Rest Area by the Lake – Inselsee on the Sophienhöhe loop from Hambach

Hiking trails & Routes

Kreis Düren

Niederzier

Rest Area by the Lake – Inselsee on the Sophienhöhe loop from Hambach

Easy

4.6

(119)

459

hikers

Rest Area by the Lake – Inselsee on the Sophienhöhe loop from Hambach

01:06

3.92km

80m

Hiking

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: August 9, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

38 m

Hambach Trailhead (Hambach Hiking Car Park)

Highlight • Parking

Large hiking car park with a hut and children's playground.
There are some information boards about Sophienhöhe here. With a bit of luck, the displays also contain a hiking map …

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618 m

Soil Display and Rock Pile on Sophienhöhe

Highlight • Structure

Photo: Tobias Vollmer, CC BY-SA, Eifel Tourismus GmbH
The northern region in the district of Düren is a clear example of the far-reaching landscape and structural change caused by opencast mining.

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766 m

Soil Layers Educational Display

Highlight • Structure

Showcases with information on the recultivation of the former mining area.

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772 m

Soil Exhibit at Hambach Open-Cast Mine

Highlight • Monument

Photo: Sophia Eckerle, CC BY-SA, district of Düren
At peak times, the up to 411 meter deep opencast mine produced so much lignite for the company's own power plants that …

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1.29 km

Rest Area by the Lake

Highlight • Rest Area

A rest area by the lake with a table and benches.
From here you have a beautiful view over the lake. The place is coveted.

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1.46 km

Inselsee on the Sophienhöhe

Highlight • Lake

be sure to take mosquito repellent, you will be eaten at the right time of year ...

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2.23 km

Hazel Dormouse Information Station (Haselmauspfad, Sophienhöhe)

Highlight • Rest Area

At the station 8 of the "nature trail Sophienhöhe" is this information about the dormouse.

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3.29 km

Woodland tipi on the Sophienhöhe nature trail

Highlight • Structure

At station 11 of the "nature trail Sophienhöhe" is this "forest tipi" made of branches and tree trunks.

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3.92 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

2.98 km

904 m

< 100 m

Surfaces

2.47 km

1.39 km

< 100 m

Elevation

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

Weather

Friday 9 October

15°C

9°C

36 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 24.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

January 22, 2026,Naturerlebnispfad Sophienhöhe

📅 January 22, 2026 • ⛅ Sun, clouds • 🌡️ 4 °C
📍 Region: Rhineland
➕ Longer switchback trails through dense hillside forest
➕ Eleven recultivation stations, rest area at the Inselsee lake
➖ No viewpoints, extra-wide paths at the beginning and end
⭐ Rating: 7/10

🚆S19 ► Merzenich ⇄ 🚌SB35 ► Hambach Sawmill
🗺️ Template: indeland-erleben.de/routen/detail/naturerlebnispfad-haselmaus-sophie
📚 Collection: –

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December 30, 2023,Naturerlebnispfad Sophienhöhe rückwärts... ab sofort werde ich auf jeder Tour vorher die Höhenmeter checken ;-)

There is definitely a lot more to discover here. The Sophienhöhe, also called Monte Sophia, is a recultivated waste dump created by the mining of lignite seams from the Hambach opencast mine. Located near Jülich in the Düren district, it covers an area of around 13 km² and its highest point is at 301.8 m above sea level. NHN is …

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October 20, 2024,Goldene Sophienhöhe – Naturerlebnispfad im Herbst

Today we were able to take an interesting tour from RWE along the hazel dormouse path on Sophienhöhe, which can easily be recommended for children of all ages. Very informative, but I couldn't remember everything that Ms. Kraus told us.
Let's see, hmm, what did I remember...
Oh yes, the fish in the pond (photo) were not released by RWE …

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