Ipf & Blasienberg Walk

By Vicky · Published Dec. 18th, 2023 · Updated Jun. 6th, 2024

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This walk up the Ipf and Blasienberg hills is a lovely stroll with fantastic views in a beautiful, hilly part of the Ries Crater.

Ipf & Blasienberg Walking Map

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Location

The Ipf & Blasienberg Walk starts from the Wanderparkplatz am Ipf. It’s just next to Keltenwelt Ipf, a collection of reconstructed Celtic buildings. The car park is 15 minutes west of Nördlingen and 30 minutes south of Dinkelsbühl.

Tips

The Nördlinger Ries Crater was formed by a meteorite impact roughly 15 million years ago. Head to the Ries Crater Museum in Nördlingen to find out more!
After this walk, head to Nördlingen or Dinkelsbühl, two cute towns on the Romantic Road. Alternatively, check out our Germany Hiking Page for more great hikes nearby.

Ipf & Blasienberg Hiking Route

Celtic hous recontruction on a walk up the Ipf hill

From the car park you can see several reconstructed buildings from Celtic times. You can wander around this area before you set off on the walk. All the signs are in German only, but you can still get the gist of what they say from the pictures. When you’re ready, head up the track towards the Ipf hill.

The Ipf

The Ipf is probably the most distinctive hill in the Ries Crater, owing to its round sides and very flat top. It’s made mainly of limestone, which is relatively harder than the rock in the rest of the crater. This means that the limestone was more resistant to erosion, so while the surrounding rock disappeared, the limestone remained and we see it now as a hill.

Take the track that heads left and begin the walk up the Ipf. You soon head into a lovely forest with large, old trees lining the path. Continue upwards and you’ll soon get to the top plateau, which is covered with grass. You’ll also see a wide, ruined wall on the ground around the edge of the plateau. Head right to walk along this.

The fortifications on the top of the Ipf Plateau were built as early as the late Bronze Age, around 1200 BC. However, the impressive wall remains that you can see today probably date from several hundred years later. Apart from the ruined wall, you can see several ditches and defensive structures.

Views of a town from the top of the Ipf on a walk in Germany

As you walk along the wall check out the great views. You can see 360 degrees, over most of the Ries Crater and the hills beyond. Once you’ve walked almost all the way around, take the small path leading down to the right. When you hit a larger path, turn left to contour along the hillside.

Walking down from the Ipf

Take the first path on the left heading downwards through the grass. Follow this path as it makes a couple of zigzags. Don’t take the path leading straight downwards, but continue around the side of the hill. There are many little paths here so it can be confusing, but you should be able to see roughly where you need to go.

View of the Ipf from Blasienberg in teh Ries crater near Nordlingen

At the bottom, near the wood, you’ll reach a little track, and then a larger track. Turn right here to walk along the bottom of the slopes. There are actually two parallel tracks here – one grassy and one paved. Walking along either one is fine.

Continue around the hill and almost back to the car park, but before you reach it take a left along another track, heading to Blasienberg hill.

Blasienberg

Walk along the tracks along the left side of Blasienberg, and then when you reach a busy signpost, turn right. This path leads up through the trees and onto the top of Blasienberg. Like the Ipf, it’s open and grassy on the top plateau, with similar great views.

Take the small path that leads left off the larger path to walk over the very top of the hill. You’ll reach a track that fades back into a path, as you continue walking along the hill. At the far end is a well-situated bench just next to a surprising swing. It’s great fun to have a swing and admire the views!

Continue down from the swing, passing the top of the little ski lift on your left. Turn right along the track at the bottom, and then right along the small road when you reach it. This lane leads straight back to the car park where you started and the end of the Ipf & Blasienberg walk.

Guidebooks to explore more of Germany

After the walk up Ipf and Blasienberg Hills, head to Nördlingen or Dinkelsbühl, two cute towns on the Romantic Road. If you’ve already seen these, visit Harburg Castle or the lovely town of Donauwörth. Alternatively, check out our Germany Hiking Page for more great hikes nearby and for walking tours of the famous Bavarian cities.