The Elbe Bike Trail is one of Germany’s most popular and most traveled routes. It is possible to cycle on both sides of the river nearly the entire way from Špindlerův Mlýn, where the origin of the river begins in Czechia, to Cuxhaven, where the Elbe joins the North Sea. The trail is nearly 1000 km long in Germany and another 300 km in Czechia. Though the Elbe drops over 1000 m in elevation from source to mouth, the elevation change is around 150 m total within Germany, making this a very relaxed river bike tour, regardless of which direction you travel in.
I have been wanting to do the Elbe Bike Trail for a while and finally had the chance to begin it last summer and continue this Easter. I haven’t completed the entire route in Germany but hope to connect the missing 100km soon. You can follow my progress on Komoot.
Elbe Bike Trail Day 1: Berlin to Cuxhaven to Krautsand – 81 km
I woke up at 5 and was on my way to the train station by 5:15. I was hoping to use my Deutschland Ticket to get from Berlin to Cuxhaven to cycle on the Elbe Bike Trail. As I biked through the Südgelände park to get to the station, I heard so many birds chirping. It made me really happy to be awake so early and on the go.
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Of course, DB makes everything with a bike interesting. After a night with nearly no sleep, a canceled train, an expensive ticket for an ICE, and then a train with no bike compartment, I made it to Cuxhaven to start the Elbe Bike Trail by midday. Luckily I met two cyclists on the train and we all cycled to the Kugelbake monument in Cuxhaven together. The Kugelbake marks where the Elbe enters the North Sea. I definitely wanted to stop here, even though it meant 6 km in the wrong direction. The older cyclist was meeting up with his brothers for their yearly bike trip together. He left us at the Kugelbake to meet his family. J, a math teacher from Hamburg with the day off, cycled with me for most of the day.
Elbe meets the North Sea at the Kugelbake in Cuxhaven
As we headed to the Kugelbake together, the ride was so easy that I didn’t think anything of it. When J and I turned around to head back in the other direction, I realized the challenge ahead – the headwind was fierce! Chatting made the enormous effort of fighting the wind more enjoyable. Sometimes it felt like we were cycling just 5 kmh.
For a while, the Elbe was very wide, but eventually we rode on a canal with the Elbe in the distance. The wind really never let up. Everyone else seemed to have planned smarter than me, because we saw no one biking in the same direction as us. I felt like a snail in comparision to all the smiling, speedy cyclists passing by. We went up a short viewing platform and had a good view of a container ship headed out to the North Sea. We passed a lighthouse, some locks, and lots of beautiful half-timbered houses out of bricks with reed roofs. These are my favorite kind of half-timbered houses and I would see them all over for the next several days.
Lunch and Lost
We stopped to eat lunch at a lake near a campground. Had I been further delayed on the train, I would’ve stayed here overnight. We had only cycled 30 km, but I was already exhausted. We continued onwards for a good while. The signs were sometimes confusing and we would go the wrong way. Once, we decided to not turn back and we got to a locked fence. I took all the luggage off my bike and we had to hand it over the fence one piece at a time.
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Eventually J had a flat tire, so he pumped it up with air to see how long it would hold. Then we came to this spot where the wind was really bad and we were moving quite slowly. The tire was flat again. J decided to stop and fix it and then to head to the closest train station. There was no way he would make it to the end of my planned route and then another 30 km to Stade to get the train home in time.
More wind, but lambs!
I continued alone in the horrible wind another 3 km. It was torturous and torturously slow. I decided to leave the route to head into the village in order to avoid some wind. It worked perfectly. There was still a good bit of headwind, but it was much less demoralizing. Plus there were so many amazing houses and lots of sheep munching on the dike. They had so many lambs that were baaing. Some didn’t seem very old at all. They were so adorable!
More and more kilometers
In the village of Freiburg, I got a little lost. It was quite a picturesque town, so I wasn’t that disappointed in wandering around before I met the main route again. What I did mind was getting to an open draw bridge shortly thereafter. At first I thought that it was a giant building. As I got closer, I wondered when the bridge would go back down so I could cross. After reading the sign, I learned that it only goes down on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays after May 1 and that boat traffic always has priority. So no going over the bridge for me. Instead of the 4.5 km to the campsite, it was another 8 km. I was dying from the wind, hungry, and running out of water. I just wanted to get there!! Luckily there was less wind on the detour, so that was helpful.
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Though I had passed by many fruit tree farms throughout the day, in Krautsand, I could smell the apple blossoms in the air. Perhaps it was just delusion from all the exertion. I couldn’t find the camp, but I asked an old lady walking her dog and she was helpful. The camp is nice and I was the only one on the tent field with a lakeside spot. I saw a white cheeked goose which I was excited about and even got a picture.
Elbe Bike Trail Day 2: Krautsand to Hamburg – 71 km
I slept on and off through the night. The ducks quacked and played in the water until late into the night. The morning was cloudy and didn’t pull me out of bed. I laid until 8 and then got ready to go. Usually I (we) are up much earlier for cycling, but today I would meet C in Hamburg and he wouldn’t be done working (hah!) until after 5pm. So there was no rush to get there.
Relief from the wind
The weather got better and better as I rode. There was no wind in comparison to the previous day. I followed the dike for a while, always passing lots of half-timbered, brick houses with the reed roofs. There was always something to look at. Also, this is the first time in a long time where I see lots of roadside farm stands. Mostly apples and juice, sometimes knick-knacks, or eggs or honey.
Stade
Occasionally my planned Komoot route is more direct than the actual Elbe Bike Trail. One particular occasion was to make a detour to the town Stade. I was debating whether or not to follow the Elbe signs to Stade instead of my planned route. Eventually, I decided why not – and I was not disappointed! Stade was so cute!! I parked Princess and took a stroll around the pedestrian area. Looking around for a bakery to get a Franzbrotchen (a must in Hamburg!), all I could find was an ice cream shop (shucks!). I got mango and stracciatrlla. It was really good with a nice thick cone – definitely recommend stopping there 😉
After Stade, I kept passing more and more apple and fruit farms. And along the dike there were often herds of sheep with a ton of baby lambs. Some of them were so tiny!!
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The signage has continued to be a bit difficult to follow. Sometimes the direction is unclear and other times the signage just disappears. This has been disappointing for me considering the route is one of Germany’s most popular.
I passed several Elbe beaches along the dike. There were often playgrounds on the shore. I stopped at one with some beautiful flowering trees. Under each tree was a bench with picnic table and a view of the river. I enjoyed the shade and the sun while relaxing and having a snack.
Closing in on Hamburg
The trail isn’t so nice as I neared Hamburg by the Airbus airport . The bike path is very close to a busy road only on one side for both directions of bike traffic. At times this path was just a meter wide. I could not wait to get off there, but it goes on for a long time.
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I got lost in the neighborhood Finkenwerder but eventually found the ferry. Then I got on in the wrong direction, but thankfully its only 3 stops in total. When I finally got off on the other side of the Elbe, I recognized the area from hiking here with C. I rode along the Elbe towards the city center passing beaches, bars, restaurants and beautiful houses. No camping for me tonight! We went to eat at a Lebanese place and it was delicious! I was so pooped that I went right to sleep.
Elbe Bike Trail Day 3: Hamburg to Brackede via Lauenburg – 78 km
What a day!! I felt like I could cycle forever. It was coooold when I left Hamburg and as the day went on I put on more layers, eventually wearing everything I had. I didn’t think I would be this cold biking at the end of April so I’m pretty much wearing the same thing even after showering.
Exiting Hamburg, the bike trail is much better than on the way in and along the Elbe in the city. It was very wide. On the way into the city there were parts where you had to walk the bike.
Forests and birds
After the city, I went through a long stretch of green. The bike path was covered by trees and there were fields on either side. It was a nature preserve and I saw so many birds here. Swans, storks, geese, ducks, pheasants, and herons. I saw a lot of deer, a bunny and a squirrel. I enjoyed this section a lot and was sorry when it ended. The bike signs were non-existent but I found the ferry to the other side of the Elbe. For 3€ I could cross with my bike.
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The trail followed the dike closely on one side and a row of homes and farms on the other. Today there were no noticeable fruit farms, but lots of horses and cows. Occasionally there were sheep on the dike with their lambs. Lots of the houses I love. And more and more storks and nests.
Lauenburg
Towards the end I could cross the river on a bridge to get to Lauenburg, though figuring out how to get on the bridge was a bit tricky. The streets were very cobbly in Lauenburg, so I parked Princess to walk around. The homes are adorable, but many are not used, which is sad because it is so picturesque. There isn’t much protection from the Elbe as the homes line the shore of the river. I stopped for a piece of apple cake and to use the toilet before heading back over the bridge onto the trail. You can bike both sides of the Elbe for almost then whole way, but for some reason I’m mostly cycling on the left side (linkselbisch in German).
I decided to look for a camping spot a bit further than I had planned because I was feeling so good. Also it’s supposed to rain tomorrow, so I’d rather do fewer kilometers tomorrow. I’m at this cute campsite run by a Dutch family. I was cold so I showered, had a tea, and cooked right away, even though it was just 4pm. Now it’s early!! I had a really great day despite the cold, cloudy weather. At least it didn’t rain, the riding was easy, and I enjoyed the views!
Elbe Bike Trail Day 4 – Brackede to Laasche See – 84 km
I liked the Dutch campsite a lot. It was so nice. The woman warned me about the hills before Hitzacker as I was checking out. I thought about it being good training for out upcoming tour through Sweden and about the lookout tower I wanted to visit on that side. But I had about 80km to go, and the weather killed the visibility, so I followed her advice 😉
Blechede Biosphaerum
Blechede wasn’t far from the camp and I had wanted to visit the Biosphaerum there. It’s housed in a Wasserschloss (a castle with a moat!). Unfortunately I was there already at 9, and it wasn’t going to open until 10. It looked really cool from the outside and they have a viewing tower as well. I was bummed I didn’t have time to wait. It is directly on the trail and seems worth a stop! Blechede was also a cute town.
Raaaainnnn
Along the way I went through some really beautiful forest along the river. I liked it a lot even though the rain was blurring my glasses. I wanted to take pictures but my fingers were saturated and my phone threatened to be unusable.
To dry off a bit, I stopped in a village at a bus stop and snacked. I watched three young boys play with an electric scooter in the rain. Starting to get cold and wet, I was wishing the sun would make an appearance!
In Neu Darchau I took the ferry for 3,50€ to the other side. I thought the prices would be similar throughout, but each ferry is different. I rode a while along the dike bracing against the cold misty rain which continued to blur my glasses. Sometimes I was on top of the dike with a view and other times along it.
In Bitter I took the ferry across to Hitzacker. It was the cutest little ferry, but it cost 5€ to cross! I was the only one on it, so I guess that’s not bad for a private ride. The ferry only took pedestrians and cyclists. Hitzacker was also very cute, an island in the Elbe. I stopped at an ice cream shop and had a half liter of peppermint tea, trying to dry off and warm up a bit before continuing on.
After Hitzacker there was a detour due to road work. But it was well-signed and pleasant. More cycling along the dike and then I crossed the river again this time by bridge to Dömitz to see the fortress. It was free to visit and there were some small exhibits.
Reunited
I crossed back over the same bridge to rejoin the trail for the last 20 km to Laasche See. Finally, C had made it to Wittenberge on the train and was cycling to meet me at the campsite with a supply of warm clothes I declined to pack earlier. It’s so cold that our summer gas makes cooking take forever. Being together and finally warmer in my fresh clothes improved my mood.
Elbe Bike Trail Day 5: Laasche See to Werben – 72 km
The road surface wasnt great today. It started off drier than yesterday but was very cold. We cycled through some nice forest on unpaved stony and sandy paths to the top of Höhbeck, a 60m tall hill. We went up the tower and despite the clouds, could still enjoy the view. From there we rolled down the hill to some villages, around the lake in Gartow (and to a very busy Edeka – it’s the Saturday before Easter!), and then to Schnackeburg, the smallest city in Niedersachsen. There we visited a border museum because the border crossing to the DDR was here.
Most of the day was on modern (flat) cobble stones/pavers or concrete slabs along the dike. Crossing into Sachsen Anhalt, there were fewer homes along the dike, so the landscape was more monotonous. Though the Elbe was far away, we were often on a side arm or had views of lakes.
The Stork-iest place in Sachsen-Anhalt
In Wahrenburg, we saw so many stork nests, most of which had one or two birds in them. There were also several birds feeding around town. More riding along the dike until Beuster where I was dying to get some cake! We found a cafe a bit off the trail and it was worth it (Café Rosengarten). We were there shortly after 2, and were in line with the seniors to get in. They had several tortes on offer. C had a carrot lemon cake torte and I had a raspberry torte (of course).
Then it wasn’t much further until Werben. We haven’t been in town yet because the campsite is just before. The camp is at the town pool. They have everything here – community room, kitchen with utensils and a small shop to get some food. It’s great that we could cook because our gas is almost gone, and it’s too cold to be using summer gas. We cooked pasta with homemade wild garlic pesto. The night is supposed to be very cold, so I’m happy we can wait it out in the heated community room before going to bed. It’s so nice to eat at a table and sit in a chair!!
Elbe Bike Trail Day 6 – Werben to Stendal – 63 km
The morning didn’t inspire me very much. It was still cold and very foggy. We cycled through Werben, which was an old town with lots of historic buildings and gates. I really wanted to see Havelberg after reading much of the “in the middle of Nüscht” book in the community room about all of the sights in the eastern Altmark. Havelberg wasn’t as exciting as expected, though the campsite owner said there is more going on from May.
We took another ferry back to the left side of the Elbe as the sun began to appear and make everything warmer. We passed through a very small village of Büttnershof with a gorgeous inn. Then the Elbe Bike Trail seems to make quite a detour away from the Elbe and returns to the river in Arneburg. There it is worth cycling up to the top of town to have a great view over the Elbe.
In Storkau we took a final rest before leaving the Elbe Bike Trail. There is a castle there with a quiet park on the river. The trail continues on towards Tangermünde but we headed westwards to Stendal so we could catch a train back to Berlin. In Stendal we had ice cream to celebrate the end of this section of trail. Just 100 km to go to complete the Elbe Bike Trail from Cuxhaven to Czechia.
Even though I started at the mouth of the Elbe river in Cuxhaven, this is my second trip on the Elbe Bike Trail. My first journey on the trail began in Magdgeburg (blog post coming soon!).
Planning your own trip on the Elbe Bike Trail from Cuxhaven to Czechia? You can see all the routes for this tour on my Komoot profile. Additionally, there’s a great interactive map of the Elbe Bike Trail which includes accommodation, natural and historic sites, places to eat, and museums. They also have links to GPS downloads.