Discover the Emsland: Nature, Trails and Culture
Accommodation in Emsland
In the northeast of the district of Emsland, Hümmling Nature Park covers around 580 square kilometres. Cycling and hiking trails pass historical sites, megalithic tombs and Clemenswerth Palace, with information points along the way. This means you can choose between nature trails and cultural attractions as different focal points for your trip. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in the Emsland, consider which of these experiences should have the greatest influence on where you stay.
Sonnenuntergang im Naturschutzgebiet Esterweger Dose im Emsland.
Photo: Kroon sandra via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Hiking at Theikenmeer
The Kranichpfad (Crane Trail) leads for about 2.5 kilometres into the Theikenmeer nature reserve; you return along the same route. The total walking distance is therefore about 5 kilometres. An observation platform offers panoramic views of Lake Theikenmeer and the moorland of Wehmer Dose. There is also an observation hut on the lakeshore. The Theikenmeer loop is also among the Hümmling Nature Park trails that meet the quality criteria of the German Hiking Association. This gives you different points of reference when choosing a hike: a loop that meets designated quality criteria or the Kranichpfad, with a clearly specified out-and-back distance.
The Emsland Route and its towns
The Emsland Route is a 395-kilometre circuit through five landscapes: Northern Ems Valley, Hümmling, Bourtanger Moor, Hasetal and Southern Emsland. It is very well signposted, mostly flat, paved and traffic-free, making it particularly suitable for beginners and families with children. The route connects 19 towns; all towns in the Emsland along the route can serve as starting and finishing points. If you are looking for a holiday apartment, your preferred starting or finishing area can be a first point of reference when choosing where to stay.
Palace gardens and milling history
Clemenswerth Palace is also a destination in Hümmling thanks to its palace gardens. The grounds cover 42 hectares and include the Gloriette, the garden house of Elector Clemens August. This gives you a clear idea of the size of the grounds as well as a special building within them. Werlte is home to another historic structure, Kreutzmann's Mill: in the 1990s, it was restored to its original 1881 condition.
In Haren (Ems), the shipping museum's centrepiece is a mill museum housed in Mersmühle. It includes a miller's house, the main exhibition building, a historic bakehouse, a restored motor mill, a tool shed with a carriage house, and a farm and herb garden. The individual buildings and areas give you a sense of the scale of this museum complex, which is not limited to a single exhibition building.
Moor landscapes in the surrounding region
From the Fehndorfer Moor viewpoint, you can look out over a 29-hectare remnant of a former industrial peat extraction site. It has been prepared for nature conservation and raised bog restoration. In the wider surrounding region, the International Bourtanger Moor-Veenland Nature Park, in the border triangle between the Emsland, the county of Bentheim and the Dutch province of Drenthe, is a natural and cultural landscape shaped by peat extraction, agriculture, preserved raised bogs and renaturalised areas. There, cycling and hiking trails, discovery paths and viewpoints offer insight into how the moorland landscape has changed.
Regional products are another discovery: the museum café at the Emsland Moor Museum serves, among other things, buckwheat pancakes.
More places in the Emsland
More places in the Emsland: Haren / Ems, Twist, Papenburg, Sögel, Salzbergen, Meppen, Freren, Dörpen, Herzlake, Lehe, Lähden, Geeste, Haselünne, Lünne, Heede, Spelle, Holthausen, Holte, Düthe, Werlte, Stavern, Esterwegen, Emsbüren, Lathen, Werpeloh, Niederlangen, Fresenburg, Lingen, Surwold, Dersum, Kluse, Lahn, Renkenberge, Rhede, Bawinkel, Lingen (Ems), Walchum, Vrees, Rastdorf, Dohren.
For the regional travel overview: Lower Saxony.
