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Bike touring routes & trails

Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Rhein-Erft-Kreis

Kerpen

Roman Tower on Sophienhöhe – View of Hambach Open-Pit Mine loop from Buir

Routes

Bike touring routes & trails

Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Rhein-Erft-Kreis

Kerpen

Roman Tower on Sophienhöhe – View of Hambach Open-Pit Mine loop from Buir

Hard

4.6

(111)

455

riders

Roman Tower on Sophienhöhe – View of Hambach Open-Pit Mine loop from Buir

03:45

48.6km

500m

Cycling

Hard bike ride. Very good fitness required. You may need to push your bike for some segments of this route. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: July 1, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Naturpark Rheinland

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

6.42 km

Abandoned A4 Motorway

Highlight • Structure

This section has been fallow since 2014. In 2014, the new section of the A4 was connected to the existing A4. RWE covered 70 million of the 153 million construction costs.
Since then, nature has been taking back what once belonged to it.

Translated by Google •

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21.8 km

Roman Tower on Sophienhöhe

Highlight • Viewpoint

The Sophienhöhe, also known as Monte Sophia, is a recultivated spoil heap created by the mining of lignite seams from the Hambach opencast mine.

Translated by Google •

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21.8 km

Roman Tower at Sophienhöhe

Highlight • Monument

In good visibility great panorama!

Translated by Google •

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25.3 km

Viewpoint

26.0 km

View of Jülicher Land and wind turbines

Highlight • Viewpoint

View into the Rheinische Windradrevier

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35.3 km

Stadtwald Elsdorf

Forest

36.2 km

Hambach Open-pit Mine Viewpoint

Highlight • Viewpoint

The Hambach opencast mine is one of three remaining active opencast mines in the Rhenish lignite mining area. It is the largest lignite mine in Europe and is located in the middle of the lignite mining area between the municipality of Niederzier and the town of Elsdorf. The Hambach opencast mine was started in 1978 near the Niederzier district of Hambach and is over 350 meters deep. 1.35 billion tons of brown coal are stored beneath its 85 square kilometer mining field. Around 40 million tons of coal are mined every year.

Translated by Google •

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38.9 km

Forum :terra nova – View of the Hambach open‑pit mine

Highlight • Viewpoint

The Forum :terra nova is located directly at the Hambach opencast mine and offers a breathtaking view of the largest lignite mine in Europe. The facade represents the colors and structure of the layers of earth from the opencast mine. In addition to gastronomy, the forum also functions as an event location and offers, for example, concerts (“Music with a View”), exhibitions and readings. Thanks to the spacious outdoor terrace, playground and e-bike charging stations, it is ideal for a long break.

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40.0 km

View of Hambach Open-Pit Mine

Highlight • Viewpoint

An amazing insight into the Hambach opencast mine.
More information: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagebau_Hambach

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45.6 km

Kerpen–Düren Cycle Path

Highlight • Cycleway

You can drive here very nicely and almost without a car or crossing. However, the two crossings are particularly stupid because they are not easy to see. You have to stop because otherwise it's so dangerous.

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47.2 km

Regenüberlaufbecken 1, Buir-Nord

Lake

48.6 km

End point

Train Station

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

30.2 km

8.72 km

4.86 km

3.60 km

1.11 km

< 100 m

Surfaces

24.3 km

17.4 km

4.35 km

1.77 km

672 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (290 m)

Lowest point (-10 m)

Weather

Sunday 12 July

32°C

16°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 17.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

May 31, 2026,Tagebau Hambach umrundet

A beautiful round with my daughter and son-in-law around the open-cast mine. It is huge and a terrible wound for our home planet and thus also for us.
Yes, there are approaches for the energy transition: many large wind turbines and PV fields.
Also the Sophienhöhe is an experience and great for hiking and cycling.
The day was wonderful and …

Showing Translation

July 12, 2022,Rundum den Braunkohle-Tagebau

A beautiful, sometimes difficult, but interesting tour. Mostly in nature with a lot of peace, from time to time next to a road.

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April 21, 2022,Rund um den Tagebau Hambach

This time a bike ride from me. The starting point was a parking lot in the town of Elsdorf “Zum Westbahnhof”. The round ran in large sections on gravel and fine gravel roads. But also partly on road and cycle paths. We passed the "terra-nova" forum with its restaurant, playground equipment, football golf course and of course a look at …

Showing Translation

October 7, 2023,231007-2 Rund um den Tagebau

I was a little nervous before this tour, but...
...what a wonderful tour.
You simply have to see the opencast mine.
The Hambacher Forest - in its still littered form - too! I think I saw 12 dead bikes.
The waste dump is a natural paradise, like a military training area.
The paths are well maintained and are constantly maintained. …

Showing Translation

April 18, 2024,Runde Tgb. Hambach/Sophienhöhe

On this beautiful day, another lap around the Tgb. Hambach and the recultivated Sophienhöhe. Whether it's the forum, Schumacher's kart track, the open-cast mine and its relocation sites, there's something for everyone. Unfortunately, part of the lap was on narrow roads. But Sophienhöhe has become a highlight for many visitors. Quiet lakes or a great rest and playground on the …

Showing Translation

October 3, 2025,Forum terra.nova – Aussicht auf den Tagebau Runde von Jülich

Even though the weather radar was a bit unstable, we decided to go on this tour anyway. And it was the right decision. Even though it was windy at times and rained a bit, we had a beautiful tour. What impressed us most was the scale of the excavated earth and the lignite it contained. I had the opportunity to …

Showing Translation

August 4, 2024,Tagebau Hambach Umrundung🚴👍✌️

That was a great tour 👍 you can just skip the ascent and descent to Sophienhöhe. Hardly any view, everything is overgrown. And if you do, it's better to go with a mountain bike. It's very sandy and falling is dangerous. I was glad when I got back down safely.🤗
Otherwise a really great tour 👍 highly recommended 👍👍✌️👋

Showing Translation

August 3, 2025,Nach Forum :terra nova : Einmal um das Hambacher Loch

For me personally, this was a somewhat disappointing tour. Overall, I would have liked to be a bit closer to the large hole. The route was always cycling a bit away from the open-cast mine.
You can completely skip the climb to Sophienhöhe, the highest artificially created mountain in Germany.
A magnificent view from the observation tower into the large …

Showing Translation

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Roman Tower on Sophienhöhe – View of Hambach Open-Pit Mine loop from Buir

Abandoned A4 Motorway

Roman Tower on Sophienhöhe

Roman Tower at Sophienhöhe

View of Jülicher Land and wind turbines

Hambach Open-pit Mine Viewpoint

Forum :terra nova – View of the Hambach open‑pit mine

View of Hambach Open-Pit Mine

Kerpen–Düren Cycle Path

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