Germany Derzno · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
108 metres, to scale.
A slice through Bitterbachschlucht where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Big Ben · 96 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
108m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
7.8km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
13°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
312m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 26 °C. The best months to hike are in May and in September. The rim freezes at night from December to February. The wettest months are in July.
- 2°1°Jan
- 4°3°Feb
- 9°8°Mar
- 15°14°Apr
- 19°18°May
- 24°23°Jun
- 26°25°Jul
- 26°25°Aug
- 21°20°Sep
- 14°13°Oct
- 7°6°Nov
- 3°2°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Canyon in Germany
Bitterbachschlucht is a gorge in Germany, cut by the Bitterbach river. The relief model measures 108 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 142 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 7.8 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Lauf an der Pegnitznearest town · 1.7 km in a straight line
- Parking 400 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.5 km from the floor
- Nuremberg Airport (NUE)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 13 km in a straight lineCar hire at NUE airport (Nuremberg)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in Septemberbest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The river
The Bitterbach runs highest from January to June.
The Bitterbach carries about 8.2 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to June.
- 15 m³/sJan
- 13 m³/sFeb
- 19 m³/sMar
- 13 m³/sApr
- 16 m³/sMay
- 9.2 m³/sJun
- 7.7 m³/sJul
- 6.5 m³/sAug
- 3.5 m³/sSep
- 3.8 m³/sOct
- 6.0 m³/sNov
- 4.8 m³/sDec
From about 3.5 m³/s in the lowest month to 19 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 945 km².
Follow the Pegnitz from source to mouth on Riveryas
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
4 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 17 × 17 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 7viewpoints within 5 km
- 61marked hiking routes within 4 kmGelbkreuz, Alb-Quer-Weg, Ludwigshöhe - Haidberg and 58 more
- 1climbing crags within 3 kmKletterwand DAV Lauf
- 41footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmAnna-Diez-Weg, Wetzendorfer Steg, Schloßinsel and 38 more
- 333car parks within 3 km
- 88information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 104bus stops within 2 km
- 5campsites within 8 kmCampingplatz Bergesruh, Camping Haimendorf, Pegnitzwiesen and 2 more
- 26hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmGasthof Grüner Baum, Distlerhof, Roter Löwe and 23 more
- 66restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Lauf an der Pegnitz1.7 km in a straight line
- Rückersdorf2.6 km in a straight line
- Röthenbach an der Pegnitz4.3 km in a straight line
- Neunkirchen am Sand4.3 km in a straight line
- Ottensoos6.0 km in a straight line
- Schwaig7.0 km in a straight line
- Schnaittach7.5 km in a straight line
- Heroldsberg7.7 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Bitterbachschlucht.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas67 mountains within 15 kmFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 19 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 3 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 13 | 6 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -5 | -4 | -1 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 0 | -3 |
| Rain (mm) | 58 | 44 | 48 | 39 | 76 | 69 | 77 | 72 | 55 | 52 | 57 | 60 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.4 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 6.7 | 5.4 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 15 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | 1 | -5 | 58 | 1.4 |
| Feb | 4 | 3 | -4 | 44 | 3.1 |
| Mar | 9 | 8 | -1 | 48 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 15 | 14 | 3 | 39 | 6.5 |
| May | 19 | 18 | 8 | 76 | 6.8 |
| Jun | 24 | 23 | 12 | 69 | 7.5 |
| Jul | 26 | 25 | 14 | 77 | 7.5 |
| Aug | 26 | 25 | 13 | 72 | 6.7 |
| Sep | 21 | 20 | 8 | 55 | 5.4 |
| Oct | 14 | 13 | 4 | 52 | 3.4 |
| Nov | 7 | 6 | 0 | 57 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 3 | 2 | -3 | 60 | 1.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (312 m) and the rim (453 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 48% | 261% | 94% | 35% | 64% | 172% | 42% | 146% | 103% | 111% | 28% | 105% |
| 2021 | 136% | 121% | 73% | 65% | 134% | 161% | 180% | 154% | 48% | 64% | 78% | 124% |
| 2022 | 98% | 112% | 41% | 195% | 41% | 57% | 33% | 105% | 185% | 90% | 90% | 84% |
| 2023 | 69% | 103% | 181% | 126% | 53% | 66% | 90% | 185% | 37% | 107% | 187% | 155% |
| 2024 | 113% | 151% | 59% | 156% | 185% | 134% | 92% | 100% | 209% | 111% | 81% | 81% |
| 2025 | 107% | 66% | 38% | 72% | 46% | 90% | 116% | 60% | 213% | 112% | 68% | 30% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Bitterbachschlucht
Germany
- 108 mDepth
- 7.8 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 13°Steepest wall
Teufelskirche von Grünsberg
Germany · 15 km
- 88 mDepth
- 870 mRim to rim
- 0.3 kmLength
- 16°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q20771096) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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