Eifel National Park

Declared in 2004 on land that had been worked as spruce plantation, the Eifel park is not an old forest but a forest changing back into one, with beech coming up under and through the conifers. That makes it a place to look closely rather than to be impressed from a distance. The Wilder Kermeter trail is built to be usable with a wheelchair or a pushchair and still reaches proper woodland. The Rursee reservoir cuts through the middle with ferries and shoreline paths. In April the narrow valleys near Monschau fill with wild daffodils, which is rare in Germany, and the park holds dark sky certification, so on a clear moonless night the Milky Way is visible from marked observation points.

What you actually see

• The Wilder Kermeter - a barrier-free forest trail that still gets you into real woodland.
• The Rursee - a reservoir cutting through the park, with ferries and shore paths.
• April daffodils - wild narcissus filling the narrow valleys near Monschau.
• The night sky - dark sky certification and marked spots from which to use it.

When to go

Two windows stand out: April, for the daffodil valleys and the bare beech before leaf-out, and late September into October for colour and low light. Summer is green and busy at the lake. For the stars, pick a clear night around new moon and dress far warmer than the daytime temperature suggests.

Honest expectations

This is modest scenery: rounded wooded hills, no peaks, no cliffs, and a good deal of dead spruce as part of the transition. The Eifel is one of the wetter corners of the country and rain is frequent in every season. The dark sky only performs on a clear, moonless night. Car parks at the main gateways fill on fine weekends, and the Rursee ferry timetable thins outside summer.

Nearby

Monschau's timbered old town, the Rursee shoreline and the Hohes Venn moorland to the west.