Jasmund Beech Forest, June 2023

Jasmund National Park Beech Forest is situated on the homonymous peninsula on the north-eastern coast of the island of Rügen, facing the Baltic Sea. Jasmund is known for its ancient beech trees - some of these trees are estimated to be around 700 years old and reach heights of up to 40 meters - stunning natural scenery, and rich biodiversity.

What makes the landscape so extraordinarily beautiful and uniquely attractive are the famous (Caspar David Friedrich!) white chalk cliffs of Rügen, rising dramatically from the Baltic Sea, with the beech forest located on a plateau some 100-150 meters towering above, extending right to the very edge of the cliffs, with various intermittent viewing points offering breathtaking vistas of the Baltic Sea.

I took the path from the popular little seaside resort of Sassnitz to the Königsstuhl National Park Center, which runs along the edge of the cliffs from south to north. The cliffs rise up and down quite a bit, with small gorges breaking the landscape, hence the trail takes somewhat longer to walk than I originally expected. There are also some paths which cross the forest in an east-west-direction, taking you deeper into the heart of forest; however, as I was facing intermittent (and at one point forceful) rain, I did not explore further.

According to the park’s Web site Jasmund is home to a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Myself, I noticed various kinds of ferns and mosses, three dozen swans in one of the covered bays down on the coast, and a lonely deer.

While this may be a somewhat scary proposition, it may also be possible to walk along the narrow beach along the sea (defeating, admittedly, the purpose of visiting the forest itself; however, the beach is part of the UNESCO-listed area). This would certainly not be an official path, hence most likely verboten, but from what I could see it may be a feasible if certainly strenuous exercise because of the many pebbles on the beach, both large and small. Obviously, you would want to check on the tides first, and probably have some kind of waterproof equipment with you in case the beach is partly blocked by rocks. Also, during regular business hours, you would be spotted by the tourist boats crisscrossing along the cliffs, likely getting you into trouble with the park rangers.

With the stunning setting comes a very significant influx of tourists. I started early from Sassnitz, leaving at 05:30a, and getting into Königsstuhl at around 9a, but even at this hour (and it being a rainy day) I met two follow hikers. After 11a I expect the trail to be swarmed by people, certainly in and around the Königsstuhl Visitor Center with its super-famous skywalk, museum, large café, big car- and bus park, and overall Disneyesque feel. Probably best to avoid, as others here have previously noted. On the plus side, there are super-regular shuttle buses plowing the Königsstuhl-to-Sassnitz route. Sassnitz itself is well-connected to Hamburg and Berlin by very regular trains (however, no matter what kind of train you take, it takes many hours to get there as the tracks have unfortunately never been upgraded).