Gravel trail in the Reichswald forest - just a stone's throw away

If you are looking for a cool gravel route on the border with the Netherlands and Germany, look no further. The Reichswald, just across the border near Nijmegen, offers everything you need for a great route, with a story. Because while you're busy criss-crossing through the woods, don't forget to observe the pebbles. We were out for an afternoon with the guys from Soul Media and it did not disappoint. Gravel in the Reichswald can be recommended to anyone. Although, this afternoon ended somewhat in a minor way for the writer, but that was not due to the route!

Text: Sander Kolsloot, photos: Gijs Ferkranus - TRLS

Start = finish of this gravel route

As I drive the MyWheels shared car into the car park of Eatery de Diepen turn up, a couple of men are sitting near a camper van drinking a cup of coffee. Leaning against the camper are some expensive MTBs and for a moment I think I have struck my travelling companion. Nothing could be further from the truth. I look at my phone and there is the first app with 'on the way'. What transpires later. Three of us have somewhat misjudged the travel time between Arnhem, where the friends from Specialized provided some test equipment, and the border road near Milsbeek. We are in the head of Limburg, a few hundred metres from the province border of Gelderland. Eethuis de Diepen is also the last house left in the Netherlands, as from here the next stop is Germany.

Into the forest

The longer wait is finally rewarded. My travelling companions Merlin, Gijs, Sjoerd and Harm (we do qualify as MAMILs, sorry guys) come off quickly anyway. We get to know each other briefly, as we have only ever texted each other. Gijs' LandRover is quickly unloaded and after everyone has done their nerves pee, we can get going. 50 kilometres of graveling through the Reichswald forest, where you can tick off a lot of peaks.

'Stein' project

What makes this gravel route in the Reichswald so special are the following two things:

1. All the peaks of the Reichswald forest mapped by Gerd Siebers and marked with stone markers. It is quite funny that this parish priest from the town of Nütterden actually left a nice legacy out of boredom. Because pastor in Nütterden is not necessarily a day job. He is inventing something new. He wants to map and (not unimportantly) mark all peaks higher than 50 metres in the adjoining forest. With a total of 31 'gipfelsteine', by 1981 he had completed the job and all peaks higher than 50 metres were mapped. A wonderful way to indulge in this forest
2. Artist Marcus Gern's Steinmännchen, which seem derived from the Stoanerne Mandl near Bolzano. This is another special place. Whether Marcus got his inspiration from Gerd is, of course, again the question. On the gipfelsteine, there are sometimes small stones again, which also seem to form males. They support each other. The artist Gern, coincidentally also from Nütterden, piled up thousands of pebbles at the edge of the forest over the past decade. The (unofficial) work of art was named Steinmännchen (stone men). Indeed, at first they look like little dolls.

Up and down gravel route

The route goes from the start, soon into the forest. In the forest, you also understand why our friend Siebers chose a nice project. It goes up and down from kiet. The climbs are steep, but you don't see that when you start. At each summit, you come across another one of those nice pieces of stone, neatly indicating the altitude metres. Individually, the stones are not impressive,m but added together, they add up to over 500 altimeters in less than 50 kilometres.

From winding girth tracks to 'straightforward

The route is not just punishingly uphill. The variety is also in the sometimes very narrow singletracks that then turn into a nice wide forest route further on. A forest route that just screams to be ridden. This makes it a lovely route where you can recover from the 'knackige anstiege' and also enjoy yourself.

Refuel

You can refuel halfway by the village, where there is also a tap in the cemetery to refill water bottles only, although if the weather is nice you might want to plop down on a terrace.

Gravel route Reichswald

Would you also like to ride this cool gravel route in the Reichswald forest? Then quickly check out this route below and enjoy!