Lower Saxony's mountain region: Mountain bike tours around Bad Salzdetfurth

The small town of Bad Salzdetfurth is located in Lower Saxony, around ten kilometres south of Hildesheim. Hanover, the largest city in the catchment area, is around 40 kilometres away. The town of 13,000 inhabitants is an important tourist destination as a brine and mud spa. Salt and potash mining was still actively carried out here until 1992. The former winding tower of Shaft 1 is not only a landmark of Bad Salzdetfurth, but also of the Bike and outdoor park (BOP)whose grounds are in the immediate vicinity. However, MTB sport made its debut in 2005 with the first cross-country race, which was held in the centre of the town at the time. In the meantime, Bad Salzdetfurth has developed into a Cross-country stronghold developed. The biking area around the village is part of the Innerste mountain region. The 360 metre high Griesberg is one of the last serious waves before the North German lowlands. Only the Deister mountain range near Hanover is a little further north. More striking mountains can only be found in the Harz Mountains, whose mountain ranges start just 30 kilometres south-east of Bad Salzdetfurth.

The 3 best trail tours from Bad Salzdetfurth

Tour 1: Griesberg circuit

• Length: 27.5 kilometres
• Uphill: 500 metres in altitude
• Pure journey time: 2.5 hours
• Difficulty: easy

Tour description

A whopping 50 per cent of trails sounds fun at first. However, these trails do not only lead downhill. And it is precisely these narrow climbs that require a lot of pressure on the pedals. This is something you can put behind your ears, or rather on your legs, right from the start on the root trail. This is followed by a section at the edge of the forest, which offers beautiful views to distract you from the effort. After crossing the road over the Roter Berg (at kilometre 10.4), a flowing trail section begins that leads down to Diekholzen. It is peppered with countless bends that are great fun. Enough of the downhill. For now. Because for the next eight kilometres, it's almost constantly uphill. As expected, the Griesberg, the longest climb in the region at 360 metres, needs to be conquered in a sporty manner. The TV tower marks the end of the climb, but fortunately not the end of the tour. As a final highlight, a trail leads back to the bike park and even over the new CC route at the very end.

Starting point The car park at the BOP (Bike & Outdoor Park), on the other side of the bypass.

Highlights The trail from Roter Berg down to Diekholzen (km 10.4) is really fun on the bike. Only topped by the crossing of the Griesberg with a final downhill back to Bad Salzdetfurth (km 23).

Key points The paths and trails can be ridden without any major difficulties. In the trail park, you can freely choose your line according to your ability.

Tour 2: Castles & mountains

• Length: 34 kilometres
• Uphill: 700 metres in altitude
• Pure journey time: 3 hours
• Difficulty: medium

Tour description

This tour combines trail fun and culture in its very own way. And once again, trail does not necessarily mean downhill. Rather, you ride constantly up and down in typical cross-country style. First test: the path through the Bode Valley to the Wesseln glider airfield, alternatively on the tarmac castle path next to it. The section to Derneburg leads over a constantly changing surface, but often offers beautiful views over the countryside. Derneburg Castle serves as a prominent art museum. A few lakes have been draped around it. In the middle of the forest, a bizarre mausoleum in the shape of an eleven metre high pyramid and a Greek temple, which was once used as a tea house by the lords of the region, will surprise you. Afterwards, the forest paths again demand a lot of attention. For example, the one over the Turmberg to the Söder moated castle, which looks like a miniature of Versailles. Finally, the Sauberge at the end of the tour lives up to its name: here you will find some really tough path ascents, but the downhill sections are also rewarding.

Starting point Bad Salzdetfurth centre, at the Hotel Kronprinz. The best way to get there is by bike, as parking is difficult here. Parking tip: Car park at the BOP (Bike & Outdoorpark), on the other side of the bypass (see also start of Tour 1)

Highlights The aerodrome trail at km 3, the ridge trail along the Innerstetal valley (from km 7). Derneburg Castle with its art museum (km 16) and the epic meadow avenue that leads to Söder Castle (km 25)

Key points The paths and trails can be ridden without any major difficulties. For the uphill sections on singletrack, however, you need pressure on the pedals.

Retreat The café in the glass house at Derneburg Castle (km 16).

Tour 3: Tosmarberg

• Length: 49 kilometres
• Uphill: 700 metres in altitude
• Pure travelling time: 4 hours
• Difficulty: medium

Tour description

The ridge of the Tosmar is celebrated by the locals as their local mountain. Its traverse is a highlight in itself, but ultimately only a small part of this large tour. The tour begins in the bike park with the serpentine ascent on the flow trail. The detour to the Kabus lookout tower is obligatory. Afterwards, a few ramps await on the climb up to Tosmar. If the view from the summit cross inspires you with literary inspiration, you can sign the summit book here. The trail descent to Diekholzen is perhaps the best in the entire region. From Forsthaus Söhrer, the route takes you to Hildesheim on fun country lanes and paths (tip: include a loop through the city centre, which is well worth a visit!) The way back starts with the crossing of Galgenberg and Knebelberg, the centre of the Hildesheim bike scene. For the last few kilometres, the route leads along the Innerste river back to Bad Salzdetfurth.

Starting point Car park at the BOP (Bike & Outdoor Park), on the other side of the ring road

Highlights Tosmarberg with long trail descent to Diekholzen. Schwarze Heide ridge trail (km 16.5). Trails over the Hildesheim Galgenberg (km 30.5)

Key points The paths and trails can be ridden without any major difficulties.

Retreat There are various places to stop for refreshments along this long loop: Forsthaus Söhrer (km 14.5). The city centre of Hildesheim, especially in Friesenstraße (km 22) and the Gasthaus Brockenblick (km 27.5).

GPS data Bad Salzdetfurth:

Info Bad Salzdetfurth

Arrival

By train: Bad Salzdetfurth is a stop on the Lammetal regional railway from Hildesheim station. This in turn is perfectly connected to the DB network. Bicycles can be taken on all train classes or must be reserved.

By car: Bad Salzdetfurth is located near the A7 motorway (Kassel-Hamburg), around 40 kilometres south of Hanover. Distance from Dortmund 270 km, from Leipzig 230 km and from Hamburg 200 km.

Overnight stay

In addition to two hotels, the small spa town offers several private guest houses and holiday flats. An overview can be found at www.bad-salzdetfurth.de. The historic Hotel Kronprinz (Unterstraße 105, hotel-kronprinz.de).
Motorhomes can officially park in the car park of the Solebad, even with electricity and waste disposal (Solebadstr.1). Further accommodation and camping facilities are planned at the bike park. There are other options in nearby Hildesheim.

Bike shops in the neighbourhood

Smaller repairs can be carried out by the Autohaus Schulze workshop in Bad Salzdetfurth (Unterstraße 61, Tel. 05063/387).

Two shop tips in the catchment area: Zweirad Kracke (Hildesheimerstr. 53, 31177 Harsum), 2radundservice.de and Kelpe Bikes (Borsigstraße 3c, 31061 Alfeld), kelpe.de

Guided tours/camps

Rock my Trail bike school, rockmytrail.comThe MTB school, which operates throughout Germany, also offers riding technique courses in the park in Bad Salzdetfurth. There is also a Propain test centre with rental in the bike park area (Schachtstraße 5, Tel. 0151/70155916).

Food and drink

Tips from the locals: After the tour, you naturally reward yourself with an ice cream at Dolce Vita (centre). Others go for a currywurst at the Kronprinzgrill opposite. The best pizza is at Sergio in Bodenburgerstraße. And at a later hour, you can have a lager or a drink in the Irish pub The Bridge (An der Lamme 3). With a bit of luck, there's even live music. By the way: Chef Paul Tuthill is also regularly at the bike park with his food trailer.

General information

Tourist-Info Bad Salzdetfurth, Solebadstr. 1, 31162 Bad Salzdetfurth, Tel. 05063/900-80

Highlights for mountain bikers in Bad Salzdetfurth

BOP - Bike & Outdoorpark

Opened in 2014, the park is located to the west of the old town at the foot of the Griesberg. The spacious area offers fun for all skill levels, from the balance bike course for the little ones to the big air jump area. In between, there is the Forest Pump pump track, several dirt lines and an area with Northshore elements. There are also places to chill out. The latest highlights: since 2019, the five-kilometre-long Rollercoaster Flowtrail has been encouraging people to ride rollercoasters. Trail boss Olaf has made sure that the route can be mastered by riders of all levels. And since the 2022 German Cross-Country Championships, the brand-new CC race course has been permanently signposted and open to riders. The usage fee for the park is (still) charged via a voluntary contribution, the so-called Trail-Taler, payable using PayPal and a QR code.

Info: sportstadt.bad-salzdetfurth.de

The riders from the Bike-Sport Bad Salzdetfurth club meet every Thursday from April to October at 6 pm at the Hotel Kronprinz under the motto "Cappuccino-Runde". Guests (including those with e-MTBs) are welcome to join them on the various training routes through the area. In the winter months, the rides take place at the weekend. Info: bike-sport-bad-salzdetfurth.de

The BIKE Report: Inner inspiration

A broken rear derailleur, broken spokes or a frame crash - there are plenty of worst-case scenarios in a cross-country race. However, fate had other plans for Olaf that day: double jump, too little speed, crash, broken shoulder. However, his personal worst-case scenario is not even the injury itself, but the bitter realisation that he is condemned to inactivity for the next few weeks. After all, topics such as rehab, a recovery programme and physiotherapy don't really fit into Olaf's lifestyle. He would rather be riding diggers, shovelling table football, organising events, charming sponsors - and of course riding his mountain bike himself. All of this always at the limit, if possible. Because in the small town of Bad Salzdetfurth, Olaf Nützsche is practically the boss on duty when it comes to cycling. A doer in the best sense of the word. Without him, the tranquil town, 24 minutes south of Hildesheim by car, would still be a blank spot on the German MTB map. But it no longer is. And this despite the fact that the nearest low mountain range worth mentioning, the Harz, is 30 kilometres away. But more on that later.

You can tell that Olaf's shoulder hurts, but his legs are already tingling again. But it doesn't help. He has to grudgingly hand over the job of guiding me personally through his bike area in and around Bad Salzdetfurth to his MTB mates Jochen and Günther. Change of scene. A path in the thicket between Wesseln and Derneburg. Two village nests in Lower Saxony that probably trigger a knowing "aha" in very few people. Every now and then the bushes allow a glimpse into the distance. Of wide, gently undulating land. Of rolling cornfields. To wooded hills. "It's up there, then it's all downhill." It feels like the tenth time I've heard this sentence from Jochen today. No wonder, really, because that's what the typical German low mountain topography entails: after the mountain is before the mountain. No descent without a counter-climb. The good thing is that you really can't complain about a lack of variety in this area.

Curious sights: Who would expect to find a pyramid by the wayside?

The sawtooth profile only becomes a problem if you go beyond your physical capabilities. Damn, do I really look that exhausted already? But these two are also pushing on the pedals like there's a Strava segment to defend. Well, I wish I'd taken a look at the biographies of these two locomotives: Mountain bikers from the very beginning, an average of twenty races a year, German championships, Transalp finishers, the list of successes goes on and on. "The tours in our region are tougher than they seem," Günther calls back over his shoulder. "You didn't expect that, did you?" I can hardly answer because my body needs my breath elsewhere. Fortunately, the curious sights of Derneburg provide a temporary respite. Who would expect an eleven metre high mausoleum in the middle of the forest that looks like an Egyptian pyramid? The only thing missing for total mysticism is the mummy of Count Ernst zu Münster waving from the rusty bars at the entrance portal. Unfortunately, the monument, built in 1839, is now quite weathered because no money can be found to restore it.

The next section of the trail ends at a Greek temple, which again doesn't quite fit in with the state of Lower Saxony. We conclude that the count was not the only ruler of this era who knew how to surprise with extravagances. Just think of King Ludwig of Bavaria. The trail chase continues over endless undulations, through epic avenues and past another castle that bears witness to the former prosperity of the nobility. The last hurdle for today is the Sauberg-Höhenweg, a ridgeway typical of the area, which used to serve as a natural border between the estates.

But it's not until what feels like five more high points and corresponding counter-climbs later that our circular tour descends into the final descent. At an overgrown ravine, already within sight of Bad Salzdetfurth again, Jochen stops and points promisingly upwards. "The route of our cross-country race used to go over the edge there," recalls the local. "That was before we built the new course next to the bike park." Then his outstretched arm moves to the left and draws a virtual switchback in the meadow slope below us. "Then full speed through the courtyard of the house down there and into the centre of Marktstraße." You can see Jochen's enthusiasm. "Olaf had the idea for the first race in 2005. But I'll let him tell you about his crazy plans himself." Ten minutes later, we slow down at the ice cream parlour, where the well-known local is already waiting for us.

The pictures on his smartphone are impressive. They show Bad Salzdetfurth in a state of emergency. A colourful field of mountain bikers races through a corridor of celebrating spectators. A witches' cauldron boils between the historic half-timbered houses. But why here in this tranquil spa town, where time seems to have stood still in time-honoured spas and sanatoriums?

"It all started with my transition from footballer to cyclist," says Olaf, who moved from Lusatia to Lower Saxony in 1993. He was hired as a goalkeeper by the local third division club. At some point, cycling was the order of the day as part of a rehabilitation programme. With resounding healing success. After founding his first bike team in 2003, the idea of bringing new momentum to the city and organising a race matured. "I approached the second mayor at the time and he spontaneously gave me the go-ahead," recalls Olaf, who can't help but grin. "I didn't have a concrete plan at the time. My motto has always been: learning by doing."

But together with Thomas Kasten, the foundation was laid for the success story of "Badse", as the locals affectionately call their town, which continues to this day. Numerous national and international championships have been held on the trails to date. Another milestone followed in 2014 with the opening of the bike park. The concept is working. "Illegal trail building in our forests has decreased significantly," summarises Olaf.

Despite shoulder pain, he doesn't miss the opportunity to show me his latest project. At least virtually. On a campus the size of a football pitch, a perfect infrastructure for bikers is to be created in the near future. From a pitch for campers to accommodation. "Investors are already on board," says the bike maniac happily. I'm still happy about the fun factors that are already in place. The next morning, I meet up with Marco Klages and other riders from the local MTB club. The plan: a lap through the park and then over to the locals' home trails on the Tosmarberg. The rollercoaster flow trail and the new cross-country race track are perfect for incorporating into longer tours.

In the absence of a lift, the route of the roller coaster winds its way up to the start at an ideal incline. Countless hairpin bends ensure uphill flow at its finest. The Stelvio Pass of Lower Saxony, so to speak. Before the boys branch off to Tosmar, we do the whole loop once and let the centrifugal forces in the finely modelled steep bends work their magic on us on the descent. And all without any climbs! But of course, there are still some to come.