When the weather gods are kind to you, autumn riding is spectacular – the colours pop with incredible intensity, you’ll be serenaded by the sound of your tyres crunching through leaves and there’s a peaceful air to the forests as they start to shut down for the winter. Timo Rokitta has been out riding in the Palatinate Forest in south-west Germany and has created the perfect autumnal gravel route. Read on to find out all the details.

Autumn has its own kind of magic. When the forests glow, the air turns crisp and leaves crunch beneath your tyres, the best time of year for gravel riders begins. This is the moment to pull the bike out of the garage and head to where the Palatinate explodes in colour: the Palatinate Forest. Between golden vineyards, quiet valleys and ancient forester’s lodges unfolds a landscape made for gravel biking — varied, full of history, challenging yet peaceful.

It’s early when I set off from Bockenheim, at the House of the German Wine Route. My goal: to ride the Pfalzlands Permanente Gold track. Darkness still clings to the vines, the air is cool and the hum of the freewheel softly echoes through the silence. Just a few meters in, the route begins to climb into the vineyards. The first meters of ascent burn in my legs, but with sunrise comes the reward: wisps of fog dance above the Rhine plain and the slopes of the vineyards glow in gentle gold.

The first kilometres flow easily — gravel, asphalt, then damp forest soil. Beyond Eisenberg, the forest thickens, sounds become muffled. The enchanted Eiswoog, a quiet lake deep in the Stumpfwald, greets me with shimmering water and a railway viaduct that looks like something from another time. Following the Barbarossa Cycle Path, I continue toward Enkenbach-Alsenborn. The forest opens up, and suddenly I’m standing before the villa of Fritz Walter, hero of the “Miracle of Bern.” A short pause, a touch of history — then back in the saddle.

The route dips under the A6 motorway and descends toward Frankenstein. Fast, smooth, free. In the Leinbach Valley, the water rushes beside me and the gravel crunches. I follow the stream’s course all the way to Waldleiningen. A steep climb ends at a decaying forester’s house before the trail plunges into the Wolfsschlucht (“Wolf’s Gorge”). Here, the gravel bike becomes an adventurer: the downhill is wild and bumpy at first, then fast, flowing — and simply magnificent.

Down in the Elmstein Valley, the next ascent waits. Steep, sweaty, with gradients beyond 20 percent. But at the top, on the plateau, the view opens onto a sea of colours. Autumn at its finest. The Eschkopf Tower, standing at 608 meters, marks the highest point of the day. A quiet place full of history and panorama — once the site of an optical telegraph, part of the Mainz–Paris line used by Napoleon to send messages. Today, the view stretches over endless forest and I feel as if I’m the only person in the world.

The descent to the Hermersberger Hof is technically demanding but wonderfully fluid. Over roots and old stone steps, I balance the bike down into the Wellbach Valley. Then comes the next climb — my bottles are empty, legs heavy. But at the Neuer Brunnen spring, cold mountain water gushes from the rock — a refreshment that tastes better than any energy drink.

The Hochstraße is a dream for gravel bikers — a gently undulating ridge of fine gravel, flowing like a natural trail through the forest. On both sides, the trees burn in shades of orange and red and the light filters softly through the branches. I fly across the gravel, feel every breath, every curve. This is freedom — pure and peaceful. Yet the calm is deceptive: the highest mountain of the Palatinate still lies ahead.

At 673 meters, the Kalmit is the tallest peak of the Palatinate Forest — and the queen of this tour. The final climb drags on, but at the top, all effort is forgotten. From the Kalmithaus refuge, the view stretches to the Odenwald, the Rhine plain bathed in golden evening light. The descent leads straight to the Hambach Castle, symbol of German democracy. Here, in 1832, 25,000 people gathered to demand freedom and civil rights. History, sweat and landscape merge into a single moment.

The track continues over the Weinbiet mountain and the legendary Lambertskreuz, the oldest stone cross in the Palatinate. The sun sinks faster than expected, the sky turns red and the forest falls silent. Only the crunch of gravel and my steady breathing remain. In the darkness, I reach the Ungeheuersee. The beam of my headlight dances across roots, mist rises from the water. And then — after nearly twelve hours — the sea of lights from the Rhine plain shimmers below me. 220 kilometres, 4,000 meters of climbing — a gravel journey through autumn that will stay with me.

Back at the House of the German Wine Route, I’m exhausted but happy. The Palatinate Forest has offered everything: flow, challenge, history, solitude and that golden light only autumn knows.

The Pfalzlands Permanente is more than just a gravel route — it’s an experience. Next year, new routes will be added: Gold, Silver, and Bronze — each with its own character, but all sharing the same soul. Whoever seeks autumn will find it here — among gravel roads, vineyards and forests.

If you‘re interested in finding out more about the gravel riding opportunities in the Palatinate region, check out Timo’s website.