Germany Rainer Lippert · CC0
The cut
223 metres, to scale.
A slice through Tretstein waterfall 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: Great Pyramid · 139 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.
223m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
4.9km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
20°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
0.3km
Length
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 27 °C. The best months to hike are in May and in September. The rim freezes at night from December to February.
- 3°1°Jan
- 5°3°Feb
- 10°8°Mar
- 16°14°Apr
- 20°18°May
- 24°22°Jun
- 27°25°Jul
- 26°24°Aug
- 21°20°Sep
- 15°13°Oct
- 8°6°Nov
- 4°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.
Waterfall in Germany
Tretstein waterfall is a gorge in Germany, cut by the Schondra river. The relief model measures 223 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 0.3 km. Rim to rim it is 4.9 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Gräfendorfnearest town · 1.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 250 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.7 km from the floor
- Frankfurt Main Airport (FRA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 86 km in a straight lineCar hire at FRA airport (Frankfurt am Main)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 Schondra runs highest from November to May.
The Schondra carries about 16 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to May.
- 31 m³/sJan
- 26 m³/sFeb
- 35 m³/sMar
- 24 m³/sApr
- 27 m³/sMay
- 12 m³/sJun
- 12 m³/sJul
- 9.8 m³/sAug
- 6.0 m³/sSep
- 11 m³/sOct
- 20 m³/sNov
- 22 m³/sDec
From about 6.0 m³/s in the lowest month to 35 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 2,151 km².
The Franconian Saale from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon
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
3 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 11 × 11 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 3viewpoints within 5 km
- 37marked hiking routes within 4 kmRund um die südliche Rhön, Rhönrundweg Hammelburg 1, Ortswanderweg Gräfendorf 1 and 34 more
- 2climbing crags within 3 kmDAV Kletterpfeiler Gräfendorf, Brückenrelikt Reichsautobahn Strecke 46, Fulda-Würzburg (Kletterpfeiler E46)
- 11footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmSteg bei den Buchen, Hauptwehrsteg and 9 more
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmTrettstein
- 11car parks within 3 km
- 7information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 5bus stops within 2 km
- 11campsites within 8 kmSauruh, Wohnmobilstellplatz Heiligkreuz, Sturmiushof and 8 more
- 22hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmGut Dürnhof, Gasthof Stern, Art Hotel Gesindehaus and 19 more
- 3restaurants 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
- 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
- Gräfendorf1.5 km in a straight line
- Wartmannsroth4.4 km in a straight line
- Schönau6.9 km in a straight line
- Burgsinn7.0 km in a straight line
- Rieneck8.4 km in a straight line
- Gemünden am Main10 km in a straight line
- Hammelburg10 km in a straight line
- Karsbach11 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Tretstein waterfall.
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.
Riveryas2 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas64 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 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 26 | 21 | 15 | 8 | 4 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 13 | 6 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -4 | -4 | -1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 0 | -3 |
| Rain (mm) | 56 | 44 | 47 | 38 | 73 | 59 | 73 | 66 | 50 | 53 | 58 | 62 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.2 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 6.8 | 6.9 | 6.0 | 4.9 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 0.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 14 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 13 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | 1 | -4 | 56 | 1.2 |
| Feb | 5 | 3 | -4 | 44 | 2.6 |
| Mar | 10 | 8 | -1 | 47 | 3.9 |
| Apr | 16 | 14 | 3 | 38 | 6.0 |
| May | 20 | 18 | 7 | 73 | 6.3 |
| Jun | 24 | 22 | 11 | 59 | 6.8 |
| Jul | 27 | 25 | 13 | 73 | 6.9 |
| Aug | 26 | 24 | 13 | 66 | 6.0 |
| Sep | 21 | 20 | 8 | 50 | 4.9 |
| Oct | 15 | 13 | 4 | 53 | 3.0 |
| Nov | 8 | 6 | 0 | 58 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 4 | 2 | -3 | 62 | 0.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (161 m) and the rim (415 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 | 58% | 256% | 103% | 29% | 65% | 183% | 41% | 119% | 72% | 119% | 32% | 110% |
| 2021 | 145% | 121% | 72% | 79% | 104% | 155% | 171% | 128% | 56% | 77% | 72% | 103% |
| 2022 | 113% | 129% | 38% | 205% | 40% | 38% | 38% | 60% | 201% | 99% | 83% | 83% |
| 2023 | 93% | 92% | 199% | 155% | 39% | 55% | 100% | 166% | 46% | 149% | 162% | 131% |
| 2024 | 116% | 169% | 87% | 156% | 160% | 186% | 97% | 78% | 178% | 125% | 85% | 77% |
| 2025 | 118% | 66% | 39% | 73% | 57% | 84% | 104% | 67% | 198% | 126% | 61% | 32% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Tretstein waterfall
Germany
- 223 mDepth
- 4.9 kmRim to rim
- 0.3 kmLength
- 20°Steepest wall
Seltenbachschlucht bei Klingenberg
Germany · 54 km
- 195 mDepth
- 4.6 kmRim to rim
- 1.0 kmLength
- 30°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1271971) · 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.
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