The Ostweg runs along the east side of the Black Forest, frequently at the transition between variegated sandstone and shell limestone. It crosses the Danube valley past the Albtrauf, the northern rim of the Swabian Jura.
It traverses the hilltops of the Länge - the highest point (921 m) of the Ostweg – and continues to the Wutach Valley before leading to the Upper Rhine at Schaffhausen over Randen Mountain.