Johanniskreuz is a tiny hamlet in the middle of the Palatine Forest in Germany and belongs to the municipality of Trippstadt in the district of Kaiserslautern in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Johanniskreuz lies in a saddle at about 470 metres (1,540 ft), north of the midpoint of the central massif of the Palatine Forest, the Frankenweide, whose surrounding peaks are only a little higher.

The Frankenweide, across which the Palatine Watershed runs, is bounded to the west, north and east in the area of Johanniskreuz by the valleys of streams that rise near the hamlet.

In a way Johanniskreuz is thus the "birthplace" of the Palatine Forest which, until the early 20th century was counted as part of the Vosges or Wasgenwald in most travel literature.

Many well known bishops, churchmen, politicians and otherwise notable Roman Catholics since 1908 went to the annual convention in Johanniskreuz as guests, celebrants, preachers or speakers.

Whilst the most important historic link from Speyer to Metz ran from east to west and the area around Johanniskreuz was also part of the northern route of the Palatine St. James' Ways, today the main transport axis is the B 48 federal highway from Annweiler to Hochspeyer which runs from north to south.

Other road links in a western direction through the Karlstal to Trippstadt and southwest – Heltersberg, Waldfischbach-Burgalben – in places follow paths that were used in the Middle Ages.

The latest tourist facility is the Palatine Forest Mountain Bike Park (Mountainbikepark Pfälzerwald), for which 5 routes, together over 300 kilometres long, have been marked out.