Palatine Watershed
In the southern Palatine Forest, the German part of the Wasgau, the Palatine Watershed begins on the French border in the area of the Erlenkopf hill (473 m above NHN), where it is a continuation of the watershed in the northern Vosges. Always generally running from southwest to northeast it initially heads eastwards past Eppenbrunn and Pirmasens over the Großer Schiffelskopf () and reaches the region of Gräfenstein Land. From there it runs up the Hortenkopf () in the central Frankenweide. Several kilometres it passes through the hamlet of Johanniskreuz (), one of the highest settlements in the Palatine Forest. The watershed then reaches the area west of Waldleiningen in the Lower Frankenweide.
Palatinate Forest
Here, in a single, contiguous ridge is a series of peaks exceeding the 600 metre mark, of which the Great Kalmit, at , is also the highest point of the entire Palatinate Forest. The ridge begins at the Steigerkopf (also called the "Schänzel") (about 500 m) and heads westwards to the Frankenweide region around the Eschkopf () and Weißenberg (). This massif extends from the town of Hochspeyer via Johanniskreuz to Hauenstein. Its central area between Johanniskreuz and Hermersbergerhof rather resembles a plateau bounded by deeply incised valleys. This plateau also runs towards the west at a height of about 500 m before descending gradually to 400 m. It is bisected by the Schwarzbach and Moosalb rivers. To the southwest other ridges separate the valleys of the Merzalbe and the headstreams of the Wieslauter. It is therefore possible to walk from Neustadt an der Weinstraße to Leimen or Kaiserslautern-Mölschbach without dropping below the 450 metre contour line.