NORDPFAD Hölzerbruch - Malse

The start of this flat, wide hike is the hotel-restaurant Kluster Hof in Basdahl-Kluste, which is located on the B 71. A 550 m long access path takes us to Hundesegen, where our circular hike begins.

We follow the firm path and hike along the edge of the Hölzerbruch forest. After 1.5 km, the Hohes Moor rest area invites you to take a break. From there, we walk through tree-lined avenues and an open landscape until we reach the Sünderwalder Weg. Here we reach the edge of the village of Hipstedt, where our next destination, the Rastplatz Hipstedt, is located. If you wish, you can take a short 400 m detour into the village and visit the game enclosure with a small petting zoo at the rustic and cozy farm café "Sauhütte". At weekends and by prior arrangement, you can stop for a bite to eat here.

The main path continues to the Forst Malse with its light-flooded deciduous and coniferous trees. We follow the road until we reach a detached house. We keep to the right and immediately turn left onto the inconspicuous path that leads past the house and into the forest on a meadow path. The eastern part of the Malse is part of the nature conservation and flora and fauna habitat area of the same name. It is an Eldorado for rare bird species such as the black woodpecker and various birds of prey. We hike through the forest on near-natural forest and wide forest paths until we reach a small settlement, where we find ourselves in the neighboring district of Cuxhaven. From there, the northern trail runs south for 1.2 km on a former wooden plank path, also known as a "Knüppeldamm". You can recognize some of the planks here as "old fastening material" for the path.

The landscape gradually changes and the forest turns into grassland.

At the next crossroads, we turn left into Basdahler Weg and reach the former sculpture and landscape garden "Blaue Leiter". Surrounded by forests, marshes and bogs, nature clearly has right of way here. Plants can spread naturally and serve as a source of food for animals that have found a home in the various habitats. The Blue Ladder was conceived, designed and operated for many years by the veterinarian and journalist Dr. Hans-Joachim Andres, who died in May 2022. The creative symbiosis of nature garden, blue art objects and an art gallery in the house created a place of encounter where Dr. Andres held many nature lectures, seminars and excursions. His aim was to sharpen people's awareness of the uniqueness and beauty of plants and animals. He described the Blue Ladder as follows: "It should be an invitation for all people to climb up it for once and look beyond the edge of everyday life for new horizons." The former art and sculpture garden can be viewed from the path. The rest area 100 meters away offers the opportunity for a nice break.

After a rest, we continue along a natural meadow path, where we meet the "little" Lune . Like the Geeste, this small stream has its source close to the hiking trail. Both later flow into the Weser at Bremerhaven after around 40 kilometers. We cross the stream and walk through the wide and quiet meadow landscape. The Sieversberg stretches inconspicuously in the distance. The approximately 500-metre detour to the prehistoric grave mound Sieversberg is worthwhile in winter, as you can then easily find the grave mound from where you have a great view of the wide Geest landscape. The following natural main path leads through forests and wide grassland to Dircks Bruch. After 700 meters you come to another rest area, where there is also a "tree telephone". Perhaps you can find out how it works.

On the last stage, we hike through the forest again. If you enjoy the tranquillity of the woodland quarry, you might spot the odd wild animal. A little later, we reach the picturesque Klustebach and cross this meandering stream via a small wooden footbridge. There is a new hiking rest area here, built in 2024. On natural and firm paths, we finally reach the Hundesegen and from there back to the Kluster Hof, which invites you to take a well-earned break.


Link with other NORDPFADEN:
An access path (4.5 km) leads from the Hipstedt rest area to starting point 2 of the NORDPFAD Hinzel.

Disturbance reports
Before your hike, you should inform yourself on www.nordpfade.de about possible detours and trail disturbances that may occur, for example due to flooding, storm damage or forestry work.

Marker
The marker shows a white "N" on an orange background with the name of the NORDPFAD Hölzerbruch-Malse.

Signposting
Destination signposts supplement the markings and are placed at prominent points. The signposts list places that are on the route or branch off from it, together with the distance in kilometers. The logo of the respective NORDPFADES is located underneath.

It is around 60 minutes from the A1 and A27 highways to the starting points, each of which has an information board and parking facilities. 

• Starting point 1: 27432 Basdahl, parking lot Hotel-Restaurant Kluster Hof, B 71 Bremervörder Straße 50, about 550 m from the NORDPFAD
• Starting point  2: 27432 Hipstedt, Rastplatz Hipstedt, In de Hörn
  

There are two parking options available at the NORDPFAD. The respective starting points can also be found there.

• Parking lot 1: 27432 Basdahl, parking lot Hotel-Restaurant Kluster Hof, B 71 Bremervörder Straße 50, about 550 m from the NORDPFAD
• Parking lot 2: 27432 Hipstedt, Rastplatz Hipstedt, In de Hörn
  

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Railroad "EVB": runs daily between Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude, from Buxtehude an S-Bahn continues to Hamburg
NORDPFAD train station: Heinschenwalde (2.8 km from the S2 of the NORDPFAD)
More information: www.evb-elbe-weser.de

"Moorexpress" train: runs from May to October, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays between Bremen and Stade
NORDPFAD train station: Basdahl-Kluste, Kluster Hof (400 m from S1 of the NORDPFAD)
Further information:www.moorexpress.de

Bus route 640: runs Mon.-Sat. between Osterholz-Scharmbeck and Bremervörde, in Osterholz-Scharmbeck there is a connection to the Regio-S-Bahn to Bremen and Bremerhaven
NORDPFAD stop: Basdahl Mitte, on the B71 (2.0 km from the S1 of the NORDPFAD) or Basdahl Bahnhof(200 m from the S2 of the NORDPFAD)
Further information: www.vnn.de

Komoot
We have compiled all 24 circular hiking trails in a separate NORDPFADE collection in the well-known outdoor app. The tours can also be found in the portal under the "Northern Heath" region.

Not yet on Komoot?
There is a free voucher code for new customers. The code is ROW and can be redeemed via "Redeem voucher" at komoot.de/g or via the link https://komoot.com/de-de/g?code=ROW.

The following brochures are available free of charge at the local tourist information offices and under brochure order. They are also available for download.

• NORDPFADE tour guide
  This small brochure contains everything you need to know about the hiking region.


• NORDPFADE overview map
  The handy leaflet is a small planning aid for the environmentally conscious.
  
  
• NORDPFADE hiking pass
  The stamp-free version for collectors.

There is also a pocket book published by Editon Temmenverlag. An amusingly written "hiking guide" by Lucia Gefken, who escapes her everyday life and starts hiking.

• My NORDPFADE
  Or: "It doesn't always have to be the Way of St. James!"