Erlebnis Holzkugel's 260-foot slide is a hit with kids of all ages. The park features the largest wooden adventure sphere in the world, they claim, as well as a high-ropes course, closed during the winter months, and a children's climbing trail, amongst other fun family attractions. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
Along a quiet country road in Bavaria’s Steinberg am See, a giant wood-and-steel structure looms like something out of a dystopian steampunk comic.
This behemoth, however, is intended to inspire delight rather than dread, as indicated by its name: Erlebnisholzkugel, which translates to “wooden adventure sphere.”
At 130 feet tall and 160 feet wide, it’s the largest such contraption in the world. according to a brochure by owner inMotion Park. It features a 2,300-foot-long circular walking path that curls around to the top and a 260-foot slide.
A rope bridge connects the walking path to the 260-foot slide at Erlebnis Holzkugel in Steinberg am See, Germany, on Nov. 28, 2025. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
The path up inMotion Park's wooden adventure sphere, the largest walkable wooden adventure sphere in the world, is wide, comfortable and fully accessible for the elderly and people with disabilities. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
The sphere is a marvel of modern engineering and one of the coolest things I have ever seen. It weighs around 500 tons, the same as 85 elephants, and features 835 pieces of wood in the frame, 360 tension rods, and 40,000 screws, the brochure said.
My wife stumbled upon inMotion Park’s website in recent weeks, and we knew immediately we had to go at our first opportunity.
On a nippy November afternoon, we made the 45-minute drive from Grafenwoehr to check it out. For additional reference, the place is about 40 miles southeast of Tower Barracks and 15 miles northeast of the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels.
As we approached, it looked like a ghost town. There were people passing the giant sphere on public walking trails around its perimeter and a few people in the restaurant enjoying coffee and pastries, but the attractions were devoid of people.
I thought the sphere might even be closed until I went inside and bought a family pass for my wife and two kids.
The attraction’s breadth and majesty became immediately apparent as we entered, feeling ant-sized in comparison. My kids ran ahead, up the spacious wooden walkway. Pretty soon, they were two levels above giggling and jeering at their slowpoke parents.
Erlebnis Holzkugel, or "wooden adventure sphere," at inMotion Park in Steinberg am See, Germany, is a hulking curiosity that slowly rises in the Bavarian countryside on Nov. 28, 2025. The park features the sphere, a high-ropes course, closed during the winter months, and a children's climbing trail, amongst other fun family attractions. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
The high-ropes course at inMotion Park in Steinberg am See, Germany, is open April 6 through the end of October. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
The 6% grade makes it fully accessible to the elderly and those in wheelchairs. My pregnant wife had no problem walking up the slope.
About three-quarters of the way up, we encountered the longest slide I have ever seen. My kids rushed inside, and before we knew it, they were celebrating on the ground.
As someone who is afraid of extreme heights, I felt my anxiety levels increase the further we climbed. Yet I never felt unsafe due to the construction.
My wife and I walked to the top of the sphere, where there is a sitting area for panoramic views. Then we leisurely made our way down as the sun set, orange and yellow in the distance.
InMotion Park also offers a high ropes course for adults, available from April to October, and a low ropes course for kids, featuring 30 stations that provide adventure and motor skills training, weather permitting.
Expanded Christmas hours between Dec. 13 and Dec. 20 keep the sphere awash in colored lights and open until 9:30 p.m.
We can’t wait to go back for the Christmas lights and again when it gets warmer for the kids ropes course.
For this visit, the views of the setting sun and Lake Steinberger were hot soup for the winter soul.
The view from atop the world's largest wooden adventure sphere on Nov. 28, 2025, offers picturesque views of Lake Steinberger, and the surrounding area of Steinberg am See, Germany. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
The children’s climbing trail cost 3.50 euro per child, or 2.50 euro if combined with a sphere ticket. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
inMotion Park
Address: In der Oder 7, Steinberg am See, Germany
Hours: Six days a week, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; closed Wednesday; public holidays, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Expanded Christmas hours Dec. 13-20, until 9:30 p.m., last admission 9 p.m. The giant slide and certain adventure stations are open, weather depending. The ropes course is open April 6 through the end of October. Restaurant and lakeside terrace, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Costs: Parking is 1 euro for two hours and 4 euros for the day. Admission into the globe costs 13 euros for adults, 10 euros for children and 29 euros for families. Discounted tickets are available for students and the elderly. Children’s climbing trail tickets cost 3.50 euros apiece or 2.50 euros if combined with a sphere ticket.
Information: dieholzkugel.de/
