The Alme Cycle Path runs through Barkhausen; the dry valley and the medieval settlement of Barkhusen add nature and history to the cycling theme. This brings together three distinct perspectives for planning a trip: a longer river route, a designed landscape with animal observations documented at specific times, and a medieval settlement history.
Cycling along the Alme
The Alme Cycle Path is around 68 kilometres long. It runs through Barkhausen in the Alme Valley, most of which is a protected nature reserve, and follows the river from its source to its mouth. The approximately 68 kilometres refer to the total route, not just the section through Barkhausen. For trip planning, you can download the Alme Cycle Path GPS data free of charge from the route’s website and the Teuto_Navigator tour portal. If you plan to use the data for a future ride, check that the download is available beforehand.
The dry valley and its wildlife observations
The Barkhausen dry valley was created in 2016 and subsequently shaped over a length of 360 metres and a width of 40 to 90 metres. Monitoring in 2021 recorded more than 90 species of stinging insects from the wild bee fauna in the area. Surveys in 2023 and 2024 showed that many threatened bird species use the dry valley as a habitat or search for food there.
Traces of settlement history
The medieval settlement of Barkhusen declined in the 15th century. By comparison, the dry valley is a more recent part of the town’s history: it was created in 2016. A history dating back to the Middle Ages and a more recent landscape feature thus stand side by side.
Paderborn as a distinct urban destination
The wider destination of Paderborn also offers its own urban theme. More than 200 Pader springs rise in the city centre; the Pader Springs area below the cathedral and Abdinghof is protected as a historic garden. The Museum in the Imperial Palace presents the history of Paderborn and Westphalia from the 6th to the 12th century. One focus is Charlemagne’s palace, which Charles had built above the Pader springs in 777 as the first and only palace he had built in Saxony. The Bartholomew Chapel in Paderborn is considered the oldest known hall church on German soil and is impressive for its distinctive acoustics.
The Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum dedicates its permanent exhibition to 5,000 years of the past, present and future of information technology—from cuneiform writing and calculating and typewriting machines to the internet and robotics. Visitors can also use telephones from earlier times, try historical and new computer games, and talk with the virtual character Max.
Another signposted cycling tour in the wider destination of Paderborn is the Paderborn West Loop (PB 4). The approximately 34-kilometre tour leads to Wewer, through the western Paderborn countryside and on to Lake Lippe. At around 34 kilometres, it is approximately half the length of the roughly 68-kilometre Alme Cycle Path.
Discover more destinations: Altenbeken, Lichtenau, Herbram, Büren, Borchen, Paderborn, Bad Lippspringe, Delbrück.
Go to the wider travel overview: Paderborn.
