It’s not every day that a thru-hiker gets to test a new trail, especially one that is 2,171 miles long and passes through six countries. But that’s exactly what Lauren Roerick, a Canadian long-distance backpacker, signed up to do in April 2026. She was excited, she says, by “the concept of backpacking and long-distance slow travel as a way to explore lesser-known regions of Europe.”
The new Wolf Trail stretches from the shores of the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic coast, beginning on Poland’s Hel Peninsula and ending in Italy’s port city of Trieste, passing through Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Slovenia in between. Along the way, hikers will climb a combined 257,270 feet of elevation, which is roughly nine times the height of Mount Everest. Roerick’s task is to test trail conditions and route challenges and to suggest any modifications as one of the first people to hike it entirely.
The goal of this trail—conceptualized by outdoor brand Jack Wolfskin, which began work on the route in autumn 2025—is to create interest and opportunities for thru-hiking, especially in countries like Germany where multi-day treks are not very popular.
“While hiking is part of the German roots, our paths and loop trails don’t support backpacking and wild camping, as you can’t just put up a tent anywhere,” explains Anna Heupel, a photographer and hiking content creator based in Siegen, one of the cities along the Wolf Trail. “Learning to walk with a heavy pack, spending nights on the trail, and living outdoors for weeks on end is one of the most attractive parts of this journey.”
For international travelers, this trail offers a way to see less-touristy corners of central Europe like rural Poland, the Bavarian Alps, and Slovenia.
The route and distance of the Wolf Trail
Officially opened to hikers in late 2025, the trail is a combination of existing urban paths, forest walkways, and country roads—plus sections of established routes like E1, E9, and Via Alpina—that link to form a new continuous sea-to-sea land thruway. While average daily mileage varies by ability, Roerick estimates four to six months to finish it. The Wolf Trail is best completed between April through September since snow is common in the Alps as early as fall and lasts until the beginning of spring.
The landscape starts with flat terrain along the Baltic coast before the trail winds through Germany’s low mountains to the shores of Lake Constance. South of the lake, the scenery changes as the route enters Austria’s Allgäu Alps, continues through the Italian Dolomites and Slovenia’s Julian Alps, and ends at the Adriatic Sea.
The terrain gradually increases from Słowiński National Park in Poland on the Baltic Sea, to Rostock, Germany, and Triglavski National Park in Slovenia.
Photos by Marcin Osman/Shutterstock; Samuel Svec/Unsplash; Michelle Heimerman
How to break the Wolf Trail into sections
The Wolf Trail is divided into seven official sections. GPS Exchange Format (GPX) digital files for each portion provide geographic data and coordinates about routes and waypoints like summits, trailheads, water sources, or alpine huts. These files can be overlaid onto apps like Google Maps to plan daily logistics like mileage, accommodations, and refueling stops in towns along the way. “As a thru-hiker, you can also add this information to topographic maps to track elevation changes and general terrain,” notes Roerick.
Stage 1 covers 266 miles along Poland’s flat Baltic coast from the towns of Hel to Świnoujście, passing across white-sand beaches, coastal dunes, pine forests, and Słowiński National Park. “This portion is flat so people can get used to walking long distances and develop their ‘trail legs,’” says Roerick. “Plus, you can stay in hotels or designated campsites and easily restock supplies.”
The next four stages span about 1,200 miles across Germany, starting with Hanseatic cities like Rostock and Wismar—known for their medieval architecture and 14th-century history—before turning inland toward the German-Austrian border. Stage 6 is 244 miles and enters the Allgäu Alps, passing through Innsbruck, where hikers could opt for a well-earned rest to explore Ambras Castle and Olympic-grade Bergisel Ski Jump before the final segment. The seventh and most challenging part follows the Via Alpina across the Dolomites and Slovenia’s Triglavski National Park to finish on Trieste’s Adriatic waterfront.
How to plan your section hike
While completing the Wolf Trail is a time commitment, the segmented design makes it appealing for shorter trips. Each section can be hiked independently in roughly two to four weeks. That’s especially helpful for non-EU hikers, who are only allowed to remain in the Schengen Area for 90 days within any 180-day period.
At this point, the thru-hiking is a self-supported adventure. But Roerick feels that as the trail becomes more popular, outfitters will develop guided tours and packages along this route, as is the case for other European treks. “Eventually, as more people hike, a community begins to develop,” she adds, “sharing information, tips, and suggestions just like [we saw with] the famous Pacific Crest Trail.”
You also have a few accommodation options along the way. “Once you leave Germany, you transition from staying in guesthouses, hotels, and campsites to alpine rifugi [mountain huts] and remote lodges,” says Roerick. “Reservations are highly recommended, especially during the summer hiking season, and can be made via the Alpenverein Hut Reservation System and Alpine Association of Slovenia.”
Should you hike the Wolf Trail?
One of the most attractive aspects of the Wolf Trail is that it isn’t an all-or-nothing commitment or only for a specific type of hiker—the difficulty builds gradually. It works just as well for a two-week hiking vacation as it does for a six-month sabbatical.
As Roerick says, “Breaking it into achievable parts shifts the focus from speed to individual pace, for a personalized experience on the trail based on your thru-hiking goals.”
