The North Sea to the west, the River Eider to the north and the Kiel Canal to the south-east make the district of Dithmarschen a small island on the mainland. You will look in vain for hills or mountains here.
The extensive area is flat and, with a network of 1,117 kilometres of well-developed cycle paths, always offers new route variations: sheltered from the wind behind the dykes on the coast, or along the North Sea through the characteristic geest (hedgerow landscape) and marsh (flat coast). Particularly beautiful spots for cyclists are the Speicherkoog bird sanctuary, which is completely closed to cars, and the Friedrichskoog headland, where you can cycle along the North Sea and enjoy the view of the sea and the shrimp boats. Yet Dithmarschen is not primarily famous for fishing: the region in the west of Schleswig-Holstein is Europe's largest contiguous cabbage-growing area. However, TOUR reader Carsten Wiese doesn't enjoy travelling his local route because of the cabbage, but because of the snack bar in Friedrichskoog: "They make great fish sandwiches there."
INFO
The route
120 kilometres, 0 metres in altitude
Büsum - Büsumer Deichhausen - Neuer Meldorfer Hafen - Friedrichskoog - Dieksander Hof - Neulandhalle - Kaiser-Wilhelmkoog - Windpark - Neufelderkoog - Neufeld - Marne - Trennewurth - Meldorfer Hafen - Barsfleth - Wöhrden - Wesselburener Deichhausen - Reinsbüttel - Oesterdeichstrich - Büsum
Excursion time
From May to September. In spring it can be very changeable, with temperatures consistently between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius. From October onwards, it gets cold and wet, making it unpleasant even with a rain jacket...
Cycling clubs
ABC-Wesseln; contact person: Hubert Rach, phone 04832/ 1070
Post Sportverein Heide; contact person: Bernd Krause, phone 0481/ 62010
Cycling shops
Lamberty, Süderstr. 23, 25709
Marne, phone 04851/597
Radwelt Böttcher, Waldstr. 3, 25746 Heide, phone 0481/79533
Food & Drink
There are many cosy places to stop for refreshments along the entire route, for example in
Büsum: Büsumer Pesel, telephone 04834/1040, Hotel Friesenhof, telephone 04834/2095; in Reinsbüttel: Gasthof Leesch, telephone 04833/2289 or in Wöhrden: Gasthof Oldenwöhrden, telephone 04839/370
Overnight stays
Tourismuszentrale Dithmarschen e.V., phone 04834/900-10, fax 04834/900-50, e-mail: touristikzentrale@dithmarschen.de
Maps
Kompass, hiking and touring map (717) "Heide-Dithmarschen", scale 1:50,000, ISBN- 3-85491-141-6
The entire article is available as a free PDF download.
(Text: Carsten Wiese, Map: Christian Rolle)
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