Chaos on the Feldberg: Parking fees provide excitement among visitors!

Chaos on the Feldberg: Parking fees provide excitement among visitors!

Since April 8, 2025, new parking fees apply on the Feldberg Plateau in the Taunus, which are charged for cars, campers and motorcycles in public parking. The decision to make parking for a fee has caused controversial discussions for both visitors and kiosk owners. The fee for cars is EUR 2.00 per hour, while the daily flat rate is 12.00 euros. For motorcycles, you ask 1.50 euros per hour and also 12.00 euros for the entire day, which applies to your special motorcycle parking spaces at the Feldberghaus. Mobile homes even have to pay 12.00 euros for 24 hours if they want to use one of the two available parking spaces. The introduction of fees should contribute to the covering of infrastructure costs and the financing of necessary maintenance measures in the Taunus nature park, as the municipal administration Schmitten explains in Taunus.

A central problem that results from the new regulations are the payment options. The new parking ticket machines only accept you at checking cards and credit cards. Cash is not accepted, which irritated many visitors. Some reported that the payment process with their checking card was canceled, while others were able to successfully pay with the Easypark app. This discrepancy causes resentment among users. A visitor from Mainz clearly expressed that in the event of a lack of cash acceptance, he was not willing to pay the fee. In addition, some environmentally conscious - including bikers - have caught the eye of the boycott of the parking fees or put their vehicles outside the exposed areas.

reactions of visitors

The reactions to the new regulations are mixed. While some, as Volker Rudloff, show understanding for parking fees because they are necessary to preserve the infrastructure, there are also critical voices. Sieglinde Ehlers and Rainer Buderus reported difficulties with the machines and gave up after repeated failure. Motorcyclists, on the other hand, suspect that the fees should drive away from the Feldberg. Stefan Günther from Frankfurt is convinced that the high parking fees should deter especially motorcyclists.

Not only visitor is dissatisfied, the local entrepreneurs also feel the effects. Angela Birner, operator of a kiosk on the Feldberg, sees a potential threat to her sales in the fees. Since the introduction of parking fees, she has reported a noticeable decline and has expressed that she could understand the fees if the summit would offer more attractions. This makes it clear that the decision to introduce parking fees not only has an impact on visitors, but also on the local economy.

alternative parking spaces

For those who want to bypass the parking fees, free parking spaces are still available near the summit, such as on the Tillmannsweg, Teufelsquartier or Windeck. These free alternatives could move some of the visitors to avoid parking fees and instead to use the closer parking facilities. Ursula Stiehler from Bad Homburg, who regularly visits the Feldberg, indicates that there are definitely options for bypassing the new fees.

Overall, it remains to be seen how the situation on the Feldberg will develop in the long term. The mixture of user satisfaction, economic losses for local business and the need for maintenance measures could create an interesting dynamic that presents both visitors and providers with new challenges.

municipal administration Schmitten provides information on parking and mobility in the Taunus Nature Park to enable visitors to better plan their excursions.