Kalterherberg - Wesertalsperre - Roetgen - Steling

This is a long tour, with considerable elevation gain and loss. The trail is mostly on comfortable forest roads, or the RAVeL. We recommend an E-MTB. A short stretch of difficult singletrail near Roetgen can be easily avoided. The trail is suitable for regular mountain bikes (if you are in good shape), and electric tour bikes (if you don't mind gravel roads).

From Kalterherberg, descend to the Kalterherberg station. Drive through the village of Küchelscheid; a long ascent to the top of the Pannesterz hill (662 meters) follows. From here, a long and mostly leisurely ride begins down to Ternell. Ternell is a good place for a break, but remember that you did just over a quarter of the distance and elevation difference.

Cross the asphalt road and begin the long descent to the Weser lake. This is the lowest point on our roundtrip - 300 meters lower than the Steling, which is the highest. We will cross the Steling towards the end of our trip. Follow the lakeshore to the forest hut, which also is a good place to rest. More than half of the tour is still ahead.

Continue to the Weserbrücke. We took a footpath on the left, before we reached the bridge. The path was obstructed by fallen trees and we had to carry the bicycles across some rocky patches in the stream. We recommend that you continue straight at the Weserbrücke, and rejoin our tracks after a few hundred meters.

The trail leads you into the village of Roetgen, with many shops and opportunities to rest. It is a good idea to take a break here, as the next part will be a long uphill ride - with modest gradients - to the highest point of the Aachen region: the Steling (658 meters). Along the way you pass the Reinhardshof, an abandoned farmstead with some memorials, and the Steling hut. From the Steling hut continue straight to the Steling - most bicycle ways are routed elsewhere, but with a mountain bike you will have little difficulty continuing straight. If you do not have a mountainbike, you may have to push for a few meters.

The Steling is not a memorable summit - it is completely covered in forest. Views will unfold, once you descend into the village of Mützenich. Various ways are possible to reach the old Monschau station in Mützenich.

Here, you join the RAVeL, which you follow past the station Mützenich, a major viaduct with views to the monastery Reichenstein, back to Kalterherberg.