Großmicketal – Großmicke Valley near Wenden

By bike, the diversity of nature in the Wenden region can be experienced in a convenient and enjoyable way.  An approximately 25-kilometre-long tour, which is very popular because of its scenic beauty and its moderate gradients, passes five nature reserves. Moreover, there is a cultural monument of the first order situated right alongside the cycle path: the Wendener Hütte Museum, the oldest preserved charcoal blast furnace installation in Western Europe.

The first of the five nature reserves is the "Mittagsbrüche", a large wet meadow complex, adjoined by small areas of arable land. Next comes the relatively small "Wendequellgebiet", which forms a kind of stepping stone on the way to the "Wiehbruch" Nature Reserve. Passing the Dörnschlade Chapel of pilgrimage, you come to the Großmicketal Nature Reserve. Finally, there is the Biggetal Nature Reserve with its wide floodplain in which the river is largely free to develop as it will.