Route description for Ruufer - bike path BE - DE - NL

Anyone who goes to Rurquelle in the Belgian Fagnes will not initially believe that this enchanted place is only a few kilometers away from Aachen, Eupen or Liège. Here, at the highest point in Belgium, visitors can expect an unusual habitat and an ecosystem that is unique in Central Europe, a raised bog of an unusual size. The town of Monschau invites every cyclist to take a rest, explore the city center and enjoy the flair of the former stronghold of cloth making. Through the deep notched valley of the Rur we head towards the Rurseenplatte. Towering slate rocks accompany the small road and the subsequent off-road paths that lead through the valley to Einruhr.

The next section of the RurUfer cycle path focuses on the only national park in NRW, the Eifel National Park, in addition to the large dammed water areas. You will experience the area where wild cats, woodpeckers and wall lizards call the shots and where people "let nature be nature". The RurUfer cycle path runs along both banks of the Rursee. The route to the right of the bank crosses the national park, to the left you will come across the water sports resort of Woffelsbach before you reach your destination, Heimbach.

Distance 65.3 km

Duration 4:30 h

Ascent 303 m

Descent 793 m

Highest point 693 m

Lowest point 204 m

Source: outdooractive.com

Starting from Kalterherberg train station, we first ride on the old railway line to then reach the starting point of the Signal de Botrange cycle path on the banks of the Rur.

Back the same way and on to Monschau. The plan was that only I would drive back to get the camper and use the parking space in Monschau for the next night.

After seeing the Monschau parking space https://www.promobil.de/stellplatz/stellplatz-am-vennbad-5a143c59f28b876f71468351.html we changed our plans and drove to Ruhrberg.

Back to Monschau it goes through a narrow valley that the Rur dug here.

A lot of half-timbering and beautiful old houses give an idea that a lot of money was once made in Monschau. The city is well preserved and now lives from tourism.

Back at the Rursee we are dealing with a completely different landscape. Of course, man intervened and dammed this lake. With many side arms, which were probably formed by some tributaries, it goes to Heimbach. As a way back to the parking space, we use the other side of the lake as a small shortcut.

Then we transfer to Heimbach.

Rugged rock formations, castles and wildly towering rock towers as well as a gently undulating Börde landscape with arable land and artificially created arms of the river characterize this stage. Düren with its 1950s charm, Jülich with its fortifications and Indeland, which is in the midst of a structural change from opencast lignite mining to a new landscape, also characterize this stage of the RurUfer cycle path.

From Heimbach it goes along the northern part of the national park and below the towering red sandstone cliffs of Nideggen to the last reservoir of the Rur. Be sure to check out the fish ladder at Obermaubach, which will allow migratory fish to resume their normal life cycle in the spawning waters of the upper reaches of the river. After that, the mountains disappear and large alluvial forests line the Rur to Düren. A detour to the district town is worthwhile to take a break at the traffic-calmed market square or to visit one of the museums. We continue to Julich. At least three special features await you there. Before reaching the city, a visit to the Inden open-cast lignite mine is tempting. This can be circumnavigated with a 12 km long loop. The steel Indemann invites you to climb and enjoy a magnificent all-round view.

In Jülich, be sure to visit the Renaissance citadel and the Bridgehead Park from Napoleonic times. Here the third stage can be finished.

Duration 3:30 h

Ascent 77 m

Descent 208 m

Highest point 221 m

Lowest point77 hm

Source: outdooractive.com

Since the mobile home port in Heimbach is right next to the train station and Jülich also has a train station, it makes sense here to complete the stage and catch up with the mobile home by taking public transport back. This also worked very well, but took a little over 2.5 hours.

The country becomes flatter and flatter, the Rur calmer and the journey more leisurely the further north you go. Linnich holds the glass painting museum and then it goes on to the Heinsberger Land. You drive between meadows and pastures through the wide floodplain landscape, past mansions and moated castles (Haus Großkünkel, Haus Kleinkünkel, Rittergut Grittern, Burg Wassenberg, Haus Effelt), idyllic small towns and various lakes (Adolfosee in Ratheim, Effelder Waldsee). The Hilfarth district of Hückelhoven was known in earlier times for the production of woven baskets and other objects made of willow branches. In the past, the basket-making villages lined up like a string of pearls. The museum in Hückelhoven-Hilfarth tells the history of basket making on the Rur and invites visitors to join in. Winding towers and tailings dumps in Hückelhoven and Ratheim, on the other hand, are reminiscent of the former Sophia-Jacoba colliery and the importance of hard coal mining in the region. At the end of the tour, you cross the border in the direction of Roermond, which invites you to stroll and stroll with its numerous shops and cafés.

Distance 56.2 km

Duration 2:30 h

Ascent 49 m

Descent 92 m

Highest point79 hm

Lowest point 17 m

Source: outdooractive.com

We have planned about half of stage three. This is the town of Hückelhofen. The route had no significant highlights and neither did Hückelhofen. That's why we had enough time to move to Roermond, where we had reserved - and that was a good thing.

However, we turned around shortly before because the Father's Day hustle and bustle in Germany was much heavier than in the Dutch section of our tour.

We then paid a visit to the Roermond designer outlet and ended our Rur tour with it.