Explore the forests – cycling Tours around Saarbrücken

Green, greener, greenest - this tour takes you deep into the jungle north of Saarbrücken. So that it doesn't get too steep, you follow small river valleys through the unspoilt thicket. At the northernmost point of your tour you finally turn around and can enjoy an impressive view over the elongated forest area before you make your way back.It starts at the Giant Store Saarbrücken. Between Malstatt and Ludwigspark you drive out of the city in the north and you will soon reach the entrance to the jungle. From here you follow the Steinbach into the forest. Several ponds along the route are fed by its water. A short, steeper section awaits you at the foot of the Neuhauser Höhe. Once at the top you can first take a short break at the informative forester's house and go on a tour of discovery through the forest exhibition.Now it goes to the course of the Hirschbach, which you follow on a sloping route into the Fischbachtal. As you can see, the idyllic forest lakes are not uncommon here. Wherever the brook has the opportunity, it builds up into small ponds that offer the local flora and fauna a generous living space. Once at the bottom you drive via Fischbach into the nature reserve Hölzerbachtal, where the path quickly leads you back up.On the edge of Göttelborn you reach the viewpoint on the Berghalde. Shortly before, the path becomes significantly steeper again. The great panoramic view that you have from above, however, rewards you for your effort. Before you dive back into the forest, you drive through the villages of Göttelborn, Wahlschied and - in keeping with what grows in abundance here - wood. Afterwards, you only stroll through the Köllertal Forest along the Rödelbach. Then you take a quick lap across the fields before you can stop for a sweet break in the Café Nostalgie in Güchenbach.If you are out and about by mountain bike, it is worth taking a detour to the mountain bike course at the edge of the forest near Riegelsberg. Otherwise it goes straight back into the Saarbrücken state forest. This time you follow the Burbach back into the valley. If you want, you can make a detour to the old Bergmann settlement Von der Heydt on the way - the old buildings have retained their charm to this day and are worth a short visit. The entrance to an old tunnel can also be admired. At the Burbacher Waldweiher you can take another leisurely break, then it goes back to Saarbrücken, where you follow the Saar for a while to the old town.The perfect bike for this tour: Giant Anytour E +
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This tour takes you back in time to the industrial heritage of this region. Nowadays the impressive plants and quarries are mostly "mothballed". It is by no means true that this is why there is no longer any life there. While the old industrial buildings are now being used extensively for cultural purposes, nature is slowly but surely taking back what was originally taken from it, creating unique biotopes.You start in the old town at the Giant Store Saarbrücken and drive from there to the Saar, which leads you out of the city in the west. At the level of the steelworks you change the bank, so you don’t drive on the well-trodden paths on the way back. Shortly before you switch back to the other bank, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte awaits you in Völklingen - an impressive facility that you can also admire from the inside.Past Geislautern and Ludweiler you drive into the Warndt, a large forest area that extends across the border to France. At the local pond you can take a nice break in an idyllic atmosphere and have something to eat at the inn. Then the journey goes via Lauterbach to just before the French border.Directly on the border line, a viewing platform awaits you, which gives you a wonderful view of the old French quarry Carrière Barrois - it is absolutely remarkable how the man-made interference with nature is reunited with it and new landscape forms are created in this way. If you've had enough of the spectacle, you go through the Karlsbrunn Wildlife Park to the Nikolausweiher, another scenic gem, and from there back to the north.After a short detour to the Velsen adventure mine, you drive on the bee educational trail back to Geislautern and from there to the Saar, which you now follow back to the old town. An impressive excursion is drawing to a close - it is not often possible to experience industry and nature in harmony in such a densely packed space.The perfect bike for this tour: Giant Anytour E +
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This wonderful tour takes you to the east of Saarbrücken, during which you cross a variety of different landscapes. You can expect wonderfully wide forest areas, idyllic floodplains in the Bliestal and a unique biotope with an animal world as if you had cycled straight to Africa.It starts at the Giant Store Saarbrücken. You keep to the northeast and after only a few kilometers you have already reached the edge of the forest. You drive past the wildlife park over the university grounds and shortly afterwards follow the Rohrbach upstream to St. Ingbert. At the Gustav-Clauss-Anlage you can take a break or drive directly to the Glashütte Weiher, which you will reach shortly after the city limits.Before you turn into the Taubental behind Kirkel, you can consider making a detour to the rock path near the eastern edge of the village. Unique rock formations made of red sandstone await you below the Hirschberg. A small path leads along the edge of the rock, but is not passable with every bike - your bike should therefore be a bit off-road. Alternatively, you can of course also briefly explore the path on foot - it's worth it!The descent through the Taubental brings you directly into the biotope at the Beedener Bliesauen - a truly unique natural landscape that exudes a touch of Africa. Follow the Blies from here to the southwest and turn off to the Würzbach in Lautzkirchen. At the pond in Niederwürzbach you can take a break to strengthen yourself, then it goes increasingly up - into the Hirschental nature reserve. After you have passed the highest point of the tour, you roll relaxed down the mountain - first through the adjacent Rheinfels nature reserve, then through the Wisch- and Wogbachtal.Your way back to Saarbrücken then leads you through a narrow valley to Fechingen and from there between the Saarwiesen and Halberg along the tracks back to the old town. If you still have time, you can alternatively drive across the Saarwiesen to the Osthafen and watch the sun disappear behind the horizon.The perfect bike for this tour: Giant Explore E +
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This beautiful, but also somewhat demanding tour through the Bliesgau should not be underestimated. With almost one hundred kilometers and almost a thousand meters in altitude, it becomes a little challenge even with the e-bike - but maybe you are exactly looking for something like that. In any case, the “gudde” Saarland food will taste particularly good after this tour, that's for sure. A little tip: Save your battery reserves until the last third of the tour, because then it will be particularly mountainous again.You start in Saarbrücken's old town at the Giant Store. From here it goes in the east of the city past the Halberg and directly into the Grumbachtal. Gently but steadily you drive up the river until you cross into the next valley shortly after Sengscheid and follow the Würzbach to its pond. Here you can take a first break on the lakeshore. You will also find a few bars around the lake to stop off at.The first 20 kilometers are now done, the next 20 lead you from Würzbach to the Blies and a short detour to the Roman Museum near Schwarzenacker to the Schwarzbach. On the way to Zweibrücken it remains relatively flat and you cycle along the Hornbach in a relaxed way in the valley until you finally come across the village of the same name. When you arrive in southern Bliesgau, the tour is now much more mountainous and from now on you will cross the valleys instead of driving along them - for this you will also be rewarded with some magnificent views over the landscape.Shortly before Altheim, the first small hill awaits you to get used to, the actual start follows at Medelsheim. Here you cross the Kleine Hohl on the edge of the Baumbusch nature reserve. After a rapid descent back to the Blies, Rheinheim heralds the highlight of your ascent and descent. Between Willersberg and Hardt you drive into the nature reserve Südlicher Bliesgau / Auf der Lohe and conquer a total of 180 meters in altitude over a few kilometers. You will be rewarded with a bench just before you go back down into the valley. Here you can first put your feet up, take a deep breath and enjoy the view.After a short dip near Erfweiler-Ehlingen you have gained so much altitude in Ormersheim that you can look forward to the rest of the route in a relaxed manner. The last 20 kilometers are just around the corner. The best thing: the remaining stretch is now finally much more downhill than uphill. On the eastern outskirts of Saarbrücken you take a short lap over the Saarwiesen, then the tour along the Saar takes you back to the old town.The perfect bike for this tour: Giant Explore E +
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On this tour you will explore the Saar and its tributary, the Blies, along the German-French border south of Saarbrücken. The best thing to do is to briefly check the current border situation between Germany and France before the tour, because the route takes you through French territory for about 13 kilometers.You start your tour at the Giant Store in Saarbrücken's old town. After only one kilometer you are already on the Saar and follow it south out of the city. You brush against the Saar meadows on the opposite bank, drive on the towpath through Güdingen and pass the border with France shortly before Bübingen. On the way, watch out for the wild ducks, who like to make themselves comfortable on the warm asphalt and who care about the cyclists as much as the walkers.On your further way you will come across rustic lock systems and aging cargo ships, some of which have been converted into houseboats. In Sarreguemines, the Saar continues to flow south, which is why you temporarily hold onto the Blies from now on to end the round north.Past the municipal forest of Auersmacher-Bliesbogen, you finally move away from the idyllic course of the river and take a short high-altitude excursion to the Heidenkopf near Gräfinthal, where you can enjoy a view of the Vosges from the observation tower. If you don't feel like going up the mountain, you can shorten this part of the tour a little more relaxed via Bliesransbach. The Ransbacher Berg that follows is difficult to circumvent, but it is no longer as high as the Heidenkopf.After a refreshing descent to Eschringen, you follow the Saarbach back towards the state capital. If you want, you can turn directly in the direction of Saarwiesen in Brebach and end the round relaxed at the Osthafen. If you want a little more altitude feeling, you can follow the tour into the Scheidterbachtal for an excursion to the Schwarzenberg. From the observation tower there you have another phenomenal view over the Saarbrücken area. The subsequent descent back to the old town also takes you directly to the G.A. brewery. Break over, where you can reward yourself with a delicious isotonic drink.The perfect bike for this tour: Giant Anytour E +
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This tour starts northeast of Saarbrücken in the beautiful village of Sankt Wendel. The starting point is right at the local train station, which you can reach from Saarbrücken by regional train in around three quarters of an hour. The journey by car takes just as long.You can expect a beautiful panorama round over the Osterhöhen on the edge of the North Palatinate Bergland. The climbs are numerous, but consistently moderate and before you know it, an enjoyable descent will bring you back to the next valley. On the hills, as a reward for your efforts, you get the finest distant view, which already makes you want to go to the next hill.From Sankt Wendel it first goes up to the Bosenberg. You pass it on its right flank and roll on for a short visit to the Tiefenbachtal nature reserve. However, it does not go very deep, because the bike path quickly leads you over a small hilltop into the next valley to the Oster. You follow it for a few kilometers, then the next ascent awaits you on the Labach, at the climax of which the duck pond attracts with a minimally managed hut.Enjoy the short descent to Frohnhofen, because you're already on the Buberg. Once at the top, wide fields open up in front of you, which reveal the view into the distance. Shortly before Hauptersweiler you cross the valley of the Oster again and make a detour via Oberkirchen before it goes up relaxed on the Fritz Wunderlich cycle path - a former railway line.At the height of the solar park you will reach the highest point of the tour at roughly 480 meters, below the Eiselskist. About 200 meters behind the solar park, a small path leads off the path to the right. If you want, you can make a short detour to a hidden old quarry, which now serves as a biotope. The subsequent downhill stretch lets the remaining ten kilometers fly by and you arrive refreshed in Sankt Wendel.The perfect bike for this tour: Giant Explore E +
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What would a tour through Saarland be without a tour through the Palatinate Forest? Although this tour starts a bit away from Saarbrücken at the Kaiserslautern train station, it can be reached easily with the regional train from Saarbrücken and it takes less than an hour to get to your starting point.The train station is located exactly on the southern outskirts of Kaiserslautern - a great thing, because after your arrival you can start straight into the forest without having to cycle through the city traffic. Between Betzenberg and Lämmchesberg, the warm-up program is a little uphill until you enter the first valley at the dragon killer fountain.However, the second ascent is not long in coming and this time it is a little longer. After six kilometers you will reach the small pass near the Antonihof. From here you go downhill again, cross the idyllic depression along the Kottelbach and shortly afterwards you have gained altitude again. The worst is done with it. You are now at the highest point of your tour.Via the House of Sustainability, where you can take an informative break, you drive to the origin of the Burgalb, which shortly afterwards merges into the Schwarzbach. You follow the initially small stream for the next 15 kilometers until the valley opens a little bit sparse, then continues to open and you arrive in the village of Waldfischbach-Burgalben. If you fancy something sweet, it is worth taking a short detour to the local ice cream parlor. If you prefer something hearty, the Hermersberger Wasserhaus is a good place to take a break just five kilometers further in the Klapperbachtal.After your strengthening, it's time to go up the mountain again. Shortly afterwards, in Hermersberg, you can shake your hand yourself: The toughest climbs are now done, now it's getting more comfortable. The journey continues via Weselberg and Bann on the edge of the Palatinate Forest, then you dive a little deeper into the forest and a last moderate ascent awaits you. In the Walkmühltal, the Palatinate Forest finally shows itself again from its most beautiful side. Then it goes over the Gelterswoog Weiher and Hohenecken back to Kaiserslautern and before you know it, you stand at the train station.The perfect bike for this tour: Giant Anytour E +
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