Hike from spa town Rathen to Wehlen via the Bastei rock formation

Town of Wehlen

We start at the train station of Kurort Rathen, which is well suited for those arriving by public transport as well as for car drivers, for whom a large public parking lot is available. At the beginning of our tour we immediately experience a real rarity - the historic yaw rope ferry in the spa town of Rathen, with which we cross the Elbe. After arriving in the spa town of Rathen, we follow the signs through the small village in the direction of Amselsee and can enjoy the tranquility of this car-free zone. After a few hundred meters we can already see the boat landing stage. On the Amselsee, which was created by the dammed Grünbach, a romantic gondola tour is recommended. This is possible from April to October. After this we continue our hike and walk along the Amselgrund. Approx. 1km from the boat landing we take a turn to the left, which brings us to the Schwedenlöcher. Now we walk up 700 steps, numerous iron ladders and about 160 meters in altitude towards the Bastei. We follow the signs to the Basteiplateau. Arrived at the landmark of Saxon Switzerland, we can now enjoy the view offered to us. From numerous vantage points, a panorama opens up to us with all the large table mountains, such as the Lilienstein or the Königstein, the Schrammstein chain and the Großer Winterberg. In good weather, we can even see as far as Bohemian Switzerland and the Ore Mountains. After enjoying these views, we walk across the 76.5-meter-long Bastei Bridge, which spans the Wehlgrund, and reach Felsenburg Neurathen. In the Felsenburg Neurathen we see remains of a medieval castle complex. After the visit we walk back over the Bastei bridge and then a short distance (about 250 m) along the road before we turn left onto the tourist trail (green line and red dot). We walk for about one kilometer before we reach the Stone Table. Here we have a good opportunity to take a short rest, because the table, on which people already dined in 1710, is still there. After this short rest, we go on the Schwarzbergweg, which is also a part of the Malerweg. This leads us downhill for about 2 kilometers until we arrive in Stadt Wehlen, where we have the opportunity to order a snack or a coffee. In the last part of the tour we now only have to cross the Elbe ferry and finally take the S-Bahn from the nearby train station back to the spa town of Rathen.