In-depth guide · CampingSpirit
Around 375 kilometres from Aachen via Monschau, the Eifel National Park and the rebuilt Ahr Valley to the Laacher See, past the Nordschleife to the Daun Maars and on to Prüm: a journey through a low mountain range that was still spitting fire a good 13,000 years ago and was hit by a flood five years ago.
The spirit of the route
The Eifel is not a range that forces itself on you. It is made up of high plateaus swept by the wind from the Hohes Venn, stream valleys with slate roofs, and round, dark eyes in the land – the maars, craters of ancient volcanic explosions that now hold water. In the morning there is mist in the hollows, in autumn the stags roar on the Dreiborn plateau, and through the sliding door you smell wet gorse and spruce resin. In the Ahr Valley you park between steep vineyards of Spätburgunder and riverbank land where construction fences still recall the night in July 2021; the winemakers are pouring again all the same. Further south the maars of the Volcanic Eifel pass by in short stages: the daily drives stay short, the walks get longer. Anyone travelling here needs no superlatives, just a rain jacket, hiking boots and a feeling for quiet landscapes with a history.
Stage-by-stage plan
1Stage 1: Aachen to Monschau (approx. 35 km)
- The drive
- From Aachen take the B258 south via Brand and Roetgen, where the road crosses the line of the Vennbahn – a narrow strip of Belgian territory in the middle of Germany. Then cross the plateau on the edge of the Hohes Venn and descend near Imgenbroich into the deeply cut Rur valley to Monschau. A well-built main road; the last descent into the town is steep and winding. Around 45 minutes’ driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Aachen Cathedral with the Carolingian Palatine Chapel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978, and the Gothic town hall on the market square.
- Monschau old town with half-timbered and slate-clad houses along the Rur, the Red House of the Scheibler cloth-making family and the castle above the town.
- Daffodil meadows in the Perlenbach and Fuhrtsbach valleys near Höfen, in bloom from mid-April to early May depending on the weather.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: In Monschau the motorhome pitch area on Biesweg lies above the old town; steps and footpaths lead down into the valley. A good kilometre up the Rur, where the Perlenbach joins it, is Camping Perlenau with electricity, sanitary facilities and waste disposal, quietly set by the stream. In Aachen itself there is a motorhome pitch area in the spa district of Burtscheid on Branderhofer Weg; check facilities and fees in advance.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Overnighting is not permitted on the hiking and Venn car parks along the B258; across the border in the Belgian Hohes Venn strict nature conservation rules apply, and parking overnight is taboo there as well. The car parks in Monschau old town are tight and full during the day – use the pitch area to stay overnight.
- Insider tip for campers
- Aachen has a low-emission zone which, as far as we know, still applies around the clock and admits only vehicles with a green sticker – foreign motorhomes included. Without a sticker, visit the cathedral by bus from a car park on the edge of the city. Do not drive a motorhome into Monschau old town: the lanes and bridges are narrow and turning round is almost impossible.
2Stage 2: Monschau to Vogelsang (Eifel National Park) (approx. 35 km)
- The drive
- Via Simmerath down to the Rursee at Rurberg, across the dam of the Obersee and through Einruhr, then uphill via Herhahn and Morsbach onto the plateau at Vogelsang above the Urftsee. Winding district and country roads, a narrow village road through Einruhr, and in places 70 or less in the national park. Just under an hour’s driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Vogelsang IP: the former Nazi Ordensburg, later a Belgian military training area, with the permanent exhibition on the history of the site and the Eifel National Park centre.
- Footpath from Vogelsang down to the Urft dam, one of the oldest dams in Germany (1905), with a view over the Urftsee.
- Dreiborn plateau: open grassland, with the stag rut in September and October in the early morning and at dusk, on the marked paths only.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Eifel-Wohnmobilpark Vogelsang right at the Vogelsang IP site: a large automated pitch area with now over 100 pitches, fresh water and service point, but as far as we know no electricity and no sanitary facilities; check-in at the machine or by ticket at the barrier. At the Rursee there are numerous campsites around Rurberg and Woffelsbach, and at the north end the Wohnmobilhafen Heimbach.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In the Eifel National Park tenting, camping, fires and also overnighting in a motorhome are prohibited; the hiking car parks are not for overnight stays and are checked. Dogs must be kept on a lead and drones stay on the ground. If you want to wake up in the national park, the legal place is Vogelsang.
- Insider tip for campers
- The roads to the Rursee are full of motorcycles and day-trippers on sunny weekends; drive during the week or early. On the Rursee, scheduled Rursee-Schifffahrt boats run between Rurberg, Woffelsbach and Schwammenauel – a trip across the lake saves you hunting for parking. Shop and refuel in Simmerath or Monschau before the national park.
3Stage 3: Vogelsang to Bad Münstereifel (approx. 45 km)
- The drive
- Down to Gemünd, along the Urft valley to Kall, across the limestone Eifel near Mechernich-Dreimühlen and on country roads north-eastwards into the Erft valley to Bad Münstereifel. Gentle hills, limestone knolls with juniper heath, little traffic. A good hour’s driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Kakushöhle near Dreimühlen: a cave system in the limestone that you can walk through, where traces of Ice Age hunters were found.
- Bad Münstereifel with its completely preserved town wall, the Werther Tor and the Erft running right through the old town – the 2021 flood did great damage here too, and the old town has now largely been restored.
- Effelsberg radio telescope a few kilometres to the south-east: one of the largest fully steerable dish antennas in the world, with a visitor pavilion and a footpath around the valley.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Wohnmobilpark at the Eifelbad of the town of Bad Münstereifel, a few minutes’ walk from the old town: 27 pitches with electricity included in the pitch fee (per the 2025 bylaw: €12.50 per day plus visitor tax), water and waste water via tokens, and a chemical toilet station. Vehicles up to 10 m in length are permitted, the length of stay is limited to seven nights, and arrival and departure are only allowed between 6 am and 10 pm.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): The car parks in Bad Münstereifel old town are heavily used during the day, partly because of the outlet centre in the old town; overnighting outside the Wohnmobilpark is not permitted. In NRW, parking vehicles in the forest and on farm tracks is generally prohibited.
- Insider tip for campers
- Charcoal grills and open fires are forbidden at the Wohnmobilpark – use a gas grill or a restaurant. Parking at the radio telescope is limited, and a radio protection zone applies: keep your phone in flight mode when you walk to the visitor pavilion.
4Stage 4: Bad Münstereifel to Ahr Valley (Altenahr – Mayschoß – Dernau) (approx. 45 km)
- The drive
- Via Effelsberg and Kirchsahr through wooded heights down to Altenahr, then on the B267 down the middle Ahr via Rech, Mayschoß and Dernau to Ahrweiler. In the valley expect narrow village roads; roadworks with traffic lights and temporary bridges are still possible in 2026. Just under an hour’s driving time, noticeably longer on weekends in the wine harvest season.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Are castle ruin above Altenahr and the view from the rock at the Teufelsloch into the loops of the Ahr.
- Rotweinwanderweg: around 35 km between Altenahr and Bad Bodendorf through the vineyards, marked with a red grape; the section Altenahr – Mayschoß – Rech – Dernau makes a good day stage.
- The Mayschoß-Altenahr winemakers’ cooperative, founded in 1868 and one of the oldest in Germany, and the ruins of Marienthal monastery between Dernau and Ahrweiler.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Several sites were set up provisionally or from scratch after the flood. The Stellplatz Mayschoß on the Ahr by the station (around 30 pitches, gravel, electricity, fresh water and service point, no WC) is, as far as we know, open all year. In Dernau there is a provisional motorhome car park on grass on Ahrweg with electricity and waste disposal, without sanitary facilities. In Ahrweiler the Reisemobilhafen am Ahrtor is close to the old town. A classic campsite, set somewhat higher up on the middle Ahr, is “Zur Burgwiese” in Mayschoß, with sanitary facilities and electricity; in September, October and on public holidays a minimum stay of two nights applies there, according to its listing. The former campsite in Altenahr-Altenburg has been closed since the flood; according to press reports, the operating licences of destroyed sites on the Ahr will not be renewed. Check before you travel – facilities and opening change with the rebuilding.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In many places the banks of the Ahr are a building site or flood retention area and are not open for overnighting; vineyard tracks are farm tracks and closed to vehicles. For good reason: after heavy rain the Ahr rises within hours – never sleep near the bank outside designated sites, and heed storm warnings via the warning apps NINA or KATWARN.
- Insider tip for campers
- The Ahrtalbahn has run again as far as Ahrbrück since mid-December 2025 and all the way through with electric trains since March 2026: leave the camper where it is, walk the Rotweinwanderweg downstream and take the train back. In October, at wine festivals and on autumn weekends, car parks and pitches fill up early. If you eat out or buy wine in the valley, you support the rebuilding directly – many businesses are still working in temporary premises.
5Stage 5: Ahrweiler to Maria Laach (Laacher See) (approx. 40 km)
- The drive
- Via Bad Neuenahr and the A61 to the Mendig junction, or on country roads via Sinzig through the Brohl valley to Niederzissen and up to the Laacher See. Motorway and well-built country roads, winding through forest towards the lake. Around 45 minutes.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Maria Laach Benedictine abbey with its Romanesque abbey church from the 12th century, monastery nursery and bookshop.
- Circular walk around the Laacher See (a good 8 km): on the east shore carbon dioxide bubbles rise from mofettes – a sign that the volcano under the lake is not extinct.
- Lavakeller and Vulkanmuseum in Mendig, where breweries once stored their beer in the cool basalt tunnels.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Camping Laacher See on the north-west shore, open seasonally, with electricity, sanitary facilities and bathing; book in high season. An alternative is the Wohnmobilstellplatz on Brauerstraße in Mendig, around four kilometres to the south-east; check opening and facilities in advance.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): The Laacher See and its shores are a nature reserve. Overnighting is not permitted on the paid barrier car parks at the abbey (motorhomes pay the higher bus tariff, exit only until midnight), and barbecuing or camping on the shore is forbidden.
- Insider tip for campers
- Between Mendig and Mayen the Vulkanpark is worth a visit, with open quarry faces such as the Wingertsbergwand, where the ash layers of the Laacher See eruption of around 13,000 years ago can be seen. Fuel and groceries are cheaper in Mendig and Mayen than at the abbey; on the A61 between Meckenheim and Koblenz expect a traffic jam on Friday afternoons.
6Stage 6: Maria Laach to Gillenfeld (Pulvermaar) via the Nürburgring and Ulmen (approx. 80 km)
- The drive
- Via Mendig to Mayen, on the B258 westwards through the High Eifel to the Nürburgring, then via Kelberg and the B257/B259 to Ulmen and on to Gillenfeld. Long straights and fast bends loved by motorcyclists – stay in the rear-view mirror. Around 1.5 hours’ driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Genovevaburg with the Eifelmuseum and the Deutsches Schieferbergwerk in Mayen.
- Nürburgring: Nürburg castle ruin above the Nordschleife, spectator areas such as Brünnchen; atmosphere on race weekends, otherwise a quieter view of the “Green Hell”. Detour to the Hohe Acht (747 m) with the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Turm, the highest point of the Eifel.
- Ulmener Maar, the youngest maar in the Eifel, with the castle ruin above it; beyond it the Pulvermaar, one of the deepest maars in Germany, almost perfectly round in the forest.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Pulvermaar Camping on the shore of the Pulvermaar near Gillenfeld, with electricity, sanitary facilities and motorhome pitches, and a bathing spot on the maar; check season dates with the operator. Around the Nürburgring, Camping am Nürburgring near Müllenbach is an alternative, but it is fully booked on race weekends.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): During major events (24-hour race, Rock am Ring, Truck Grand Prix) the parking areas around the Ring are managed and charged for, and wild parking is towed away. Outside events, overnighting on spectator and hiking car parks is not permitted. The maars are nature reserves.
- Insider tip for campers
- Check the Nürburgring event calendar before you set off: on event weekends the access roads are at times closed or overloaded, and campsites within 20 km are full. On the Eifel roads around the Ring there are speed limits and overtaking bans in places, and speed cameras are frequent.
7Stage 7: Gillenfeld to Daun via Manderscheid (approx. 50 km)
- The drive
- South into the narrow, wooded Lieser valley to Manderscheid, via the Meerfelder Maar and Bettenfeld back north and via Schalkenmehren to Daun. Winding side roads with short steep ramps, a narrow village road through Manderscheid. A good hour of pure driving, better as half a driving day and half a hiking day.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Manderscheid castles: Niederburg and Oberburg on two rock ridges above the Lieser, linked by the Lieserpfad.
- View from the viewpoint on the Mosenberg over the Meerfelder Maar, one of the largest maars in the West Eifel, half silted up and surrounded by meadows.
- Daun Maars: the Gemündener Maar with its natural outdoor pool, the Weinfelder Maar (“Totenmaar”) with its lonely church and the Doppelmaar lake near Schalkenmehren; from the Dronketurm on the Mäuseberg you can see all three.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Wohnmobilpark am Lieserbogen in Daun, around 450 m from the centre: a good 40 pitches, electricity (16 A) and water via prepaid card, waste disposal, toilets and showers; payment by card at the terminal. Near Manderscheid is Naturcamping Vulkaneifel, and at the Schalkenmehrener Maar a campsite right on the lake.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): The Daun Maars are protected; at the Gemündener and Weinfelder Maar there are day car parks, but overnighting is not allowed there. Swim only at the designated spots – the Weinfelder Maar is off limits to swimmers.
- Insider tip for campers
- Top up the prepaid card in Daun with plenty of credit straight away so the electricity does not cut out at night. The Maarmuseum in Manderscheid explains how maars form – worthwhile before a hiking day. The natural outdoor pool at the Gemündener Maar is only open for bathing in summer; the water stays cool even in August.
8Stage 8: Daun to Prüm via Gerolstein (approx. 45 km)
- The drive
- On the B421 through the Volcanic Eifel via Dockweiler to Gerolstein in the Kyll valley, then on the B410 over the heights of the Schnee-Eifel to Prüm. Wide main roads with quiet traffic, long climbs after Gerolstein. About an hour.
- Highlights & must-sees
- The Munterley dolomite rock above Gerolstein, remains of a Devonian coral reef, and the Buchenlochhöhle in the same rock face.
- Kasselburg near Pelm with its eagle and wolf park and flying displays.
- St Salvator basilica in Prüm, successor to a Benedictine abbey founded in 721, with a Baroque interior.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: In Prüm there is a municipal motorhome pitch area on the edge of town and Waldcamping Prüm a little north of the centre with electricity and sanitary facilities. In Gerolstein you stay on the municipal motorhome pitch area near the town centre or on the Campingplatz Oosbachtal in the district of Müllenborn; check facilities in advance in each case.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Around Gerolstein there are several nature and geotope reserves; the hiking car parks at the Munterley and at the Kasselburg site are not for overnight stays. In the Schnee-Eifel, parking in the forest and on forest tracks is prohibited.
- Insider tip for campers
- Gerolstein is home to the Gerolsteiner Brunnen – mineral water bubbles up at several public springs in town, so bring a canister. Prüm lies on the A60, which leads west to the Belgian border – handy for continuing into the Ardennes or Luxembourg. Fill up and empty out once more in Prüm before the border.
Camping practice & local rules
Wild camping & overnight parking
- Wild camping is prohibited in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. Where no ban is signposted, a single night in the vehicle on a public car park, to become fit to drive again, is tolerated – without awning, chairs, levelling supports or grill. That is an emergency solution, not an overnighting strategy.
- In the Eifel National Park (since 2004, around 110 km²) the park rules prohibit tenting, camping, overnighting in a motorhome, fires, drones and leaving the marked paths throughout the park; dogs must be on a lead. The maars of the Volcanic Eifel, the Laacher See and many limestone knolls are nature reserves. The NRW state forestry act and the Rhineland-Palatinate state forest act forbid driving and parking on forest and farm tracks; violations carry fines.
- In the Ahr Valley the riverbank zones are rebuilding and flood protection areas. Overnight only on designated sites – not because of the rules alone, but because heavy rain can make the Ahr swell within hours.
- Pitch density is good, and many sites are municipal and automated. Useful: park4night, Campercontact, the promobil Stellplatz guide and the websites of Eifel Tourismus and Ahrtal-Tourismus for sites that opened new or provisionally after the flood. In nearby Belgium (Hohes Venn) and in the Netherlands, free camping is likewise not permitted.
Waste disposal & supplies
- Water and waste disposal are available at almost all pitch areas, paid for depending on the place with coins, tokens (for example Bad Münstereifel) or a rechargeable card (for example Daun). Provisional sites in the Ahr Valley sometimes have no WC and limited water supply.
- Empty grey water only at floor drains and cassettes only at the chemical WC station; drains in the Ahr Valley often lead straight into the river, and wild dumping has already cost the region pitch areas.
- Tap water is drinking water; in Gerolstein and the surrounding area there are also public mineral water springs to fill up from.
- Gas: exchange cylinders (grey 5 and 11 kg cylinders) are available at petrol stations, DIY stores and some campsites; LPG filling stations are rarer in the sparsely populated Volcanic Eifel than in the Rhineland – refill tank cylinders in Aachen, Bonn or around Koblenz and Mayen.
Vehicle size & traffic rules
- Speed limits: motorhomes up to 3.5 t drive 100 km/h outside built-up areas, and on motorways the recommended speed of 130 km/h applies. Over 3.5 t up to 7.5 t the limits are 80 km/h outside built-up areas and 100 km/h on the motorway. Vehicles with trailers drive 80 km/h, with a 100 km/h approval on the motorway 100 km/h. On many Eifel roads lower limits and overtaking bans are signposted because of motorcycle accidents.
- No toll and no vignette for motorhomes; overtaking bans for lorries also apply to motorhomes over 3.5 t.
- Low-emission zone with green sticker in Aachen, as far as we know still valid; if you arrive or leave via Cologne or Bonn, the green sticker is also required there. There are no low-emission zones in the Eifel and Ahr valleys themselves. If you continue to Belgium or the Netherlands, check the low-emission zones there in advance (for example Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent).
- Situational winter tyre requirement in snow and ice (tyres with the Alpine symbol); in the Hohes Venn, on the High Eifel and in the Schnee-Eifel snow regularly lies in winter, and above 600 m there is already ice in late autumn. Loads projecting more than one metre must be marked; if a rear carrier covers lights or number plate, it needs its own.
- Alcohol limit 0.5 per mille, 0.0 for novice drivers on probation and under 21 – in the Ahr Valley, plan an overnight stay between the wine tasting and driving on. Do not pick up your phone while driving; in the radio protection zone at the Effelsberg radio telescope, phones must also stay off.
CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist
- Green low-emission sticker, ordered in good time before the trip – without it Aachen Cathedral cannot be reached by camper.
- Waterproof hiking boots with good grip: the Rotweinwanderweg runs over slippery slate, and the paths at the maars and to the Urft dam are muddy after rain.
- Binoculars for the stag rut on the Dreiborn plateau and for birds of prey over the maars.
- Warning apps NINA or KATWARN on your smartphone – in the Ahr Valley a storm warning is a reason to change pitch.
- Head torch and warm jacket for the Kakushöhle, the Buchenlochhöhle and the Lavakeller in Mendig, which are cold even in summer.
- Empty water canisters for the public mineral springs in Gerolstein.
As of 2026-09. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go.
