Rusel, Hill chain in Schaufling, Germany.

Rusel is a wooded ridge in the front Bavarian Forest northeast of Deggendorf, part of the Schaufling municipality. Its slopes reach 700 to 819 metres, and on them lies the 23.9-hectare Rusler Wald nature forest reserve, protecting spruce-fir-beech woodland on boulder fields. A golf course, restaurant and two ski lifts stand here, though the lifts and the restaurant are currently not in operation.

In the 12th century Duke Leopold of Bavaria gave the forest to Niederaltaich Abbey as thanks for shelter and care until his death. Abbot Johann Heinrich Luz had timber floated down to the Ohe, and in 1719 Abbot Joscio Hamberger built a farmstead, a Schwaige. In 1804 Leopold Rechenmacher bought the Rusel from the state for 9250 Gulden on condition that he could run a tavern and that the planned Deggendorf–Regen road pass here; a fire destroyed everything in 1904.

The name Rusel comes from the wooden log-flumes, called Rusel, built under Abbot Johann Heinrich Luz (1619–1634) to float timber down to the Ohe and on to Niederaltaich Abbey. The inn that grew here served carters hauling goods between Bohemia and Bavaria; today the Elisabeth-Gilbert-Lichtwer-Stiftung uses the lease income for charitable purposes.

The Rusel lies at 700 to 819 metres on the road from Deggendorf to Regen, now the Staatsstraße 2135; the B11 ran over the Ruselbergstrecke until 1979. The Wegmacher-Kurve just below the Ruselabsatz is known for serious accidents, so take it slowly. The golf course, restaurant and both ski lifts are currently not in operation.

The name Rusel comes from the wooden log-flumes (Rusel) that Abbot Johann Heinrich Luz had built in the 17th century to float timber down to the Ohe and on to Niederaltaich Abbey. The Rusel also gave its name to the Rusel power stations in Deggendorf.