to the paths and enjoy fruit through local products rather than assuming the trees are free to pick.
Colmberg tells another story about food and trees. Its old oak woodland survived when other woods were converted to conifers because residents wanted acorns for their pigs. Today, the Eichenwaldweg introduces that history alongside woodland management and grazing traditions. Above the town, a separate pair of shorter forest loops has firm surfaces, regular resting places and interpretive stops, making it easier to plan around limited stamina or mobility.
Wildlife rewards patient looking. Green and great spotted woodpeckers use the park's orchard trees, while black woodpeckers and stag beetles belong to its old-wood habitats. Those are possibilities across suitable parts of the park, rather than promised encounters on every path. Grazing sheep are domestic animals doing landscape-maintenance work. Ernie, the squirrel guiding the orchard trail, is a learning character; finding him on a panel is a different game from spotting a wild animal. Planning to visit? Download the Snappit app to identify the wildlife you spot in real-time.
The nature park was founded in 1974. Its character comes from long use of the land: orchard slopes, grazed grassland, managed woods and fishponds sit alongside settlements. Burgbernheim’s fruit-growing tradition reaches back to the late eighteenth century. In Colmberg, the continued value of acorns as pig feed helped preserve oak woodland now more than 200 years old. Protecting this landscape also means keeping practical uses for it, from grazing to making products from orchard fruit.
For an orchard day, start at Burgbernheim's Marktplatz and choose the approximately 4 km short Streuobsterlebnispfad or the roughly 6 km full circuit. Follow the marked route and its overview boards between fruit trees and resting places. The trail's themes include hedges, small ponds, old trees and bees. Let children choose a question to answer at the next stop, then finish at Bernatura, Marktplatz 6, for its orchard exhibition and shop with bistro. Its regular opening days are Wednesday to Sunday; check holiday arrangements before relying on it.
For a shorter forest outing, start at the signed hiking car park above Colmberg, beyond the castle towards Berndorf. The blue loop is about 1.4 km and the red loop 2.3 km. Both have interpretation and places to sit, but the red loop has a steeper maximum incline. Choose the blue circuit first if you want the gentler option. The separate 4.6 km Eichenwaldweg is a longer walking-shoe outing, with woodland interpretation and a digital discovery tour in the Frankenhöhe App. Do not assume it has the same access standard as the short loops.
Older children comfortable with a longer walk can tackle VGN Tour 186, about 11 km from Ottenhofen-Bergel station to Burgbernheim station. It links orchard slopes with the Teufelshäuschen viewpoint. The initial section is unmarked, and later sections include a steep descent and steps down from Kapellenberg. Keep the official directions handy and plan the return train before setting off.
Blossom and autumn fruit vary with the weather. Wet leaves, twigs and acorns can make the forest paths harder to use, especially with wheels; avoid woodland during strong winds. In winter, choose a shorter daylight outing and check for ice. The Langskeller beer garden is closed for the 2026 season, so do not rely on the stop shown in some walking suggestions.
For a wheelchair, rollator or pushchair, look first at Colmberg’s blue forest loop: its official board gives 1,385 m, a maximum incline of 2.6% and up to 3% crossfall. The 2,300 m red loop reaches 6% incline, also with up to 3% crossfall. The forest roads are 3.5 m wide with firm sand surfacing; weather and fallen debris still matter. Start at the upper hiking car park, not by assuming the uphill approach from Colmberg Rathaus bus stop is accessible. Accessible toilets are listed at the town hall and the information centre in town; confirm access and opening times beforehand. The orchard circuits have no equally detailed access assessment here, and the 11 km VGN walk includes steps.
Burgbernheim’s orchard landscape and approximately 4 km or 6 km discovery circuits
Colmberg’s short blue and longer red forest loops, with different gradients
Old oak woodland shaped by centuries of woodland grazing
Bernatura’s orchard exhibition and the park’s family discovery activities
The shorter loop from the upper forest car park, with woodland interpretation and resting places.
Designed for wheelchairs, rollators and pushchairs. Assess conditions and your own assistance needs; the town-centre approach is separate.
The longer alternative from the same upper forest car park.
An accessible-design route with a materially steeper section than the blue loop. Consider whether assistance is needed.
Start at Marktplatz and use the marked short version and overview boards to explore orchard topics.
Do not assume the short version is step-free or wheelchair-suitable; confirm the intended variant locally if that is essential.
The full orchard circuit from Marktplatz, with opportunities to pause at the interpretive panels and rest places.
Check the full route locally before setting out with a wheelchair or pushchair; do not assume a smooth, step-free circuit.
A separate oak-wood interpretation walk with a Frankenhöhe App discovery tour; get the route overview before starting.
Check the full route locally if you need step-free access or gentle gradients; it is separate from the adapted blue and red loops.
A separate station-to-station walk through orchard and woodland country, passing the Teufelshäuschen viewpoint and finishing via Kapellenberg in Burgbernheim.
For confident walkers; unsuitable as a step-free outing. Plan the return journey before starting.
Go straight to the upper forest car park and choose the blue circuit. Leave room for bench stops and interpretation rather than adding a second loop automatically. Resolve toilet access in town before driving up.
Begin with the short orchard circuit from Marktplatz, then return to Bernatura for the exhibition and a break. Choose a day when the centre is open; the two visits make a manageable half-day together.
Travel to Ottenhofen-Bergel, follow VGN Tour 186 and finish at Burgbernheim station. Leave the full 6 km orchard circuit for another visit: the VGN walk already includes part of that trail.
Choose three trees you can see from the trail. Compare crown shape, bark and the amount of light reaching the grass. Draw what differs, then see which trail panel helps explain it.
The Frankenhöhe App uses location-based questions and observation tasks. On the Eichenwaldweg, make one child the question-reader and another the person who checks the real trees before answering.
At a bench on the short Colmberg loops, spend a quiet minute listening before looking at the bird interpretation. Compare what each person noticed without using playback to draw wildlife closer.
The permanent exhibition gives an indoor introduction to orchard habitats and fruit growing. The library and bistro make it a useful shorter visit in poor weather; confirm the current schedule first.
Look patiently across the orchard edges from the path. The wryneck is an unobtrusive possibility among the park’s old fruit trees; enjoy the habitat even when no bird shows itself.
Pause where you can see several orchard trees without approaching their trunks. A green woodpecker may reveal itself while moving between trees; never inspect a cavity to try to find one.
Watch the trunks and branches of older fruit trees from a resting place. A glimpse of a great spotted woodpecker is a bonus; holes in trees should be left entirely undisturbed.
On a woodland walk, stop and listen before scanning the larger trees. Black woodpeckers use the park’s old woods, but this is a park-wide habitat association rather than a promised stop on a particular loop.
Old oaks make a good subject even when no stag beetle is visible. If you notice a beetle from the path, photograph it where it is; do not lift bark, disturb roots or move dead wood.
Look for meadow sage among the flowers alongside the Burgbernheim part of the longer VGN walk. Use a close view from the path rather than entering the grassland, and leave plants intact.
Stay on public routes, respect gates and grazing animals, and leave fruit, flowers, tree cavities and fallen wood undisturbed unless an owner expressly permits fruit picking. Do not follow birds towards nest holes.
The sunny gaps between tall fruit trees support grassland below. Grazing helps keep scrub from closing those gaps, which is one reason traditional land use matters to the nature park.
Colmberg’s residents valued acorn-bearing woods for their pigs. That helped the oak woodland survive nineteenth-century replacement by conifers elsewhere.
Use blossom season for comparing trees, summer for a slower woodland visit and early autumn for the connection between orchards and local food. Check the ranger calendar for the date you are visiting rather than planning around an old annual-event listing.
Burgbernheim’s orchard trail has resting places, with Bernatura’s exhibition, shop and bistro at Marktplatz 6. Colmberg’s short forest loops have benches; plan toilet stops separately in town. Do not rely on the forest car park having toilets or refreshments.
For Burgbernheim town, use the RB 81 station named Burgbernheim and continue to Marktplatz; station access is additional to the orchard-circuit distances. For Colmberg, check line 732 to Rathaus from Ansbach or Rothenburg. The forest-loop car park is uphill beyond the castle, so bus arrival does not itself solve step-free trailhead access.
Choose the blue loop if a 6% section would be a problem. The official trail board gives 3.5 m path width and resting places at roughly 350 m intervals. Neither firm sand nor the accessible designation guarantees trouble-free travel after rain or falling leaves. Ask about current surface conditions and toilet opening before setting out.
Line 732’s routing changed in 2026. Use the current VGN planner for your date and check the return journey, especially outside school-day travel times.
Langskeller is closed for the 2026 season. Bring food or choose an open town business rather than relying on that stop in an older route description.
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Start with the big picture, then zoom in to explore individual wildlife observations around this place.
Choose one base
Burgbernheim and Colmberg work best as separate relaxed outings rather than a day spent moving between trailheads.
By train
Use Burgbernheim station on RB 81 for the town and Marktplatz. Burgbernheim-Wildbad is a different station; check which one your journey uses.
Colmberg by bus
Line 732 links Ansbach and Rothenburg with Colmberg Rathaus. Routes changed in 2026; check the current VGN journey planner in both directions.
Trailhead access
The short Colmberg loops start at the forest car park above the village, signed from the main road towards the castle and Berndorf.
Pack for pauses
Bring water, a snack and binoculars. A bench break can be more rewarding than hurrying to finish a longer circuit.
Use the app beforehand
Open the Frankenhöhe App before leaving and check your chosen discovery tour. Do not depend on phone reception for the whole day.
Give wildlife room
Watch from paths, leave tree cavities and dead wood alone, and keep dogs close around grazing livestock.
Check the day’s details
Confirm indoor opening days, return transport and local trail notices. Follow temporary closures and forestry signs on site.
Recent snaps will appear here as new observations are added.
Maryland, US
You might spot White-Tailed Deer and Eastern Gray Squirrel.
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District of Columbia, US
You might spot Eastern Gray Squirrel, Duck, and House Sparrow.
View guide →
Illinois, US
You might spot American Robin, Canada Goose, and House Sparrow.
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Virginia, US
You might spot Spotted Lanternfly and Northern Cardinal.
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Take the discovery with you
Identify the wildlife you spot, learn as you go, and keep a collection of the adventure.
