Höhbeck-Elbholz route

6:26 h
25.94 km
57 m
57 m
15 m
68 m
53 m
Start: Tourist Information Gartow: Springstraße 14, 29471 Gartow
Destination: Tourist Information Gartow: Springstraße 14, 29471 Gartow

Immerse yourself in the world of beavers and sea eagles, along small lakes and old water ditches – and hike through the vast landscape of the original Elbe floodplains and riparian forests.

If you are looking for a varied, family-friendly hike, you will find your hiking bliss on the Höhbeck-Elbholz route. The path leads you through the Elbholz, along small and large rivers and lakes, as well as through charming half-timbered villages like Gartow with the listed Gartow Castle from 1225. This is the home of sea eagles and beavers, which you can discover in their natural environment with some luck from the two observation towers on the Höhbeck and in the Elbholz. The 76m-high Höhbeck is a geest island formed during the Ice Age and, until the construction of the water pumping station near Restorf in the 1950s, repeatedly became an island during major floods. The Höhbeck Museum Vietze and the Woodhenge time windows near Restorf show you exciting prehistoric excavations from the Höhbeck, settled since the early Stone Age. The Gartow lake terraces and the castle kitchen invite you to a well-deserved refreshment after your hike.

Start

Tourist Information Gartow: Springstraße 14, 29471 Gartow

Ausstellung Biosphärenreservat Niedersächsische Elbtalaue

Museum

Wendland-Therme Gartow — CC-BY-SA | Urlaubsregion Wendland.Elbe

FamilienTherme Gartow

Thermal springs

Pavements

Unknown

Street

Asphalt

Gravel

Trail

Path

Best to visit

suitable

Depends on weather

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Directions

From the car park, the path leads through the center of Gartow. You follow Hahnenbergerstraße for about 800m west before turning right onto the Gartower Forest path. Coming out of the forest, you cross a road before the path leads through the villages of Laasche and Restorf. After about 4km in the Seegen lowland, with its sandy ridges and hollows, the path leads to Vietze. Passing the Vietze local history museum, you leave the village and turn right before the canal onto the narrow path that takes you through dense forest. With some effort, you climb the Höhbeck. Next to the Schwedenschanze coffee garden, which invites you to stay, the Höhbeck observation tower promises a unique view over the Elbe. After the descent, the path runs along the Elbe before you turn right onto the Elbholzallee, passing centuries-old oaks, the Elbholz viewpoint, and the RuheForst Elbtalaue, reaching Gartower Lake. Following the lake, you soon arrive back at the starting point of the hike!

Equipment

Sturdy footwear and a rain jacket are recommended!

Directions & Parking facilities

From Hamburg, take the A1 (signposted towards Bremen), A39 (signposted towards Lüneburg) to Lüneburg. There, take the B216 (signposted towards B216/Dannenberg/Dahlenburg/Bleckede) to Dannenberg and follow the B191 to Gartow.

From Berlin, take the A10 (signposted towards Hamburg), A24 (also towards Hamburg), and then B189 (towards Pritzwalk/Heiligengrabe). Then follow the B493 to Gartow.

Springstraße 14, 29471 Gartow; in front of the Gartow Tourist Information

Coordinates:
Geographical: 53.026456, 11.460794
UTM: 32U 665029 5878045

The East Station Dannenberg (Elbe) can be reached from Lüneburg by ERX82. From there, take bus 8000 to the ZOB Lüchow (Wendland) and then bus 8060 towards Vietze/Höhbeck. Get off at the Altenheim stop in Gartow.

At certain times, these buses operate as on-demand RUF buses. You can reach the RUF buses by phone at +49 5841 977 377.

License (master data)

Tobias Keienburg