1. castles and palaces: from Kevelaer to five aristocratic hostels
We start our 50-kilometre tour in the middle of the Marian pilgrimage town of Kevelaer and cycle south-east. Haag Castle on the northern edge of Geldern, which dates back mainly to the 17th century, is one of the most important moated castles on the Lower Rhine. The courtyard of the outer bailey is open to visitors. From Geldern, the route turns northwards again. How about a coffee stop at the Binnenheide farm café? Refreshed, you can then continue via Winnekendonk to Kervenheim Castle, now owned by the Protestant Church. The next residence on the tour is Kalbeck Castle. Although it is privately owned, guided tours of the chapel, library and castle garden are organised by prior arrangement.
2nd Heath and Lakes Route: Excursion to the Netherlands
Our "Tour de Natur" starts in the brine garden in Kevelaer. We head straight west across the border with the Netherlands and into the Maasdünen National Park. The area between the Meuse and the German border consists of an elongated sandy ridge in the north of the province of Limburg. It is about three kilometres wide and twenty kilometres long. The natural landscape consists mainly of forests, heathland, moors, ponds and lakes. With a bit of luck, you may see beavers, foxes, bats, toads, lizards, snakes and numerous birds, such as the crane. Sheep, goats and Galloway cattle take care of the grazing.
3. on the Bylerward route around Kleve: historical sights on the Lower Rhine
Bylerward is a district of Kalkar and is located in a polder and landscape conservation area where Arctic geese spend the winter in the cold season. The Bylerward route takes us through this historic landscape around Kleve. Several local museums, such as the museum of local history in the Hanseatic town of Grieth am Rhein, provide an insight into the history of the region. The tour starts in Kleve at the collegiate and provost church. Close by is the Schwanenburg, a landmark that characterises the Kleve region. After a short drive, you pass the Prince Moritz Tomb, which Prince Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen had built in 1678. However, he was buried in the princely crypt in Siegen. Continue to the Hanseatic town of Grieth on the Rhine. A stop at the Wunderland Kalkar leisure park or Wisseler See lake is particularly worthwhile for families with children.
4. from Kalkar on the Meuse tour: from the Rhine to the Meuse
We set off from the gates of Kalkar in a south-westerly direction towards Uedem. The old farmhouse on Uedemerfelder Straße dates back to 1851 and other farmsteads line the route to Kervenheim like a string of pearls. We cycle to the centre of Kevelaer via Schravelen and a bridge over the Niers. If you don't know it yet, it's definitely worth a stop here, e.g. for the historic centre, St. Anthony's Church or the Stassen House. The next stage destinations are Twisteden and the crossing into the Netherlands. We cross the forest and heathland region of the Meuse Dunes National Park and take the cycle ferry across the Meuse to Blitterswijck.
5th round of the Lower Rhine Photo Route: not just for Instagram users
Culture, sport, nature and, above all, marvellous panoramas - there is plenty on offer for touring cyclists on the long "photo route". Not forgetting Germany's most famous bitters, after whose manufacturing family the listed open-air swimming pool in Rheinberg is named. Speaking of the photo route: in the towns of Alpen, Rheinberg, Sonsbeck and Xanten there are large landscape picture frames to "frame" special photo spots. But other points on the circular tour are also very photogenic, such as the Kriemhild windmill in Xanten and the Plaggenhütte Bönninghardt, a reconstructed old dwelling of the first settlers from 1770 with a farm garden.
6. from Xanten to Kamp Abbey: to the Sanssouci of the Lower Rhine
The complex is indeed similar to Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam - but a little more modest, after all it is a monastery. Kamp Abbey is the southern turning point of our tour, which starts at the tourist information centre in Xanten. What looks a bit like a lottery is the route description by junctions. If you are not using a sat nav, follow the signs with the cycle route numbers from the centre of Xanten.
7. from Xanten through the nature park and nature reserve: castles, forest and Rhine meadows
The tour is actually called the Castles Tour because it takes you past Diersfordt Castle and Ringenberg Castle. However, the focus is more on the towns and villages on the Lower Rhine and the landscape of the Hohe Mark - Westmünsterland Nature Park. If you don't have a satnav or a satnav app for your smartphone, you can also follow the points of the junction system on this tour. Start in Xanten and then take the ferry across the Rhine to the Droste Woy nature reserve. We soon reach Diersfordter Schloss on the Waldsee lake. Continuing north-east, we reach the town of Hamminkeln with sights such as the historic Bovenkerck distillery, the Weßling windmill and, on the outskirts of the town, Ringenberg castle and church.
The tour tips in the Lower Rhine cycling region at a glance incl. GPS data
- Castles and palaces: 51 km
- Heath and Lakes Route: 50 km
- Bylerward route: 57 km
- Meuse tour: 67 km
- Photo route: 71 km
- To Kamp Monastery: 66 km
- Nature park circuit: 76 km
GPS data of the cycling pleasure tours on the Lower Rhine
You can download the GPX tracks for the 7 cycle tours on the Lower Rhine download here for free
or find them in the MYBIKE Collection "MYBIKE tour tips on the Lower Rhine" on komoot.
Cycle tour information cycle region Lower Rhine
Arrival
by train: Cities such as Wesel, Kleve, Kevelaer and Xanten can be easily reached by train, for example by changing trains in Duisburg and Düsseldorf.
Long-distance cycle paths nearby
- Orange cycle route, 225 km
- Boxtel railway route, 176 km
- Green route, 355 km
- #RadLustNiederrhein, 207 km
- Lower Rhine Route, 1,215 km
- 3-Rivers-Route, 163 km
- Via Romana, 260 km
- Roman-Lippe Route, 479 km
Bike hire & bike service
More than 30 Niederrhein-Rad hire stations with over 1,000 bikes can be found throughout the region. https://niederrhein-tourismus.de/fahrradverleih-niederrheinrad
Cycling holiday packages
A large selection of multi-day cycle tour packages on the Lower Rhine is available from www.2-land-reisen.de and www.france-bike.com
Bike-friendly accommodation
- Engels Ratskeller in Geldern, https://engels-ratskeller.de;
- Hotel-Restaurant Neumaier in Xanten, www.hotel-neumaier.de;
- Xotel in Xanten, www.x-otel.de/index.php/de;
- House Thoeren in Kerken-Aldekerk, www.hotel-thoeren.de;
- Hotel Kaiserhof in Wesel, www.hotelkaiserhof.de;
- Hotel Specht in Sonsbeck, www.hotelspecht.de;
- Lindenhof in Kranenburg-Mehr, www.lindenhof-niederrhein.de
Further cycle-friendly accommodation at www.bettundbike.de and https://niederrhein-tourismus.de
Route planning & maps
Cycle route planner, tour tips, themed tours etc. at https://maps.niederrhein-tourismus.de/de/tourenplaner;
Bikeline-Radtourenbuch kompakt "NiederRheinroute", 324 pages; Bikeline-Radkarte "Niederrhein Nord", 1:75,000; Kompass "Radvergnügen Niederrhein", 240 pages
Literature
Droste Verlag "Glücksorte am Niederrhein".
DuMont "52 small & large escapades on the Lower Rhine".
More info
Downloads
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