I have to admit I had no clue this beautiful nature park with fields of blooming heath even existed before I moved to Germany. It is located quite close to the busy higway between Hanover and Hamburg but if you don´t know it´s there you will not see it from the road. Up until now we´ve visited Lüneburger Heide two times and were stunned by beautiful pink carpets of heath stretching over the little hills and valleys. It´s great for hiking, cycling and more, so if you are travelling through northern Germany or live here around you should definitely visit, also with kids. Read more about it in this new post.
USEFUL INFORMATION| how to get there, accommodation and more
It takes about 30 minutes from HAMBURG, 1 hour from HANNOVER or BREMEN and 3 hours from BERLIN. The easiest and fastest is with your own car, but the trains running between Hanover and Hamburg also make a stop there. Besides hotels there are many holiday houses which you can rent, but have in mind that they get booked much in advance in August and September as this is the best time to visit the natural park. During our first visit we stayed in an apartment in BISPINGEN, the second time we opt for a camping weekend sleeping in our tent.
It´s very important to know that A LARGE AREA OF THE PARK is a CAR FREE ZONE – and there are only 3 ways to get around: ON FOOT, with a HORSE CARRIAGE or with BICYCLES. I would say going with BYCICLES is a great option as you move around quicker and a horse carriage is a good option in case of bad weather. They are waiting for you at all the major car parking places.
WHAT TO SEE AND DO IN LÜNEBURGER HEIDE
Lüneburger Heide (LÜNEBURG HEATH) is an area, DISTINGUISHED BY SPECIFIC FACTORS such as climate, relief, soil, geology, flora and fauna. It covers a greater area around towns CELLE, GIFHORN, UELZEN, LÜNEBURG, SCHEEßEL, HARBURG, ROTENBURG and LÜCHOW-DANNENBZRG.We´ve visited Lüneburger Heide two times, both times towards the end of summer, when the fields are in bloom. During both visits we´ve gotten to know to area quite good. Here´s what you can see and do there.
BISPINGEN | LÜNEBURGER HEIDE, GERMANY
When we were visiting the first time we were staying in a so-called “Ferienwohnung” (holiday home) in Bispingen which seemed like a nice place with lots to do, many shops and restaurants as well. You can also stay at CENTER PARCS, which offer different activities for the whole family and are most known for their awesome pools. You can also ski in an indoor SNOW DOME, get lost in the labyrinth called ABENTEUERLABYRINTH, jump on in the TRAMPOLINE PARK, drive with QUADS or get crazy fun in the HEIDEPARK AMUSEMENT PARK.
PIETZMOOR | LÜNEBURGER HEIDE, GERMANY
When we first visited the area we drove up on a Friday after work and we still had enough time for a SHORTER HIKE – preferably something different than the heath fields as we were planning that for Saturday when our friends joined us. We came across PIETZMOOR WETLANDS online and decided to drive there, since it was just 15 minutes from our accommodation.
There is a round 5km HIKING TRAIL which we managed in 1,5 hours – just perfect if you don´t have much time. The whole area is PROTECTED and of important significance for flora and fauna. If you go there in SPRING TIME you can watch the amazing white flowers of “Wollgrasblüte”, in late SUMMER/ early autumn there is the PINK HEATH that dominates the views. Along the way there are info stands about the wetlands.
Lu was almost 5 years old at that time and we was easily able to do all the mentioned hikes, including this one. The last part of this hike took us through FIELDS OF BLOOMING HEATH and we got the first impressions about what we will see the next day. We´ve also spotted the famous SHEEP, which look a bit different in this area.
WILSEDER BERG, TOTENGRUND, STEINGRUND | the most known hiking spots in Lüneburger Heide
We chose the larger PARKING PLACE in a smaller village called NIEDERHAVEBECK which is a good starting point for longer hikes in the area. Unfortunatelly we were a bit unluck with the weather and have then decided to pay 10€ per person (kids free) and explore the area on a 45 minute ROUND CARIAGE RIDE. We got to see the PINK LANDSCAPE in the heart of the park – TOTENGRUND, WILSEDERBERG and STEINGRUND. Although it was raining from time to time and it was rather cold, it was still worth it. Here are some impressions from our first visit.
In the time of our second weekend visit we had lovely sunny weather, but we were a bit late for the full bloom. Anyhow, it wa nice despite the less pinky fields and this time we had great conditions to HIKE THE LONG PATH to the 169m high (btw also the highest hill) WILSEDER BERG HILL. On a clear sunny day you can see all the way to Hamburg from the top. Great views really.
This time we sterted the hike from a PARKING PLACE between the little towns called NIEDERHAVERBECK and OBERHAVERBECK. From here you can choose between many paths, many of them cross at one point. It is better to make a plan at home, but you can also check them out on many signs along the way. For the best views and scenic hike I recomment the one to Wilseder Berg and Totengrund. If you have enough time it´s great to do both of course.
SCHNEVERDINGEN | another good starting point for hiking and cycling
We were also exploring SCHNEVERDINGEN and around, where we found a good starting point for a lovely hike. There are numerous PARKING LOTS connected to different hiking paths, you might just randomly pick one. We did a 5km ROUND HIKE and it was gorgeous, especially since we were a bit more lucky with the sunny weather here.
HEIDEGARTEN HÖPEN | a beautiful park with over 150 different sorts of heath plants
We also visited these beautiful HEATH GARDENS called “Heidegarten” in Höpen, Schneverdingen. A park where you can find 150 DIFFERENT SORTS OF HEATH PLANTS all year around, for free. There is also a watch tower from where there are nice views down to the gardens.
DAS VERRÜCKTE HAUS | a funny upside down house in Bispingen
On both of our visits we´ve also been to this funny museum house which is built upside down. There are many of such houses all over Germany but this was actually the first one we ever visited. The kids love it, but let´s face it, the grown ups find it amusing too. Read more about our experience in this house called DAS VERRÜCKTE HAUS by clicking the button under the picture.
LÜNEBURG | charming Hanseatic town close to hamburg
We also visited this charming HANSEATIC TOWN called LÜNEBURG, which is just 40km away from Bispingen and not to far from Hamburg as well. It counts around 80.000 inhabitants but many tourists visit it throughout the year, so it is always pretty lively and has a great atmosphere. More about Lüneburg soon on the blog in a new post.
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