Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
From Hamburg to Heath and Hills
Distance
74 Mi.
(119 KM)Days
2
% Unpaved
70%
% Singletrack
20%
% Rideable (time)
99%
Total Ascent
2,323'
(708 M)High Point
508'
(155 M)Difficulty (1-10)
3?
- 2Climbing Scale Easy31 FT/MI (6 M/KM)
- 3Technical Difficulty Fair
- 5Physical Demand Moderate
- 2Resupply & Logistics Easy
Contributed By
Felix Lichtenstein
Guest Contributor
Felix grew up in the Black Forest and has bikepacked with his wife Linda in the Americas, Albania, Israel, Sardinia, and Andalusia. He is based in Hamburg, where he works in bicycle urbanism and plans his escapes to the mountains to cycle or climb whenever possible. Find photos from the Americas trip on Instagram @a.l.l.t.h.e.w.a.y.
As its name implies, the North German Plain is not obvious bikepacking territory. In total, you will climb only 700 meters on this excursion from Hamburg, Germany’s second-biggest city, into the large nature conservancy areas to its south. You will summit the less-than-impressive highest peaks of Hamburg (Hasselbrack, 116 meters) and the heath district (Wilseder Berg, 169 meters).
Still, the undulating sandy trails, punchy climbs, and views of the vast heathland plains with their surrounding oak, pine, and beech forests make for great, accessible riding. This unique cultural landscape, created by centuries of intensive grazing and regular turf removal, is characterized by large areas of common heather, especially spectacular when it flowers in late August. It is a beautiful landscape and a great ride at any time of year, with autumn and winter each having its own charm and allowing for faster rides on hard-packed sand. This route has been designed and scouted to maximize fun on the trails and to visit the most beautiful areas of several nature reserves. Lüneburg Heath Nature Reserve encompasses Central Europe’s largest connected heathlands and is completely car-free.
Route Difficulty
The route is centered around flowy trails and fast gravel roads. With easy access and regular resupply options, it should be a fun outing for seasoned bikepackers and a doable challenge for keen rookies. The route consists mostly of dirt roads and flowy trails. A few rooty downhills and sandy patches spice up the ride. While beginners should not underestimate the distances, they will hardly be pushing their bikes anywhere on this route. There are no great peaks to be climbed on this route, but many punchy climbs add up to two fully satisfying days of riding or three easier days. Easy resupply and a mild climate make this overnighter a nice intro to trail-oriented bikepacking. Public transport is easily accessible on both ends of the route, one being a major train hub. Camping is very limited because of Germany’s laws and the large nature reserves, but several good, straightforward options exist along the route.
Route Development: This route was borne out of a self-imposed challenge to spend a night outdoors at least once every month of the year. I quickly found out that the best all-year riding around Hamburg lies in the sandy heaths to its south. The route combines many of the nicest landscapes and trails I discovered during overnight rides in 2025.
This route is part of the Local Overnighter Project, which was created to expand our growing list of worldwide bikepacking routes—the first and largest of its kind—and create an independent map and catalog of great bikepacking overnighters, curated by you, from your own backyard. Our goal is to have accessible routes from every town and city in the world. Learn More
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Highlights
Must Know
Camping
Food/H2O
Trail Notes
Resources
- Discover Germany’s second-largest city on enjoyable bike paths.
- Have a delicious beer at the Wildwuchs craft beer brewery (every first Friday of the month is Taco Friday).
- Ride fun singletrails along the glider airfield, through the heathlands, and into Soltau.
- Experience the unique flora of the Lüneburg heath with its wide-open landscapes and winding trails.
- Spot purple heath flowers in summer, innumerable mushrooms in autumn, and hair ice in winter.
- Enjoy the views over the North German Plain from Wilseder Berg.
- Have a big piece of cake at the cosy Schafstall café.
- This is a great ride in any season. Late summer and early fall are recommended for the famous heath flower, when the heathlands turn deep purple. The heathflower barometer lets you know when the flowering is in full swing. On the downside, expect crowds of hikers on the main trails, especially around towns and train stations. Spring brings lush greens and countless songbirds returning from the south, but you might encounter some rain. In summer, the trails can get sandy and slow, yet long days and warm evenings make for rewarding bivy nights. Late fall usually brings rain, colourful leaves, and plenty of mushrooms. The trails get harder-packed and less travelled, allowing for flowy, fast riding. Winter offers a quiet, meditative adventure, a chance to fully disconnect from the city and enjoy the crisp air and empty trails.
- Some shared trails of this route are part of the Heidschnuckenweg, one of Germany’s most popular long-distance hiking trails. Make sure to slow down and take care when you pass hikers. A friendly greeting and adjusted speeds go a long way to ensure that hikers and cyclists can continue to use these trails alongside each other. In summer, especially in August and September at the height of the heathflower bloom, weekdays are preferable to weekends, and early morning is preferable to noon on these sections. The route avoids some of the busiest trails around Buchholz on gravel roads.
- Hamburg is a major train hub and easily accessible from anywhere in Europe. Soltau is a 1.5-hour train ride from Hamburg, with one change in Buchholz. Trains leave hourly and all trains transport bikes. Be aware that there are no reservations, and bike carriages can be crowded, especially on summer weekends.
- The route crosses three nature reserves: Fischbek Heath, Beech Forests of Rosengarten, and Lüneburg Heath. Please make sure to leave no trace, do not collect flowers or mushrooms, and do not camp within the nature reserves. Free exhibitions in Fischbek and in Undeloh offer informative insights into the genesis and ongoing protection of these cultural landscapes.
- The route is developed by connecting sections that have beautiful landscapes and are fun to ride on a hardtail mountain bike. Because of the sandy sections, plus tires are a great choice, especially in the dry summer months, although skinnier MTB tires should be mostly fine even on a rigid bike. That being said, there are equally beautiful routes on easier paths if you are riding a loaded gravel bike.
- All of the route is ridable with a lightweight setup and wide MTB tires. Some steep climbs and one little drop near the glider airfield will require pushing on a heavier setup. With a loaded gravel bike, some of the trail sections will not be fun.
- There are train stations along the route in Buchholz, Holm-Seppensen, Wörme, Handeloh, and Schneverdingen, allowing riders to cut the second day short if things turn out differently than expected. However, since the nicest landscapes are toward the south of the route, I would advise skipping the first part if you know from the beginning you will not complete the full 120 kilometres. Fischbek is accessible by suburban train S3/S5.
- Camping is forbidden in the nature reserves, and wild camping is generally banned in Germany (although less strictly enforced outside of nature reserves).
- The best options are two ecological farms roughly half-way along the route that offer camping: Hof Wörme in Wörme and Seevehof in Hanstedt-Weihe. Please contact the owners ahead of your visit. There is also a campsite near Behringen (Brunautal).
- There are several supermarkets close to the trail in Hamburg, Nenndorf, and Soltau.
- Kaffeeliebe café and Wildwuchs brewery are two nice options on the way out of the city, but there are many more in Hamburg’s southern boroughs of Wilhelmsburg and Harburg.
- Do not miss out on cake at the beautiful Schafstall café in Büsenbachtal.
- Water is available publicly in many spots along the trail. Cemeteries are a good option and almost always have water, even in winter. Please be respectful of visitors.
- The trail along the glider airfield in Fischbek Heath loops back on an old tank road and can be easily skipped. It is, however, one of the most fun sections of the route.
- If you have more time, you can follow Heidschnuckenweg through Buchholz outside of the busiest summer months. You can also follow it south from Soltau as far as Celle.
Day 1
Within 30 minutes of leaving Hamburg’s central train station, you will cross the Elbe River and have a view of Germany’s largest port. Depending on your schedule, a stop at the Kaffeeliebe café for waffles or a pint at the Wildwuchs craft beer brewery on the river island of Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg is a nice way to start the journey. Soon after, you will reach gravel roads, greenways, and sneaky trails. After leaving the city, you will enter the Fischbek Heath and enjoy the first fun, flowy singletrails.
From there, you will cross the beech forests of Rosengarten. Nenndorf is your last option of the day to stock up on food at the supermarket or have some coffee at the bakery. Join some faster gravel roads with a short stretch of asphalt to pass the town of Buchholz and enter the much larger Lüneburg Heath Nature Reserve. Wild camping and bivouacking are strictly forbidden within the reserve, but there are two organic farms south of Buchholz that offer camping. Please make sure to contact them ahead of your stay.
Day 2
Another day of riding on gravel roads with beautiful singletrack intermezzos takes you through the heart of the Lüneburg Heath. Undeloh has a free exhibition about the heathlands cultural landscape and a café. From there, you climb up to Wilseder Berg and enjoy some nice trail riding through Totengrund.
Follow gravel roads until the Böhme River. Along it, you will sneak into Soltau on the last trail of the day. The return train journey to Hamburg takes about an hour and a half.
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