Discover Greffern through its landscapes, trails and local history. The controlled Söllingen/Greffern polder and the Rhine floodplains put nature centre stage; hiking and cycling options, along with the Rhine ferry to Drusenheim, offer further ways to plan your stay. If you are looking for a holiday apartment, it is worth first deciding what you would most like to focus on during your excursions: hiking, cycling or exploring local cultural history? The different trails vary in length and layout, helping you decide which themes you would like to shape your stay.
Polder Landscape and Rhine Floodplains
The controlled Söllingen/Greffern polder covers about 580 hectares and is regularly flooded for ecological reasons. Its size gives an idea of the scale of the landscape, while the flooding adds an ecological perspective. This offers a distinct starting point for planning your trip, alongside trails through nature reserves and the Rhine floodplains.
Hiking and Local Connections
A 7.5-kilometre hiking trail runs through the “Alter Kopfgrund” nature reserve. Signposts in the Rhine floodplains provide information about the areas, notable people from Greffern and local events. So, alongside the natural landscape, local themes also come into focus. If you like to take in more than just the trail itself on a hike, the information about the landscape and local history can offer an additional focus.
Another circular hiking trail leads from Rheinmünster-Greffern through the “Kalter Grund” nature reserve and the Rhine floodplains. Along this route, hikers pass various polder structures. These structures give the tour a tangible connection to the polder landscape, while the route also passes through a nature reserve and the Rhine floodplains.
Circular Trails and Cycling
The Polder Information Trail comprises two circular routes, each about six kilometres long, in the districts of Söllingen and Greffern. You can explore them on foot or by bike. When choosing a route, you can compare the options: two circular trails of about six kilometres each and a 7.5-kilometre hiking trail through Alter Kopfgrund. These distances give you different route options, without indicating a specific walking or cycling time.
The PAMINA Rhine Floodplains Cycle Route is on a larger scale, at about 130 kilometres long. It runs on both sides of the German-French border between RheinmĂĽnster-Greffern and Drusenheim in France, and between Leimersheim and Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen. This gives you a cross-border cycling route with a much greater overall length than the local circular trails.
Ferry Connection and Local History
The “Drusus” Rhine ferry connects Greffern with Drusenheim. If you are planning to take the ferry, check the timetable in advance so you can coordinate your crossing with your other activities.
Local history offers another way to explore the area. A chapel in Greffern is documented as far back as 1366; the Catholic Church of St John and St Paul is documented from 1889. These dates fall in different centuries and complement the nature and route themes with local church history. If you plan to explore these connections, you can consider the landscape and history as distinct focuses for your stay.
Discover more destinations: Söllingen
Return to the main travel overview: RheinmĂĽnster.
