The NaturRADtour - explore nature
Easy
Rheinauen, Hardtwald, Hochgestade & Co — the new NaturRADtour connects the most impressive landscapes in the Karlsruhe area on a 48 kilometre round trip. Cyclists pass through a total of eight nature reserves and three nature parks and learn fascinating facts about the local flora and fauna.
Occupancy
no info available
Parking
no info available
Public transport
Show stops
Tour details
Best time of year
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Specifics of the tour
Geological highlights / Botanical highlights / Cultural highlihts
Description
The NaturRADtour is signposted throughout. Follow the signs counter-clockwise to the west and enjoy unique natural and cultural areas. Find out what you can expect here:
1. the Hardtwald
(Hardtebene Nature Reserve, Nördliche Hardt Nature Reserve)
The Hardtwald to the north of Karlsruhe is the city's largest forest area and stretches from Karlsruhe Castle to the Graben-Neudorf district. The forest still tells stories from the time of the city's foundation. Take a detour to the Gustav-Jacob Hut, where the imposing oak tree is as old as Karlsruhe itself. A protected area, the Hardtwald is an important habitat and refuge for endangered plants and animals.
2. old airfield
(Hardtebene Nature Reserve, Alter Flugplatz Nature Reserve)
Distance to start: 4 km
Nature in the middle of the city, where else can you find that? From the Zeppelin landing site to the American emergency airfield (until 1993), the area of the old airfield is now a playground for thermophilic insects and bird species. The predominantly low vegetation is particularly impressive in spring and early summer with its changing carpets of colour. The area is now kept clean by donkeys. A detour towards Neureut-Heide reveals another glacial phenomenon, the dunes without a sea.
3. Rhine
(Rhine wetlands nature reserve, Maxau and Burgau oxbow lakes nature reserve, Rappenwörth nature centre)Distance to start: 14 km
For thousands of years the Rhine was a wild, unpredictable river that changed course from time to time. Traces of this can still be seen today. The most striking are its former banks, which are marked by several metre-high jumps in the terrain. Today, it is an important shipping route and economic artery, shaping the Rhine landscape near Karlsruhe. Between the large refinery and oil port to the north of the Rhine bridge and the Rhine port area to the south, there are idyllic areas of woodland and water in the Rhine lowlands. There is also agriculture, such as the Maxau estate, which was built after the Rhine was straightened. It is also home to the Knielinger Museum, which houses an exhibition on the development of Rhine navigation from its beginnings to the present day. A farm shop, catering facilities and a large playground make this part of the tour an experience for the whole family.
4. Hochgestade
(Rhine plain nature reserve, Lutherisches Wäldle nature reserve)
Distance to start: 22 km
Before it was straightened by Johann Gottfried Tulla, the Rhine flowed in loops and meanders. Over the millennia it created a wide lowland. This was its floodplain, which could be inundated during high water. Traces of this period can still be seen today. The old village centres of the "Rhine villages", for example, are all on the edge of the high bank, where they were largely safe from flooding. In the Karlsruhe area, the term "Hochgestade" is used to describe the higher part of the Rhine plain outside the original floodplains.
5. Rheinauenland
(Rhine lowland nature reserve, Rhine lowland nature reserve near Karlsruhe)
Distance to start: 18 km
The Rappenwörter Altrhein is the result of the straightening of the Rhine. After a branch canal was opened, the Rhine broke its planned course and overflowed to the east. By building dams a few hundred metres downstream, the project succeeded and the Rappenwörter Old Rhine was created. This is the site of the Nature Conservation Centre. The Bauhaus-style building is now a popular meeting place with a permanent exhibition and a variety of events.
6th Alb at Appenmühle
(Hardtebene Nature Reserve, Alb and Oberwald Nature Reserve)
Distance to start: 27 km
One of the tributaries of the Rhine, the Alb, flows through Karlsruhe and is a popular local recreation area. At Appenmühle, the restoration of the riverbank to its natural state, the construction of a fish ladder and other measures have created extensive biological continuity and near-natural habitats. Originally built as a flour mill, the Appenmühle was later converted into a hydroelectric power station by diverting a canal at the Thomas weir.
7. Alb at the level of the Günther Klotz area
(Hardtebene nature reserve, Alb and Oberwald nature reserve)Distance to start: 30 km
The Günther-Klotz area was created as the "Karlsruhe park of the 20th century". It has a model boat and rowing boat lake, a tobogganing and viewing hill, playgrounds, large play and sunbathing areas and many walking paths. There are also various wet and dry biotopes for rare and endangered animal and plant species.
8. Oberwald
(Kinzig-Murg-Rinne nature reserve, Alb and Oberwald conservation area)
Distance to start: 35 km
The Oberwald is the third nature reserve in the Rhine valley, the so-called Kinzig-Murg-Rinne. Here there is a change between the low, damp areas and the higher gravel islands. The Oberwald is also home to many other species of trees, including the oaks that are so typical of Karlsruhe. Particularly popular is the free Oberwald Wildlife Park, home to several species such as bison and Przewalski's horse, which are part of the European Conservation Breeding Programme for Endangered Species.
9. Durlach
(Kinzig-Murg-Rinne nature reserve)
Distance to start: 41 km
The Kinzig-Murg-Rinne near Durlach is a continuous, shallow depression about three kilometres wide with only a few gravel islands. The old town of Durlach is situated on one of them. The picturesque old town, which was first mentioned in 1196, is well worth a visit, with its narrow streets and the Karlsburg castle with its beautiful gardens. If you want to get up high, take the Turmberg cable car to the top of Durlach's landmark mountain, the Turmberg, and enjoy the views over the town and the Rhine valley, as well as the Black Forest and the Vosges.
10. Elfmorgenbruch
(Kinzig-Murg-Rinne nature reserve, Elfmorgenbruch nature reserve)
Distance to start: 43 km
The Elfmorgenbruch is a large forest area on the edge of the Kinzig-Murg-Rinne. This so-called quarry forest is a permanently wet, locally flooded, permanently flooded swamp forest. Black alder naturally predominates. After the Second World War, this was supplemented by fast-growing hybrid poplars, which, due to their rapid growth, are rich in caves that serve as shelters for bats and birds.