Weser-Radweg by bike

Tarmac cycle path on the bank of the Weser between Holzminden and Forst, with wooded hills behind

Photo: Ath, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Distance
about 520 km (323 miles)
Country
Germany
Difficulty
Easy
Type of trip
Cycling route

The Weser-Radweg follows the Weser from Hann. Münden, where the Werra and the Fulda meet at the Weserstein, to Cuxhaven on the North Sea. It's about 520 km. The first part runs through the wooded hills of the Weserbergland, past Bad Karlshafen, Höxter, Hameln and Rinteln to Porta Westfalica and Minden. After that it crosses the flat north German plain by Nienburg, Verden and Bremen to Bremerhaven, and ends on the dyke at Cuxhaven by the Jonathan Zenneck memorial, within sight of the Kugelbake beacon. Wikivoyage splits it into eight stages of 51 to 90 km and suggests two weeks for an easy-going trip, or one week if you stop at Bremen. You stay in the towns along the river, and Wikivoyage lists campsites and youth hostels, though Minden has nowhere to pitch a tent. There's nothing to book for the route itself.

More than 90% of it is tarmac or another all-weather surface such as paving or concrete, though some paths are only 1.5 m wide. The river drops only about 90 m over the 200 km from Hann. Münden to Minden. The start isn't flat, though. Between Hann. Münden and Bad Karlshafen the right bank has two very steep hills, up to about 25% by the Solling railway tunnel, and the left bank is shorter but partly runs beside main roads. In the north the wind matters more than the hills, and Wikivoyage suggests an e-bike. The signs are green and white arrows. The ADFC gave it four stars out of five in 2017.

Highlights along the way

  1. Hann. Münden: The Weserstein marks the spot where the Werra and Fulda become the Weser. Between here and Bad Karlshafen the only bridge is at Gieselwerder, so small ferries such as the one from Hemeln to Veckerhagen take you across.
  2. Bad Karlshafen: A Baroque town 47 km from Hann. Münden. You can walk up to the Hugenottenturm, just under an hour there and back, or out to the Hannoversche Klippen and the Weser-Skywalk.
  3. Höxter and Corvey: Wikivoyage ends its first stage in Höxter, 71 km from the start. The town has a half-timbered town hall, and Schloss Corvey, a former Carolingian Benedictine abbey, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  4. Bodenwerder and Hameln: Bodenwerder has a museum to Baron Münchhausen, who was born there. Hameln is the Pied Piper's town, and a walk round the old town takes 45 minutes to an hour.
  5. Porta Westfalica: The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal is about 150 m up by road. The ramp to the A2 bridge has a tight hairpin and about 250 m where you push, so people with wide bikes or trailers are told to use the Weser bridge in Porta Westfalica instead.

Distance

About 520 km (323 miles) from Hann. Münden to Cuxhaven, according to German Wikipedia and Wikivoyage. The hilly Weserbergland part, Hann. Münden to Minden, is 207 km (129 miles) of that.

Best time to go

Wikivoyage says May to September is best, with April and October depending on the weather. Some of the small ferries on the upper Weser only run part of the year: the one at Wahmbeck runs only in the summer half of the year, and the one at Oedelsheim only for special trips. For diversions and ferry news, check weserradweg.de before you go.

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