Evergreens – gravel in and around the Rijk van Nijmegen

For years I have been coming to the Rijk van Nijmegen, camping at the nicest campsite in the Netherlands 'Bij Ons In Groesbeek' or visiting the alternative city of Nijmegen. It is a fascinating area, because it is not that big at all, but it gives you the feeling that the forests and views are endless. The nearby Reichswald in Germany naturally contributes to this, these production forests with dead straight unpaved exploitation roads are as large as the entire Rijk van Nijmegen together. Between these forests lies a valley with Groesbeek as a well-known center.

The start is in Heumensoord, easy to reach from the train station and including a number of parking spaces. The first real gravel road through the forest passes the Africa Museum, a personal favorite of mine to visit culture. It continues for kilometers to the north side of Groesbeek. Narrow paths follow each other through the open area along Zevenheuvelenweg. It never really gets tricky for the gravel bike and you can pick up quite a bit of momentum as you ride steadily downhill. The Groenendaalsepad is an unpaved road on which more and more rubble is piled up. It leads past an old farm and through the fields with a view of the German Reichswald.

Around the hamlet of De Horst, where camping Bij Ons In Groesbeek is also located, you will find the river Groesbeek with a number of branches, along which there are wide and easily accessible paths.

A piece of asphalt brings you to the entrance gate of the Reichswald where we start with a climb to a height of 76 meters on a very old paved path. You're just glad you're cycling here with a gravel bike instead of the thin tire bike. After a small flat section and another climb you come out on a great hard-pack gravel road that goes from north to south, one of the few accessible gravel roads in this direction. Most of them go from west to east. You can make quite a lot of extra kilometers on gravel here.
De Jan is an old tower in the middle of the forest at a height of 66 meters and can be seen from the Rijk van Nijmegen. You cycle along forest paths and descend to the Dutch border where you can find a very nice break: Boscafé Merlijn.

You will end up in Grafwegen (what's in the name?!) when you cross the border and cycle back to the woods of the Rijk van Nijmegen. Towards the Sint Jansberg you follow a gravel path that, please note, is not easy to cycle everywhere. Between the meadow and the forest you cycle past the skeleton of an airplane, one of the war memories that are hidden in this area.

This area was the scene of hard fighting during World War II, which you are regularly reminded of on your bike. Once again you arrive in Groesbeek and a few nice wide forest paths follow each other, before crossing the Wolfsberg on a narrow cycle path. From here to the finish it is always pleasantly busy at Gliding Airfield Malden, where you drive along a beautiful sandy strip to the end point in Nijmegen.