Discover Gjern Municipality: Nature Trails, Hills and Cultural Heritage

Gjern Municipality combines a distinctive glacial landscape with varied trails and visible traces of the past. Between Gjern Bakker, Gjern Ådal, moorlands and protected burial mounds, you will find different ways to explore the area at your own pace. When choosing your accommodation, it is therefore worth deciding on your preferred focus first: short sections that are generally easy to navigate, longer hikes, a cycling tour or landscape experiences with links to cultural history.

Gjern Bakker and Gjern Ådal

Gjern Bakker is a dramatic, hilly glacial landscape. It formed as a terminal moraine in front of a glacier and was shaped into a distinctive tunnel valley by meltwater. A 33.5-hectare part of Gjern Bakker is owned by the Danish Nature Agency and is primarily managed for nature and outdoor recreation. The highest point is Åshøj, at 104 metres above sea level.

This landscape can be experienced in various ways. A hike to Store Troldhøj offers panoramic views of the Gjern Å, Gjern Ådal and the surrounding particularly valuable oak scrub. The “Gjern Bakker, Egekrat” route also leads to an oak scrub and opens up a view of Lake Sminge. Those choosing accommodation for several outings can combine different day plans without limiting their holiday to just one activity.

Trails for different day plans

The “Gjern å stien” route offers different trail sections. Parts run along gravel paths and gravel roads and are suitable for pushchairs, buggies or wheelchairs. The section along the shore, however, is a narrow, rough trail and may be difficult. These differences are important when planning your day: you can choose a suitable section and take the shore trail into account separately.

The “Gjern Bakker, Gjern Å og Gjern By” route begins at a holiday centre and leads through a side valley to Gjern Ådal. At the end of the railway path, Gjern can be seen. The marked route “Forbindelsesrute ml. offentlige skov- og naturomr.” crosses Gjern Ådal. For a longer cycling tour, Gjern Tur/Natur is available: the marked route forms a figure eight with two loops that meet at the Erik-Rådal statue in Gjern, and when ridden in full, it is a total of 60 km long.

Moorland and further discoveries

In 2013, a marked trail was created through part of the moor at Egedalsmosen. It begins at the car park between Sørkelvej 67 and 69. Parts of the yellow-and-black route may be flooded or wet at times; rubber boots or hiking boots are therefore recommended. Another option is the public hiking trail created in 2013 through a collaboration between Gjern Natur and Søhøjlandets Golf Resort. It begins at the Golf Resort/Restaurant, runs for approximately 4 km along the edge of the golf course and through a woodland area, crosses Grebdalsvej and returns to the Golf Resort via the golf course paths.

History among the natural experiences

Bjerghøje is a visible, protected burial mound in northern Gjern. West of Gjern, Lodnehøje is another visible, protected burial mound. Those wishing to combine nature and history can include these distinctive remnants in their own travel plans and then choose a route through the landscape.

Which accommodation suits your travel plans?

A holiday apartment or holiday house in Gjern Municipality can serve as a base for very different days of holiday. What matters is less a general classification than your specific plan: for routes with gravel sections, you should choose the appropriate route; for wet moorland trails, plan for the recommended footwear; and for the 60-kilometre cycling loop, allow enough time.

If you would like to compare other places, you can find Bording, Kongensbro, Lemming, Vrads, Ans, Silkeborg, Skygge and Them Municipality here.

For the higher-level travel overview: Silkeborg Municipality.