Altmühltal Nature Park

The Altmühl runs slowly through a valley far too wide for it, cut when the Danube took this course before shifting south, leaving dolomite crags standing above meadows and juniper slopes. The limestone here is Solnhofen plattenkalk, laid down in still lagoons in the Jurassic and splitting into flat plates that preserve fine detail; the first Archaeopteryx skeleton was found in it in 1861, and most known specimens have come from this small area. Quarries around Solnhofen and Eichstätt let visitors split slabs and keep what they find. A cycle path and canoe route follow the river the length of the park.

What you actually see

• The dolomite crags - rock towers above meadows in an oversized valley.
• The Solnhofen limestone - fine plates that preserved Archaeopteryx.
• The public quarries - sites where visitors split slabs and keep fossils.
• The river route - a cycle path and canoe run along the valley.

When to go

April to October; the quarries operate seasonally and canoe hire runs in summer. Autumn colour on the juniper slopes is good. Winter closes most facilities.

Honest expectations

Fossil finds in the visitor quarries are usually small plants, fish or insects; anything significant must be reported. The valley is long and needs a bike or car.

Nearby

Kelheim and the Danube gorge lie east; Nuremberg is north.