The world’s best driving roads rarely encounter you by chance; a true petrolhead is supposed to know where to drive to get maximum buzz while behind the wheel. But chance encounters do exist, and this is how I tumbled onto the Rossfeld High Ring Road—Rossfeld Panoramastraße—and spent the last rays of the day’s sun conquering this Alpine wonderland.
Here, the Germans have fashioned for drivers and motorcycle riders a perfect bow from smooth tarmac. It wraps around the mountains, forests and villages of Berchtesgadener Land. Of course, the subject of the “perfect” road is a contentious one, but in support of this road, I didn’t have to wait for long to the arrival of the first classic car: a beautifully-restored Austin Healey 3000.
I had stopped to enjoy the views of the nearby Hoher Göll peak—yes, it is a rare road where drivers and queasy passengers alike seem happy to wait at the side of the road and take in the sights.
The 9.3-mile long Rossfeld High Ring Road is the highest panoramic road in Germany, with its top lying at 5,151 ft (1,570 meters) above the see level. In return for a few Euros, the road is passable all year round, even though it meanders above the snow line.
Rossfeldstraße offers tourist opportunities, too: a small ski slope for the winter months, and more importantly, the Rossfeld Rennen. It was run as part of the European Hillclimb Championship, a well-known hillclimb event between 1958 and 1973, and has been revived as a historic event.
Set your calendars for September 23-25, 2016…
