We might not have believed it, but the man who initiated the whole project at the eastern end of the Altmühltal and is now seeing it through is our former colleague Ludwig Döhl. He knows the difference between a real trail and an overgrown forest track. So when he says: "100 kilometres of official tour network with 50 percent trails", we have no doubt that this is exactly true.
Of course, we will soon see for ourselves, but when we spoke to Ludwig on the phone in mid-May, he had just received a delivery of 2,000 signposts. He wanted to use them to head out into the forest "in the next few days" to signpost the four trail circuits that have now been officially opened to mountain bikers by the municipalities of Kelheim, Riedenburg, Ihrlerstein and Painten.
The 100 kilometre network of tours that will in future adorn the easternmost slopes of the Altmühl valley like garlands can already be viewed on Outdooractive as GPX tracks for downloading.
Trails of Kelheim - the 4 trail circuits in the Altmühltal valley
- Tour 1: Goldrush - in the Kelheim Frauenforst forest
15 km/336 m elevation gain / Trail difficulty: S2-S3 - Tour 2: Nibelungen Ride at Prunn Castle
29.4 km/422 m / Trail difficulty: S1-S2 - Tour 3: Pure Pleasure - around the Schlößlberg
34.9 km/425 m / Trail difficulty: S1-S3 - Tour 4: Holy Diver Tour - at Weltenburg Abbey
23 km/430 m elevation gain / Trail difficulty: S1-S2
There are also the two trail descents that were opened at the end of October 2024: Fakir 2 and Flow Joe. Each one kilometre long, the two descents wind their way down the flanks of the Weltenburger Berg to Kelheim. Here, the club kids were allowed to take the riding fun up a notch. With the permission of a private landowner!
All tours can be linked together via cross connections. This means you can shorten them here and there for an after-work quickie or extend them to a day-long marathon experience.
The background for the trail release in the region is of course also here: There are several nature park regions in the Altmühltal that are very worthy of protection. However, instead of excluding mountain bikers with bans, it is preferable to offer the most attractive trails possible through less sensitive areas and to pay for this. More information on the project: trails-of-kelheim.de
Trailpark Heumödern now with lift
A principle that has already set a precedent in the Altmühltal. The Heumödern trail park in Treuchtlingen, at the western end of the valley, also began opening up individual trails a few years ago. In the meantime, a real top spot has developed there: There are now 6 very lovingly maintained and partly shaped trails, a pump track, a practice course and, since the beginning of May 2024, a lift (80 hm with an easy loop bracket system)! The park is open all year round, the lines are only closed in bad weather.
- Day ticket without lift: 10 euros
- Day ticket with lift: 26 euros
- Info: heumoederntrails.com
BIKE-Trailguide Altmühltal with Eichstätt and Kipfenberg
Eichstätt is also worth travelling to by bike. In the university town, the DAV recently built the "Jura Flow" facility on the Blumenberg: Pump track, table and dirt line on an area of 5000 square metres. At the beginning of May, the entire facility was just put back into top shape. Admission is free, but subject to opening hours (from one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset). Info: juraflow.de
For more trail fun, it's best to download the tours in our BIKE trail guide "Altmühltal". It was in Eichstätt that the "Radlchaosgmoa" revealed one of its absolute top tours to us a few years ago. An e-MTB is definitely recommended for the equally fun uphill trails of this "Eichstätt-Runde" (34.8 km/ 796 m elevation gain):
A few kilometres further east of Eichstätt, castles and Jura rocks break out of the valley flanks of the Altmühl near Kipfenberg. This makes for an even more adventurous look and a few very exciting climbing trails (Kipfenberg loop 32.4 km/685 m elevation gain).
BIKE subscribers can find the GPX data of the Trailguides Altmühltal for free download on bike-magazin.de, "My area".
You might also be interested in these German trail areas
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
