HĂĽmmling Nature Park covers around 580 square kilometres in the north-east of the district of Emsland. Cycling and hiking trails pass historic sites, megalithic tombs and Clemenswerth Castle; information stations line the routes.
Hiking trails and special nature views
The Theikenmeer Loop is one of the nature park’s trails that meets the German Hiking Association’s quality criteria. The Kranichpfad (Crane Trail) leads about 2.5 kilometres into the Theikenmeer nature reserve; the return journey follows the same path. This makes the total walking distance around five kilometres.
A viewing platform along the Kranichpfad offers panoramic views of Lake Theikenmeer and the moorland of Wehmer Dose. There is an observation hut on the lakeshore. This gives you two specific spots along the trail for observing nature.
From the Fehndorfer Moor viewpoint, you can look out over a 29-hectare remnant of a former industrial peat extraction site. The area has been prepared for nature conservation and raised bog regeneration. Here, you can see not only moorland as a natural environment, but also the transformation of land once used for industry.
A cycling route through five landscapes
The Emsland Route offers a wider perspective: this 395-kilometre circular route passes through five landscapes in Emsland – Nördliches Emstal, Hümmling, Bourtanger Moor, Hasetal and Südliches Emsland. The route is very well signposted, mostly flat, paved and car-free. It is therefore especially suitable for beginners and families with children.
The route connects 19 towns; any town in Emsland along the route can serve as a starting or finishing point. The approximately five-kilometre Kranichpfad and the 395-kilometre Emsland Route offer two very different scales: a single walking route and a circuit through several landscapes.
Castle, mills and museum
The park at Clemenswerth Castle covers 42 hectares and includes the Gloriette, the garden house of Elector Clemens August. If you are interested in historic sites, this offers a different kind of history from the megalithic tombs: a spacious park with a named garden house.
In Werlte, Kreutzmann’s Mill was restored to its original 1881 condition in the 1990s. In Haren (Ems), Mersmühle Mill is the centrepiece of the Maritime Museum. The Mill Museum comprises a miller’s house, the main exhibition building, a historic bakehouse, a restored motorised mill, a tool shed with a carriage house, and a farm and herb garden.
Regional produce also features here: the museum café at the Emsland Moor Museum serves buckwheat pancakes, among other things.
Moorland in the wider region
Further afield, the International Bourtanger Moor-Veenland Nature Park lies in the border triangle between Emsland, Grafschaft Bentheim and the Dutch province of Drenthe. Peat extraction, agriculture, preserved raised bogs and restored areas shape this natural and cultural landscape. Cycling and hiking trails, discovery paths and viewpoints bring the changes to the moorland to life. This adds a cross-border perspective on the landscape to the individual moorland destinations in Emsland.
Discover more destinations: Dohren, Haren / Ems, Twist, Papenburg, Sögel, Salzbergen, Meppen, Freren, Dörpen, Herzlake, Lehe, Lähden, Geeste, Haselünne, Lünne, Heede, Spelle, Holthausen, Holte, Düthe, Werlte, Stavern, Esterwegen, Emsbüren, Lathen, Werpeloh, Niederlangen, Fresenburg, Lingen, Surwold, Dersum, Kluse, Lahn, Renkenberge, Rhede, Lingen (Ems), Bawinkel, Walchum, Vrees and Rastdorf.
Go to the main travel overview: Lower Saxony.
