Top 3 Natural Monuments around Stausee Hengsen

A phenomenal view of the lake directly on the Ruhr river, no matter the season.

Nice there but on weekends it is very crowded

Surprising views of a marsh forest after a long ride on the cycle path (and constantly having to avoid cyclists)

The picture says it

The Bahnwald nature reserve in North Rhine-Westphalia includes two different protected areas with the identifiers UN-035 and UN-028, both of which are located in the Unna district, specifically in the area of ​​the municipality of Holzwickede and partly the city of Schwerte. The Bahnwald nature reserve (UN-035), established in 1997, covers an area of ​​around 12 hectares. It is located east of Geisecke, a district of Schwerte, and west of the Hengsen reservoir. This area was placed under nature protection in order to preserve, develop and restore diverse communities and biotopes of certain animal and plant species. The particularly protected biotope types include moist and dry tall herbaceous meadows, anthropogenically influenced rubble vegetation, borders, fallow areas, woody succession areas and cave trees. The second area, Bahnwald (UN-028), covers a significantly larger area of ​​around 80 hectares and was placed under protection in 1992. It surrounds the 19.2 hectare Hengsen reservoir and extends northeast of Geisecke. The conservation measures in this area are also aimed at the conservation, development and restoration of communities and habitats of certain wild plants and animal species. Particularly noteworthy here are natural deciduous forest stands, including mixed beech forests and alder-rich oak forests, as well as hedge complexes, rows of pollard trees, extensively used grassland areas, reedbeds, tall herbaceous areas, fallow areas, partially water-filled bomb craters and small bodies of water, as well as the reservoir with its riparian vegetation. Both nature reserves offer unique habitats for numerous plant and animal species and are important components of regional biodiversity as well as the landscape and nature conservation strategy in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The Hengsen reservoir, created in 1937 to produce drinking water, is located south of Holzwickede and north of the Ruhr. A special feature is the “Island of Hengsen” between the lake and the river. In addition to sedimentation, the lake also serves to recharge groundwater and is part of the Hengsen waterworks. Despite its use for drinking water, there is a walking path on the west bank that provides insights into the lake's idyllic location. An island in the reservoir is home to a cormorant breeding colony, which, however, has largely destroyed the vegetation there.

The Bahnwald nature reserve covers about 80 hectares of land that encloses the Hengsen reservoir. Numerous birds have a home here. Unfortunately, you hardly have the opportunity to observe the birds. A large fence separates the hiking trail to the lake

very nice gravel sector at the Hengsen reservoir