Lam, Bayern
A valley basin ringed by the thousand-metre peaks of the Bavarian Forest: Osser, Arber, Kaitersberg, Hoher Bogen. Everything here we gathered ourselves – with distances from our own front door, not from some village sign.
For 3 walks the car stays put – they begin right outside the house.
Our home mountain
From the balcony it lies just outside the view to the left, yet it defines this area: a twin summit of granite blocks right on the Bohemian border. It is six kilometres to the Sattel car park, and from there the path crosses the Osserwiese, first to the Kleiner Osser and then up. If you prefer, walk the whole round from our front door – then the car stays put.
New on the Großer Arber
Opened in 2025 and extended again in August 2026: eleven runs across some 400 vertical metres, from a green family trail through flowlines to red jumplines. The park was built with beginners and children in mind – if you have never ridden a bike park, this is where you start.
Season from mid-April, usually daily from around 10am to 5.30pm. A full-face helmet is compulsory throughout the park.
Trails, prices and current opening timesThe apartments are in Lam, in the Lamer Winkel – a valley basin in the northern Bavarian Forest, ringed by the Grosser Osser, Kaitersberg, Riedelstein and the Grosser Arber. From the balcony the view runs across the valley to the mountain ridges, and the forest begins just a few steps behind the house.
More than 100 kilometres of waymarked trails cross the Lamer Winkel, including stages of the Goldsteig long-distance path. The Grosser Osser, with its Kuenisch chapel and mountain hut, is the local landmark – from the top the view reaches far into Bohemia. The border ridge trail, the Kaitersberg and the Kleiner Arbersee, reached by the Arbersee railway from Lohberg, are all worth the trip.
The Bavarian Forest is glass country: at the Glasdorf in Arnbruck and at Joska in Bodenmais you can watch the glassblowers at work. The Fürstenzeche in Lam leads into the mountain as a visitor mine. And with the Czech border close by, Domažlice, Plzeň or a day trip to Prague are all within easy reach.
The region is well suited to cycling and mountain biking. If you are arriving with your own bike: a storage spot can be arranged, just let us know in advance. Nearby you will also find a golf course, boating, and – for the view from above – paragliding.
For downhill skiing it is 19 kilometres to the Großer Arber – with 13 kilometres of pistes from blue to black, six lifts and its own children's area, the largest family ski resort in the Bavarian Forest. The Hoher Bogen is closer and quieter. The real strength of the region, though, is cross-country skiing: 56 kilometres of tracks across two snow-reliable centres, plus the link to the 150-kilometre Bayerwaldloipe. For a gentler pace there are cleared winter walking paths, snowshoe tours and two toboggan runs – the one on the Hoher Bogen is floodlit and open in the evening. Afterwards, the neighbouring Waldlerhaus is a warm place to stop.
A selection of what is within easy reach from here – from the local summit to the inn, the bakery and a day trip to Prague.
Distances are approximate driving distances from the house. For summits, ridges and mountain huts the straight-line distance is given, because you walk there – the road takes a long way round.
These are the destinations. The routes that lead there – with distance, walking time, difficulty and the drive to the trailhead – are further down under Hiking and cycling
The menus here offer things you will not find elsewhere: trout from the local streams and ponds, often from the kitchen's own stock, and game from the surrounding forests. For dessert there is Kaiserschmarrn, torn fresh in the pan. And with it an Osser beer – brewed seven kilometres away in Lohberg, for more than 160 years and with mountain spring water from the Großer Osser.
Inns, cafés and pizzerias, sorted by village. The distance refers to the village – within it the places are a few minutes' walk apart. You will find vegetarian dishes almost everywhere: cheese spaetzle, dumplings, salads and soups are part of Bavarian cooking. In Lam alone, five places state it explicitly on the menu – so you do not even need the car. Fully vegan is thinner on the ground, and to be honest, all four places that state it explicitly are a drive away: Café Lieblingsplatz in Blaibach, the Wasserwirtschaft and the L. A. in Cham, and the Berghaus Sonnenfels on the Arber. Elsewhere a quick phone call in advance pays off – most hosts are happy to cater for it once they know in good time.
rustic farms outside the village, some of them reachable on foot
The apartment has no spa of its own – but three are within easy reach, one of them just across the road.
70 metres
Sonnenhof spa hotel
Pool and sauna area with an infinity pool facing the mountains. Day passes are available without an overnight stay. Tennis and golf are booked separately through reception.
2 kilometres
Osserbad in Lam
Indoor and outdoor pools, two slides and a sauna area. Free and unlimited with your guest card, for your whole stay. Closed Tuesdays, except during Bavarian school holidays.
18 kilometres
AQACUR Bad Kötzting
The largest sauna complex in the area: eight sweat rooms including a banya in a log cabin and a crystal sauna, plus a graduation tower, ice fountain and open fire.
The Sonnenhof and the AQACUR belong to other businesses – prices, times and booking directly there. For the Sonnenhof and the Osserbad feel free to ask us as well: we are on site and know what currently applies.
Hiking maps and current route suggestions are available at the tourist office on the market square in Lam.
This region is a paradise for walkers: more than 300 kilometres of marked trails lie between the Osser, Arber and Kaitersberg – from a half-hour stroll to a ridge walk across eight summits. The codes in the table match the signposts; knowing them, you'll find your way without a map.
The forest begins eighty metres behind the house. For 3 of these walks the car stays put: they start right at the front door – from the half-hour climb to the mountain chapel to the three-hour round across the Osserwiese.
Walking times are guide values – allow a quarter of an hour more or less depending on fitness and breaks.
SAGENhafter Rundweg
easy5 km · 1,5 h · 170 hm
The one for families: hardly any climbing, but boards along the way telling the legends and stories of the valley. Manageable even with tired children.
Start: the Lambach valley
Rund um Lam La04
easy7.5 km · 2 h · 213 hm
The shortest of the numbered circuits and the easiest. Good for your arrival day, or when the weather is uncertain.
Start: Lam · 1.5 km drive, 3 min
Panoramaweg La02
moderate8 km · 2,5 h · 330 hm
The name is to be taken literally: the path runs along the slopes above the village, and the view reaches across the valley basin to the Großer Arber.
Start: the tourist office in Lam · 1.5 km drive, 3 min
Zum Bergkircherl Maria Hilf
easy1.5 km · 0,5 h · ascent not documented
The shortest walk of them all: up the old Way of the Cross to the forest chapel above the Himmelreich. Legend has it that a woodsman vowed to build the chapel here after he had mocked a holy picture and then found himself in trouble.
Start: right at the apartment
from the door
Spaziergang zum Café am Sahneberg
easy3 km · 0,75 h · ascent not documented
The short walk for an afternoon: just under three quarters of an hour uphill, with coffee and cake and a view at the top. The way back is downhill and much quicker.
Start: right at the apartment
from the door
Rundtour ab Himmelreich über die Osserwiese
moderate9.8 km · 3 h · ascent not documented
The only walk here that needs no car at all: it starts at the front door and crosses the Osserwiese. In high summer wild bilberries and raspberries grow along the path there. The circuit ends at the meadow; if you still have breath, another half to three quarters of an hour puts you on the summit – and the way back is much quicker. The paths on the Osser are stony and steep in places, and the roots are slippery when wet – sturdy footwear is part of it.
Start: right at the apartment
from the door
Two surfaced cycle routes for everyone who wants to ride rather than climb – no terrain, no trails.
Lamer-Winkel-Arber-Radweg
moderate50 km · 1,203 hm
Miltach (381 m) → Bad Kötzting → Arrach → Lam → Brennes → Bayerisch Eisenstein (724 m)
The route runs right through Lam – you can get on at the door and ride in either direction.
Heading down the valley to Bad Kötzting it almost rolls by itself; the other way it climbs over the Brennes saddle at 1049 m. Mostly asphalt and quiet side roads, with one longer gravel section in between.
Regental-Radweg
easy166 km · 1,772 hm
Regensburg (340 m) → Cham → Miltach → Bayerisch Eisenstein
At Miltach it meets the Lamer-Winkel-Arber cycle route, a good 20 km from here.
The most relaxed route in the area: largely level, following the river all the way. Between Miltach and Bad Kötzting there is no climbing at all – the section for families and for anyone who wants to ride rather than climb.
Three routes for which solid figures exist – distance, ascent, riding time and the waypoints along the way. More than twenty others are described around the Osser, plus seven numbered routes signposted on site.
Auf den Großen Osser
moderate20 km · 3,5–5 h · 860 hm
Along the way: Ossersattel · Künische Kapelle · summit 1293 m · Osserwiese · Maria Hilf
The shortest of the three and still up the local landmark. Steep, stony sections on the way up; from the Osserwiese it is almost all descent – a few places call for confident bike handling.
Start: the Osserbad pool or Lam station · 1.5 km drive, 3 min
Rund um Lam
demanding39 km · 4,5–7 h · 1,275 hm
Along the way: Vorderöd · Hinteröd · Schwarzenbach · Kleiner Arbersee · Brennes · Maria Hilf · Fürstenzeche
The big loop around the head of the Weißer Regen valley: forest tracks, singletrails, steep descents and a few stretches where you carry the bike. The two hardest sections can be bypassed.
Start: the Osserbad pool in Lam · 1.5 km drive, 3 min
Kleiner Arbersee Runde
demanding44 km · 3,75 h
Along the way: Kleiner Arbersee
The longest of the three, but more even going. The destination is the Kleiner Arbersee with its floating islands.
Start: the tourist office in Arrach · 6.7 km drive, 11 min
For cross-country skiers this region is a paradise. The Lamer Winkel alone offers 56 kilometres of tracks across two snow-reliable centres, and 26 kilometres away the Bretterschachten centre adds another 114 – at 1,100 to 1,300 metres, one of the most snow-reliable areas in Germany. From the flat valley loop to Bavaria's longest high-altitude trail, groomed for both classic and skating.
Aktivzentrum Bretterschachten
easy114 km · Loop
The largest and most snow-reliable area within reach: 114 kilometres of classic and skating tracks at 1100 to 1300 metres at the foot of the Arber, from the short beginners' loop around the stadium to the demanding 18-kilometre circuit on the slopes of the Großer Arber. Because of the altitude it is usually skiable from mid-December to mid-March, often into April. The Auerhahn-Höhenloipe – Bavaria's longest – also starts here.
Centre: Bodenmais, 26 km
Talloipe Frahelsbruck–Seepark
easy4 km · Loop
The flattest of them all – for finding your feet, or for a short afternoon.
Centre: Eck-Riedelstein
Gelbe Runde Yellow
easy2.5 km · Loop
Centre: Lohberg-Scheiben
Grüne Runde Green
demanding4.5 km · Loop
Short, but not easy.
Centre: Lohberg-Scheiben
Blaue Runde Blue
moderate7 km · Loop
Centre: Lohberg-Scheiben
Riedelstein-Höhenloipe
moderate10 km · Loop
A high-altitude track as a circuit – you come back to where your car is parked.
Centre: Eck-Riedelstein
Auerhahn-Höhenloipe
demanding28 km · Point to point
The big one: 815 metres of ascent, past the Schareben mountain hut at 1019 m to the Bretterschachten cross-country centre near Bodenmais. Tracked for both classic and skating. Not a circuit – you need a plan for getting back.
Centre: Eck-Riedelstein
Distances and walking times for the hikes come from the region's tourism websites. Elevation profiles and GPS tracks for the bike routes are available at bike-lamerwinkel.de, printed route maps from the Lam tourist office (+49 9943 777).
No bought-in postcard shots: we took every one of these ourselves. On the paths behind the house, on the Grosser and the Kleiner Osser, through the Liebestal valley and up to the Kötztinger Hütte – plus the Höllensteinsee, the Drachensee, the Rißloch falls and a few impressions from Bad Kötzting and Bodenmais.
Curious how it looks up there right now? Two nearby cameras show you – the Großer Arber and the Hohenbogen, from which the view stretches across the Lamer Winkel valley to the Osser.
The images come from the mountain railway operators and only load once you press one of the buttons. At that point the operator learns your IP address – nothing is transmitted before. See our privacy notice for details.
There is plenty going on in the valley throughout the year. The events below come round regularly – deliberately without dates, because the exact days change from year to year and are kept up to date in the tourist office calendars.
Evening brass music sessions in Lohberg, the big market square festival hosted by Lam's innkeepers with folk music, plus concerts and dances in the pubs of all three villages.
The Arberkirchweih church fair in late summer, the summer farmers' theatre and country markets such as “So a Kirta” – traditions that are lived here rather than staged for visitors. At the turn of the year the Dimpfl-Stadl on the market square hosts its New Year's Eve ball with live dance music and a buffet; tickets are sold there in advance.
From the sunrise hike up the Grosser Osser to culinary forest tours and evening tours of the Bayerwald wildlife park in Lohberg. In September the WoidWanderWoche offers a whole week of guided walks.
The U.Trail Lamer Winkel now ranks among the top of the German trail running scene: the long loop, “König vom Bayerwald”, covers 54 kilometres with 2,600 metres of ascent, the shorter “Osserriesen” 24 kilometres with 1,200. The whole valley is booked out that weekend – if you want to come then, as a runner or a spectator, enquire early.
Both calendars are maintained by the Cham district tourist board and are always up to date:
It is worth another look a few days before you travel – a lot is announced at short notice. The tourist office on the market square in Lam is also happy to help in person.
Our house sits in the middle of all this, 700 metres above sea level. Three of these walks start right at the door.