Map Ring

This is a general view of the both portions of the track (old and new). The blue dashed line shows the new track. The new entrance is between Nürburg and Meuspath. It’s on the road just inside of the Ring.

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The Green Hell

What Is It?

It’s a very cool, old race track. Every driving enthusiast who can make it to Germany should drive the ’Ring at least once in their life, even if it’s just in a rental car. After all, the Nürburgring Nordschleife (north loop) can be seen on a map of Germany. How many race tracks do you know that shows up on a map of an entire country? The track is about 21 km (13.7 mi) long. From what I remember, Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, is only about 4 miles long. Most other tracks are even shorter. Best of all, Nürburgring is open to the public!

So Where Is It?

The Nürburgring encircles the town of Nürburg (hence the name). This is located somewhere between Koblenz to the east and Trier to the west. It is relatively close to both Belgium and Luxembourg. (Check out my Map of Germany > Rheinland Pfalz for a better idea. You can also look at the hotel information below for more maps.)

From Frankfurt, you can take the autobahn A3 until it hits A48. Take A48 towards Koblenz or Trier. From the A48, take the exit for Ulmen and Kelberg (highway 259). Head north towards Kelberg and keep looking for the Nürburg signs. This should take under two hours to drive, given normal autobahn conditions.

The grandstands that you see from the road are for the Grand Prix track. The museum and go-kart tracks are by the grandstands. Park as close to the track as possible. I’ve never had to pay for parking, but I’ve never been there during a major race, like the Grand Prix.

To go to the old track itself, drive into town from the main road. Just follow this road (staying to the right) until you hit a traffic circle. The track entrance is on the right of the traffic circle.

What Can I Do When I Get There?

There’s an information booth near the entrance of their museum. The museum in relatively small, but it houses some interesting cars and motorcycles. There’s also a gift shop on the other side of the same building as the museum, but I thing you have to walk around to get there. At least, that’s what I had to do. An indoor go-kart track is next to the museum. It’s 20 DM for about 10 minutes at the time of this writing.

The information booth can give you the schedule for when the North Loop is available for public driving. The cost is 20 DM (about $10) for regular automobiles (1999 price), a little more for motorcycles (messier?). I think it’s 25 DM for them, and full protective clothing is required. I’m guessing that means full leather, and not shorts and a tank top.

To drive on the old track, go through town to the main entrance of the track. The old entrance was around the corner from the museum, near the grandstand. Don’t go there. To get to the official entrance, turn into town (Nürburg) near the grandstand. Stay on the main road through town heading east. A kilometer or two out of town, there’s a circle-thingy (traffic circle, I guess) with a statue of the track in the middle. This is the main entrance. Turn right towards the buildings. You can buy your tickets in the building nearest the gates. There’s a vending machine that dispenses the tickets. Take the ticket and just insert the ticket into the gate (like in the automated parking lots) as you drive onto the track.

You can also buy a 5-round, 6-round or yearly ticket. Check the ticket prices when you get there.

(I will post the Euro (€) prices after the next time I’m there.)

Ring Schedule

You should check the schedule before heading out there! Sometimes the track is closed because of a race or because someone has it rented (BMW frequently uses the track to test new models, for example).

I used to put the schedule on my site, but that was too annoying. So now, go to the Nürburgring web site (www.nuerburgring.de) and select ANGEBOTE (Special Offer) and then SELBER FAHREN (Self Drive). The track is open from March until November. They change their website annually, so it may be under a different heading than what I’m listing above.

You can also check out their race schedules, including the Grand Prix race, at their site.

Hotel Information

Click the link below for more info.

[Hotel info]