Black gold – experiencing the path of coal

Bike touring routes & trails

Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Ruhr Region

Black gold – experiencing the path of coal

Moderate

4.5

(525)

1,647

riders

Black gold – experiencing the path of coal

02:37

41.9km

280m

Cycling

On this route you will learn more about the path of coal and the meaning of black gold. The starting point is the Zollern mine in Dortmund. Here you get a great insight into the mining facilities of the Ruhr area, but also into the lives of the miners.
…

by radrevier.ruhr

Last updated: July 23, 2025

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

NSG Dellwiger Bachtal

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

152 m

Zeche Zollern Industrial Museum

Highlight • Historical Site

The Zeche Zollern is a decommissioned hard coal mine in the northwest of the city of Dortmund, in the Bövinghausen district.

The Zeche Zollern II / IV is now one …

Translated by Google •

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13.7 km

Zur Kleinen Weile – Sound Sculpture by Raumlabor

Highlight • Monument

It's crazy what you can do with normal spoken words here for sound pictures!

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17.1 km

Emscher Cycle Route

Highlight • Cycleway

The Emscher cycle path is a very well-developed cycle/footpath through the countryside and only occasionally leads through built-up areas. With a few interruptions, the path leads to the Rhine.

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28.0 km

Rheinischer Esel sculpture

Highlight • Monument

The Rhenish Donkey is the name of the railway line opened in 1880 between Dortmund-Löttringhausen and Bochum-Langendreer. Passenger services were discontinued in 1979. If you believe the numerous corresponding legends, …

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41.9 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

16.0 km

12.1 km

6.43 km

5.63 km

1.13 km

487 m

129 m

Surfaces

22.5 km

13.6 km

2.23 km

2.11 km

1.45 km

Elevation

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

Highest point (130 m)

Lowest point (60 m)

Weather

Friday 9 October

14°C

8°C

75 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 24.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

February 23, 2025,Schwarzes Gold – Den Weg der Kohle erfahren - Video auf YouTube, Link in den Kommentaren

Here is the video:

Showing Translation

March 26, 2024,Kohle, Koks und Rheinischer Esel - Witten Dortmund Rundkurs

Our first tour with the new e-bikes and with it the opportunity for me to finally be on two wheels again. The best start would probably be at the Zollern colliery; for convenience, we started on the Rheinschen Donkey in front of our front door. We only had a few sections with traffic and it was nice to see how …

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May 20, 2024,Industrie Kultur, Witten-Dortmund mitten im Grünen 🍀☀️🚴🐝

Once again a great tour with Uwe through the green lung of the Ruhr area 😉

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August 30, 2026,Schwarzes Gold, Schwarz-Gelbes Herz und tiefes Grün

4.5 stars for this "Best of Pott" tour, which was really fun!
My favorite temperature - 21°-, a bit of sunshine 🌞 and as a bonus it stayed dry 🌂

The "Rheinische Esel" is completely new to me.
📍 The railway line from Bochum-Langendreer via Witten to Dortmund Süd was closed to passenger traffic at the end of the 1970s. …

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April 21, 2025,Radrevier Ruhr Tour Schwarzes Gold

Today, the route wasn't the destination, but the Zollern Colliery. We replicated this with our Black Gold cycling tour. We started at the TU Dortmund University. The second part of the route on the "Rheinischer Esel" (Rhineland Esel) was a nice ride. There were more ups and downs than previously expected, but not as many as Komoot suggests. 🙈
The …

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June 22, 2022,Der Weg der Kohle

This round is based on the tour of radrevierruhr "Experience the coal path" planned. We started in Langendreher and drove in the opposite direction. Arrival and departure to Langendreher with the S 1 from Steele Ost worked without any problems. The routing via the junction system works to some extent.
Overall, a nice and very varied round. With a return …

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April 26, 2026,Witten 🚴‍♂️ Dortmund - Runde

In Witten, we followed the "Rheinischen Esel", a approx. 12–13 km long cycle and hiking path on a former railway line, which connects Dortmund-Löttringhausen with Bochum-Langendreer. From Langendreer, we went via Somborn to Lütgendortmund.

We came to the Wasserschloss Dellwig, which was unknown to us until then. The lively music of a Dutch brass band could be heard from afar …

Showing Translation

June 1, 2024,Schwarzes Gold – Den Weg der Kohle erfahren

A very beautiful and varied tour, extended by the journey there, which was a bit longer than I initially thought.
There are other options to start along the route if the stretch from the car park to the tour was also very beautiful.

Showing Translation

March 29, 2023

On this route you will learn more about the path of coal and the meaning of black gold. The starting point is the Zollern mine in Dortmund. Here you get a great insight into the mining facilities of the Ruhr area, but also into the lives of the miners.
Past

Translated by Google •