1st district route Gartenstadt
Lots of greenery, historic old towns, beautiful gardens - the Ruhr region also has a lot to offer nature lovers, such as on the almost 50-kilometre-long RevierRoute Gartenstadt. As you cycle almost exclusively on cycle paths, former railway lines and towpaths, the route is also recommended for families. You can start at the main railway station in Mülheim an der Ruhr or alternatively in another town on the route.
2nd Route RevierWasser
The two rivers Ruhr and Emscher and several reservoirs play the main role on this tour through the southern Ruhr region. This Revier route follows the courses of the rivers and leads along 62 kilometres to the region's important water management sites. It starts at Dortmund's main railway station. In the city centre, culture enthusiasts are sure to take a look at the German Football Museum and the Dortmunder U, the art and creative centre in the former Union Brewery tower block. From junction 49, the tour follows the Emscher Weg.
3. the big highlight round
We start our long tour at the main railway station in Essen. If you want to take a closer look at the culture along the way, you should plan two days for the tour. The first few metres in Essen's city centre are the least attractive part of the route. After that, things become quieter and more interesting, especially on the site of the former Zollverein colliery. A guided tour of the monument trail and the Ruhr Museum is a good idea. Via a former railway line, you pass another colliery site, the "Phänomania Erfahrungsfeld" with an interactive exhibition with playful stations for discovering physical phenomena.
4th Elephant Tour in the eastern Ruhr region
You are unlikely to see any live elephants on the elephant circuit. It is named after the elephant made of steel and glass in Maximilianpark Hamm. One of the longest district routes runs for long stretches through meadows and fields. The starting point is the main railway station in Hamm. From there, the route heads westwards between the River Lippe and the Datteln-Hamm Canal. Shortly before the Marina Rünthe marina in Bergkamen, the tour turns south towards Unna. You then head east again along the former route of the Westphalian railway. The beauty of rural Westphalia can finally be experienced on the journey back to Hamm. The cultural highlight of the Elefanten-Runde is the Maximilianpark in Hamm, a colourful leisure and landscape area created from the Maximilian colliery.
5th district route "trial piece"
If you want to discover as many Ruhr highlights as possible in as few kilometres as possible, choose this route starting in Essen. It includes everything that makes up the Ruhr region, from historic industrial monuments and workers' settlements to impressive slag heaps, beautiful railway lines, quiet canal-side paths, typical Ruhr area kiosks and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And that's exactly where it starts, at the Zollverein colliery, once the largest coal mine in the world. From there, the Revierroute leads along the Zollverein Trail and the route of the Krayer-Wanner railway to the Himmelsleiter artwork on the Rheinelbe spoil tip. A stop for refreshments at the iconic Erzbahnbude is a must. The tour continues along the ore railway line to the Rhine-Herne Canal with the Grimberger Sichel arch bridge.
6th gravel bike tour through the district of Recklinghausen
This tour is mainly on field and forest paths, which is why it is recommended for gravel bikers. However, the tour can also be easily completed on a robust trekking bike. We recommend starting at Dorsten-Hervest railway station. Shortly afterwards, you cycle through the Fürst Leopold creative quarter. The site of the disused colliery is now home to a variety of bars and bistros as well as lots of art and culture. The route continues past the former colliery spoil tip, which has been transformed into an accessible landscape structure, to the Hervester Bruch. Here in "Storchenland" you can watch storks from viewing platforms in spring and summer. After passing "Hagen" and the "Wienbach stream system" nature reserve, the route finally returns to Dorsten.
7th "Landpartie" district route
The Ruhr area was one of the largest urban centres in Germany early on. Before the era of global trade, the population was mostly supplied by neighbouring agriculture. Even today, there are still large agricultural areas on the edge of the Ruhr. We start our "country tour" at Dorsten railway station in the direction of Bottrop. With its wide fields, small villages and many farms and riding stables, the Kirchheller Heide is one of the most beautiful landscapes in the Ruhr region and is a great place to cycle through. In the middle of the Kirchheller Heide is a small lake landscape, which today is a real natural idyll.
You can find the complete holiday planner for the Ruhr region with all the information as a PDF download below the article.
GPX data
You can download the GPX tracks for the 7 tour tips in the Ruhr region download here for free:
or find them in the MYBIKE Collection on komoot
You can find the complete holiday planner for the Ruhr region with all the information as a PDF download below the article.
