Dramatic explosions and huge firestorms have blown holes in the earth and piled up mountains. The volcanic Eifel once roared with vigour. "That was over 10,000 years ago," grins Uli Heinrichs: "It's quieter here today." That's right: The bikes lean against the railings of the Achterhöhe viewing platform. Our gaze wanders over a picture-perfect idyll: gently undulating low mountain peaks, deep green forest, hazy golden morning sun - oh, it's really something for the heart! But also something for the biker soul? We cranked up to this panoramic spot in the forest above the small Eifel village of Lutzerath on a relaxed forest track. "Okay, it hasn't really been spectacular so far," admits Uli: "But wait and see!" "Trails galore lie ahead of us!" At least that's what Uli and his mate Patrick Lohberg promised last night over a double Eifel burger with plenty of cheese in a pub in Daun. Now, pedalling next to me, he adds with a beaming smile: "But it's going to be exhausting, even with an electric motor. It's straight to the point up ahead!"
For three days, the two guys from Eifel want to show me the trails of their home region. The idea: to combine as many trails as possible into a coherent stage tour. Will they succeed? The first trail descent of the day from Lutzerath into the Üßbachtal valley, which starts quite abruptly, sets the bar pretty high: first we head through a few loose bends in a forest full of holm oaks: Hmm! Lots of flow on soft forest soil! Then the first root lumps push themselves out of the ground, flanked by mossy rocks. And at the end, a scree-covered steep slide awaits. And this forces the brakes on my e-mountainbike to reach maximum operating temperature. For the first time, I'm sitting on a "Hohe Acht" bike, which Patrick organised especially for our tour from the local Eifel bike manufacturer. One last spirited swing through a bend in the path, then we roll out onto the shady valley floor. Wow, it can go on like this!
The lava mountains tower around Bad Bertrich - the most beautiful trails await here.
And that's exactly what it does! In the Siebenbachtal valley, a sluggish morning mist rises from the dewy meadows, the stream babbles leisurely at the bottom of the valley, but we really get going on the forest and root trails that follow. When we finally take a short break on a forest path to spare our nerves and batteries, Uli simply says: "That's just the way it is here: It's up and down all the time, on constantly changing terrain. The Eifel is pretty rugged."
Next on the agenda are the trails around Bad Bertrich, where Patrick says the best trails of the day await! Bad Bertrich is a rather sleepy spa town. But all around it, lava mountains tower up, their steep flanks forming an excitingly wild basin. And the highly praised single trails are balanced exactly where it is steepest: hard on the abyss over crumbly slate, sometimes the ground is blocked and there are even a few small jumps. It's a good thing that there are railings at the steepest points to show that you really need to pay attention here! At first glance, the Eifel doesn't look all that challenging: The former volcanic peaks have been ground down by the ravages of time to form lovely low mountain hills and the remaining crater holes have filled up with water. Incidentally, the circular crater lakes are called maars and are the trademark of the volcanic Eifel. There is an abundance of water here, it has dug deep talc trenches and gushes out of the volcanic rock in all sorts of places as mineral water. So we won't die of thirst on our tour. But beware: "Every spring tastes different," says Patrick, "depending on which minerals are dissolved in it." The water from the Darscheider Drees, for example, which gurgles out of the pipe in the middle of the forest and now directly into our drinking bottles, is slightly reddish with iron and also tastes a little sour, but is "pretty healthy."
My companion Uli earns his money as a substitute farmer
While Patrick works in real life as a German and PE teacher at a grammar school in Daun, his mate Uli is employed by the state as a farmer. His job: if a farmer falls ill, Uli comes to the farm to cover for him, milk the cows or plough the field. That's why he knows every trail, every rock and every root within a radius of 100 kilometres around Daun - "and Uli knows a story about every remote corner," adds Patrick with a wink and reveals: "That's why we call him 'the radio'." Patrick and Uli have joined forces with other bikers to form a club: the Vulkanbiker. They have been organising the annual marathon for over 20 years, offer guided tours and take care of trail maintenance in the Vulkaneifel trail park. The route network comprises over 750 signposted kilometres, explains Patrick: "The network grows every year. But we still have a few trails up our sleeve that are not yet part of it." They show me two such gems on the last day of the tour: first we cycle across deep green summer meadows with great views. Then the two of them head towards the edge of the forest and disappear into it. I try to keep up, but quickly lose track in the thicket of mighty oaks and Douglas firs. Oh, up ahead! The two of them are waiting at the junction, where the forest ends just as abruptly as it began. "Now we'll show you our Grand Canyon!" Which is, of course, a slight exaggeration. As it turns out, Uli is talking about a lava quarry. Several narrow paths criss-cross the area, winding, undulating trails curve around sharp-edged lava boulders. The mountain flanks, torn open by excavators, reveal bizarrely coloured rock formations: sulphur yellow, deep black, brick red. As we continue the tour, one thing is pretty clear: you can definitely drive yourself dizzy on the trails of the volcanic Eifel.
Stage 1: From Lutzerath to Himmerod Abbey
- Length: 67.3 kilometres
- Uphill: 1558 metres in altitude
- Downhill: 1661 metres in depth
- Trail difficulty: 35 % medium, 5 % difficult
Tour description: Between the start in Lutzerath and the day's destination, Himmerod Abbey, there are several trail loops, relaxed sections of forest road and just a little bit of tarmac. The first forest trail descent into the Üßbachtal valley awaits immediately after rolling in. The first one and a half kilometres are still easy on the tyres, but later the path becomes steeper and throws up stones and roots (S1). The Siebenbachtal trails follow immediately afterwards, winding through dense forest. There are two short pushing sections here, but after that you can really step on the gas again on narrow to wider forest paths. The next highlight are the trails around Bad Bertrich. These are technically more demanding, with smaller drops and some slightly blocked sections. The spa town of Bad Bertrich offers excellent refreshment stops to recharge your batteries!
Then it's back along the Üßbach stream, where easy field and forest paths lead into the Lieser valley. The spectacular and technically demanding Lieser Trail awaits here (up to S2 in places) - be careful, risk of falling! Ride carefully and, if in doubt, dismount. The terrain then calms down again before a final highlight awaits shortly before the end of the stage: the root trail on the Hunnenkopf (up to S2). Although the descent is not particularly long, it entertains with interspersed root steps and is often muddy and rutted in the lower section.
Overnight tip: Klosterherberge Himmerod: Situated in a secluded valley, heavenly tranquillity, simple rooms - and you can even leave your mobile phone off for lack of reception. Delicious food in the monastery restaurant, www.abteihimmerod.de
Stage 2: From Himmerod Monastery to Darscheid
- Length: 60.5 kilometres
- Uphill: 1279 metres in altitude
- Downhill: 1095 metres in depth
- Trail difficulty: 35 % medium, 10 % difficult
Tour description: The trails around Manderscheid are undoubtedly the best in the entire region. And this labyrinth is on the programme for the second day. Shortly after the start at Himmerod Abbey, a rooty river trail challenges you to dance, but then you can warm up on relaxed forest paths that lead through the headwaters of the Salm. Depending on the weather conditions of the previous days, the ground here can be wet and muddy! After a winding forest and meadow descent, the basin opens up to the Meerfelder Maar. A trail circles the lake directly on the shore. Shortly afterwards, the Windsborn crater follows, crowned by an imposing summit cross. From a geological point of view, the lake below is not a maar, but one of the few genuine crater lakes north of the Alps.
Halfway along the route, the tour rejoins the Lieser Trail, which is exposed and bumpy in places and requires courage, but is generally easy to ride. The root trail at kilometre 38 is perhaps a place where descending might be the better option. However, this is followed by a partly exposed high-level trail that can be ridden effortlessly.
Highlight of the day: the Koulshore in the Vulkaneifel trail park. Winding technical trails, Northshores and a pump track await here. Then it's off to the heart of the Vulkaneifel: the Dauner Maare. The ascent from the Gemünden maar is crisp: the only ski slope in the Volcanic Eifel climbs up to the drone tower and rewards you with a panoramic view as far as the Hunsrück, Cologne and Koblenz.
Overnight tip in Darscheid: Kucher's Landhotel, upscale four-star hotel with a great restaurant, www.kucherslandhotel.de
Stage 3: Volcano circuit from Darscheid
- Length: 65.8 kilometres
- Uphill: 1330 metres in altitude
- Downhill: 1330 metres in depth
- Trail difficulty: 35 % medium, 5 % difficult
Tour description: The third stage makes a long loop from Darscheid, taking in many of the circular Eifel maars along the way. There are a total of nine of these lakes along the way. The highlight of the whole tour is the lava quarry in Üdersdorf, which is still in operation but is partially accessible by bike. Bizarrely coloured layers of earth lie exposed here. But before you can let off steam on these winding quarry trails, there are just under 16 varied kilometres to roll in: Shortly after Daun, you take a short, flowing trail from Wehrbüsch into the Daun spa gardens. The ascent from Weiersbach throws a few roots and small steps in front of the fork. Small technical sections that require momentum and suck a lot of juice out of your battery. But it's worth the effort, of course, because the previously announced highlight of the day awaits behind it: the winding Löhley trails in the lava quarry near Üdersdorf. And to keep the excitement going, just a few hundred metres further on is the so-called Teufelsrutsch downhill. However, we ride it up to the Weinfelder Maar - which is effortless thanks to electric power and sufficient visibility. Almost at the end of the loop, we ride through the impressive Strohner Schweiz. A short but all the more beautiful trail leads through an alpine-style gorge carved into the rock by the Alfbach stream.
GPS data for the MTB Eifel tour
Info about the stage tour
The precinct
Where the volcanoes bubbled mightily in prehistoric times, today lie the idyllic hills of the Volcanic Eifel. The highest mountain is the Hohe Acht, the peak of an extinct volcano, which is almost 750 metres high. The area is as hilly as a rollercoaster course, not only are there more extinct volcanoes and crater lakes than you can count, there are also heaps of forest trails for mountain biking. The Eifel is ideal for challenging cross-country tours, because it's not just always up and down, but you can spice up the tours with plenty of flowing to technical single trails.
Best time to travel
The Eifel is one of the German low mountain regions that is surprisingly often cool and rainy, even in summer. However, it is rarely too hot for biking.
Journey
by public transport The area around Daun is not really easy to reach by public transport. If you still want to give it a try, there are buses from the railway stations in Cochem an der Mosel or Gerolstein.
Tour information
Guided tours: whether it's a multi-day trip or an extended day tour, if anyone knows the best trails in the Volcanic Eifel, it's the guides from Eifel-Bike, www.eifel.bike
For those who prefer to set off on their own: 750 kilometres of tour network have now been signposted in the Vulkaneifel. An overview and all information about the Vulkaneifel Trail Park can be found at www.trailpark.bike
Accommodation
We spent the night here during our three-day stage tour and can recommend the accommodation:
- Lutzerath: Hotel-Restaurant Maas, simple country hotel with solid restaurant. Info: www.hotel-maas.de
- Klosterherberge Himmerod: Situated in a secluded valley, heavenly tranquillity, simple rooms - and you can even leave your mobile phone off for lack of reception. Delicious food in the monastery restaurant, www.abteihimmerod.de
- Darscheid: Kucher's Landhotel, upscale four-star hotel with a great restaurant. www.kucherslandhotel.de
Events
The German Gravel Bike Championships were also held for the first time at the VulkanBike Marathon in 2023. Race date for 2024: 7 September. Info and registration: www.vulkan.bike
General information
www.geopark-vulkaneifel.de and www.vulkaneifel.de
