IllustrationCome for the sandstone animals and stay to discover how volcanoes, quarry workers and woodland wildlife have shaped the Zittau Mountains.
Come for the sandstone animals and stay to discover how volcanoes, quarry workers and woodland wildlife have shaped the Zittau Mountains. Around Jonsdorf, a walk can become a search for a stone rhinoceros or lion; in Waltersdorf, children can explore the same landscape through sounds, smells and stories at the Naturparkhaus. Choose one of these villages as your starting point rather than trying to cover the whole park in a day.
The roughly 133-square-kilometre nature park occupies Saxony's southeastern corner beside the Czech border. Forested hills rise behind villages with traditional Umgebindehäuser, while the Olbersdorfer See offers an open, gentler landscape below. The 793 m Lausche is a volcanic summit with old beech woodland; the cliffs around Jonsdorf belong to a different world of sandstone passages and weathered pillars. Both are protected nature reserves within the wider inhabited park.
At the Jonsdorfer Mühlsteinbrüche, geology is easy to see. Magma intruding into older sandstone heated and hardened the surrounding rock, making it useful for millstones. The Große and Kleine Orgel are especially curious: their columns are sandstone, even though such shapes are usually associated with cooling volcanic rock. Let children compare those upright columns with the rounded animal shapes, then look for traces of the people who quarried here.
Wildlife rewards a slower pace. Pause at a public stream crossing for a possible dipper, watch the sky over open country for a red kite and examine plants beside the path. These are opportunities across the park, not a checklist promised on either walk below. Rare flowers and cliff-nesting birds are good reasons to keep to paths and give closed areas plenty of space. Don't forget to bring the Snappit nature identification app along to scan local species.
Jonsdorf’s millstone industry ran from 1580 to 1918, using sandstone altered by volcanic heat; finished stones travelled as far as England and Russia. Oybin tells an earlier story. Charles IV established an imperial residence and a Celestine monastery on the rock, and the later ruins drew Romantic painters. The Olbersdorfer See records a more recent transformation: a former lignite mine became a recreation landscape associated with the 1999 Saxon garden show. Look at these places together and the park becomes a history of how people have used very different kinds of ground.
For a first rocky walk, take the Steinzoo circuit through the Jonsdorf millstone quarries: 4.71 km from the Gebirgsbad car park back to the same car park, with about 119 m of ascent. It includes narrow paths, stone steps, the quarry smithy and animal-shaped rocks. Allow 2.5–3.5 hours with children; the enclosed Schwarzes Loch show quarry needs a guided visit. Extra viewpoints and the walk from Jonsdorf railway station add distance.
For less climbing, choose the 4.76 km Olbersdorfer See circuit from the Freizeit-OASE car park back to the same place. The route is also used by cyclists and has about 20 m of ascent. Allow 1.5–2.5 hours on foot, with time for the mining-history panels and mountain views.
For a shorter outing, pair the Waltersdorf nature exhibition with play in the nearby Naturparkgarten. Burg und Kloster Oybin is another good half-day choice: a separately ticketed medieval ruin above the village, where you should check the uphill access with the operator before setting off.
Important for autumn 2026: the Zittauer Schmalspurbahn schedules no trains from 2 to 27 November because of construction. Check the operator before travelling. Exhibition and attraction hours vary by season. Temporary forestry closures and restrictions protecting nesting birds can affect individual paths or climbing rocks; follow local signs.
The Jonsdorf quarry circuit is unsuitable for a standard pushchair or wheelchair because it uses narrow paths and stone steps. The lake circuit has much less climbing, but that alone does not establish a fully accessible surface. For a more predictable accessible visit, the Naturparkhaus has an accessible exhibition, designated parking and wheelchair toilets. Consult its detailed access information for your needs. The railway asks wheelchair passengers to book at least a day ahead; the historical Reichsbahnzug and Sachsenzug have no wheelchair carriage.
Find a rhinoceros, lion and other animal shapes among Jonsdorf’s sandstone rocks.
See the unusual sandstone columns of the Große and Kleine Orgel and traces of millstone production.
Try sound and scent stations at the Naturparkhaus, then head outside to the Naturparkgarten.
Combine a steam-train journey with the castle and monastery ruins above Oybin.
A rock-spotting walk with an industrial past. Use the Steinzoo leaflet to put names to the shapes, and pause by the quarry smithy to imagine the tools needed to cut a millstone.
Not a wheelchair or standard-pushchair route. A short distance does not remove the stairways or narrow sections.
A gentler change of scene, with a broad water surface in front of the hills. Read the panels about the former lignite mine and compare the recreation areas with quieter lakeside edges.
Less climbing than the quarry circuit, but not represented here as a certified wheelchair circuit. Ask the local tourist information which section suits your wheels and assistance needs.
Begin in the Waltersdorf exhibition and let the weather decide how long you stay in the garden. This is the easiest plan to shorten without abandoning a distant walk.
2–3 hours, editorial estimate
Walk the complete Jonsdorf Steinzoo circuit, taking breaks for the rock shapes and quarry remains. Add a meal in the village. A guided show-quarry visit or a railway connection needs its own allowance.
About 4–5 hours, editorial estimate
Follow the complete lake circuit and stop at the mining panels. Leave time to sit and compare the forested mountain skyline with the open water before returning to the same car park.
About 2–3 hours, editorial estimate
Let each child name a shape before checking the Steinzoo map. Different answers are part of the fun. Sketch the outline from the path rather than climbing onto the formation.
Try the Naturparkhaus sound and scent stations, then compare the indoor habitats with what you noticed outdoors. In fair weather, the nearby garden adds a barefoot trail, stone dice table and a stream leading to a mud-play area.
Travel to Oybin for a village-and-ruins outing, or to Jonsdorf for a walk. Check whether your chosen departure changes at Bertsdorf and leave time to reach the station after the visit.
Make the interactive exhibition the main activity when a rock walk would be uncomfortable or unsafe. The indoor displays cover local nature and people; the garden is an optional outdoor addition, and exhibition admission is separate.
Look low beside woodland paths for bilberry shrubs. Plants make a more patient photography subject than the park’s shy animals: include the leaves as well as any fruit in your picture, and leave the plants undisturbed.
Heather adds a low-growing subject to the rock-and-woodland walk. If you find it beside an open public path, photograph the whole plant and its small flowers rather than pulling a sprig for a closer look.
This is a special woodland flower to notice if it happens to be visible from your path. Its curled-back petals are memorable. Do not enter the undergrowth to search for it, and treat finding one as a bonus rather than the purpose of a walk.
At public stream crossings, pause and scan exposed stones for a dark bird with a white breast. A dipper may bob or disappear underwater. Keep your distance and avoid looking underneath bridges for nests. Presence in the park does not mean every stream is occupied.
Look up when a path emerges into open country. A deeply forked tail is a useful red-kite clue, best checked with binoculars. Watch the flight from where you are; following a bird toward trees can bring you too close to its nesting area.
A passing peregrine is an occasional reward at an open viewpoint. Scan the airspace from the public trail rather than searching ledges for birds. Cliff closures protect breeding wildlife and take priority over a photograph.
In summer, give sunny flowers at woodland edges a few quiet minutes. This large orange-and-black butterfly is easier to photograph when it settles. Let it approach naturally; do not follow it into vegetation. Its presence is recorded for the park as a whole.
Wild salamanders are elusive and mainly active at night or in wet weather. If one crosses your path, stop, leave it untouched and let it pass. The Naturparkhaus also has a captive display, which should never be recorded as a wild encounter.
Jonsdorfer Felsenstadt protects a landscape whose fractured and weathered rock creates shaded recesses and exposed faces. Watch from established paths; nesting ledges are places to leave alone.
The Lausche’s old beech woods grow on phonolite. Their woodland flora includes Martagon Lily, a useful reminder that the volcanic hills and sandstone rocks support different conditions.
Small flowing streams offer a very different setting from the Olbersdorfer See, an artificial lake in a former lignite pit. Enjoy the developed lakefront while leaving quieter margins and stream banks undisturbed.
Open ground between settlements and wooded hills is part of the nature park too. Look across it for birds in flight and photograph flowers from public paths.
The Große and Kleine Orgel demonstrate that column-like rock can form in heated sandstone beside an intrusion. Their appearance alone would be a poor reason to label them basalt.
Waltersdorf’s Naturparkgarten occupies land reclaimed after the demolition of a former textile factory. A place once devoted to manufacturing now makes room for planting and outdoor play.
Warm-season visits can combine paths, flowers and garden play. In autumn, shorten the walk as daylight falls and carry a layer for exposed viewpoints. After heavy rain, frost or snow, favour a lower-level or indoor plan over slippery rock stairways. Always check the current transport calendar.
Use the tourist information at the Naturparkhaus in Waltersdorf or in Jonsdorf to check local plans. The Naturparkhaus also has a coffee roastery and accessible toilets. Check attraction opening hours and arrange food and toilet stops around the villages rather than expecting facilities throughout the forest.
Zittau is the main gateway. The narrow-gauge railway branches at Bertsdorf for Oybin and Jonsdorf; some journeys involve a change. Consult the current rail and regional bus planners for both legs. The two measured walks begin at car parks, so railway-stop approaches are additional. There are no scheduled narrow-gauge trains from 2 to 27 November 2026 because of construction.
The Naturparkhaus is the strongest starting point for a wheelchair-based visit: review the published doorway and toilet dimensions before travelling. For outdoor plans, the regional Disway Trails resource describes individually checked routes and their difficulties. The quarry circuit described here remains unsuitable for ordinary wheeled access. Confirm the railway carriage and assistance at least a day in advance.
Each card links to a full Explore page with photos, traits, and fun facts.
Start with the big picture, then zoom in to explore individual wildlife observations around this place.
Pick your starting point
The quarry circuit begins at the Gebirgsbad car park, not at Jonsdorf station; plan the extra walk both ways if arriving by train.
Pack for steps
Grippy footwear and a small backpack are more useful than wheels in the quarry landscape. Keep children close at drops and stairways.
Bring the children’s map
Ask a tourist information office for the Steinzoo family leaflet and children’s walking map before the rock hunt.
Plan the return journey first
Check the branch and connection at Bertsdorf, plus the final train or bus, before choosing how long to walk.
Arrange the show quarry
Check Jonsdorf’s current guided-walk programme if you want to enter Schwarzes Loch; the surrounding trail is a separate visit.
Give wildlife space
Photograph from paths, leave flowers in place and never lift stones or logs to find salamanders. Respect nesting and forestry barriers.
Budget for separate visits
The nature exhibition, Oybin ruins and railway have their own admission or fares. Check parking signs rather than assuming one park ticket covers everything.
Keep an indoor option
The Naturparkhaus is a useful wet-weather destination. Check its opening day before making it the centre of your plans.
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.
View guide →
Take the discovery with you
Identify the wildlife you spot, learn as you go, and keep a collection of the adventure.
