Ich steig Raus | Narrow-gauge route

At Hennef station, you can stock up on supplies before taking the fastest route out of town via Frankfurter Straße. Pure nature awaits you. A long gravel section brings you through a small-scale cultural landscape – forest and open areas alternate: welcome to the historic narrow-gauge track from Hennef to Asbach (Westerwald)! Until about 70 years ago, a private railway company transported basalt from the surrounding quarries through the Hanf valley towards the Rhine. There, the material was shipped for the construction of dikes and canals in the Netherlands and Belgium. From the former Hermesbach mill, you switch to lightly trafficked paved country roads for about 10 km. From Krautscheid, you change valley and railway line. To reach the former Pleistal route, you cross a ridge. From Rostingen, a field path leads you along the Quirrenbach into the Pleistal. The black basalt mountains at the foot of the Hühnerberg illustrate the still existing economic importance of basalt mining in the region. From now on, you pedal increasingly easier; small roads and further gravel sections take you downstream from Ober- to Niederpleis. There, in the wide floodplain of the lower Sieg, you meet the Sieg cycle path. The conclusion of your ride is a dike run upstream back to the starting point in Hennef.

Trekking or gravel bike recommended:

60% paved paths, 33% gravel, 7% trail

Hennef (Sieg) train station: RE 9, lines S12 and S19

Departure times Hennef (Sieg) train station

Schedule information for Hennef (Sieg) train station

For more information, contact

Visitor Center Naturregion Sieg, Phone +49 2292 / 956 20 23, info@naturregion-sieg.de

or at the

Tourist Information Hennef, Frankfurter Str. 97, 53773 Hennef (Sieg), Phone +49 2242 / 19433, tourism@hennef.de

Experience railway history along the way. Opportunities to stop in Oberpleis, at the Sieglinde, and in Hennef.