Emscher Radweg, Ruhrgebiet

Just over 100 kilometres long, this long-distance cycle route is completely signposted and leads through the northern Ruhr region. While the Ruhr has always been a recreational paradise in the south, the Emscher took on the tough role of workhorse. It had to carry away the wastewater of an entire region, because mining and the associated subsidence of the mountains meant that underground routing was not possible for a long time.  Today, the wastewater is elaborately routed underground and the Emscher itself is renatured - one of the largest renaturation projects in Europe.

The Emscher Weg trail starts at the Emscher Quellhof in Holzwickede. At first, the Emscher remains inconspicuously small; only from Phoenix Lake in Dortmund does the cycle path run alongside the river. Exciting industrial monuments such as the Skywalk in Phoenix West or the Hansa coking plant are only a few pedal turns away from the route and are well worth a visit. From Dortmund, the Emscher Weg heads north past Castrop-Rauxel to Henrichenburg. From here the Emscher Weg heads west again, passes under the Rhine-Herne Canal and finally reaches Herne. From here, the Emscher increasingly changes into a sewage canal. The tour leads past Recklinghausen and through the north of Gelsenkirchen. In Bottrop, the Emscher Weg passes through Berne Park, a former sewage treatment plant that was converted into a small cultural park as part of the RUHR.2010 Capital of Culture. In Oberhausen, the Emscher Weg runs close to the Oberhausen Gasometer. From Oberhausen, the path leads to the newly created estuary in Dinslaken.