Wildnis Trail, Long-distance trail in Eifel National Park, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

The Wildnis Trail is an approximately 85 kilometer long-distance path through Eifel National Park in North Rhine-Westphalia, divided into four stages of 18 to 25 kilometers each. It runs from Monschau-Höfen in the south to Zerkall in the north, passing through beech forests, alongside streams and meadows, and crossing the Urft reservoir.

The area served as a military training ground until 2005 and has since begun returning to wilderness, while the national park was established in 2004 to allow nature to take its own course. The trail connects historic locations such as the monastery Mariawald and abandoned settlements that tell the story of human habitation in the region.

The trail passes through areas shaped by generations of inhabitants who once worked and lived here, now returning to wilderness. Visitors can encounter abandoned settlements like Wollseifen and the monastery Mariawald, which reveal how people adapted to this landscape over time.

The route follows existing roads, forestry tracks and Eifelverein paths, and stage 2 largely coincides with stage 4 of the Eifelsteig. The four stages run Höfen–Einruhr (24.7 km), Einruhr–Gemünd (20.5 km), Gemünd–Heimbach (22.4 km) and Heimbach–Zerkall (17.7 km). Stay on marked paths: the Dreiborner Hochfläche was a military training ground until 2005 and unexploded ordnance may remain.

The trail's logo shows a wildcat, but sightings are rare: around 1,000 wildcats live in the Eifel, retreating into closed beech forests like those of the Kermeter. The route was mapped over existing roads, forestry tracks and paths laid out by the Eifelverein, and stage 2 largely follows stage 4 of the Eifelsteig long-distance path.