A long but easy ride for beginners, taking in some of the region’s tourist highlights. The route passes Herten Castle on the way to the Schlägel & Eisen colliery, then follows the Allee des Wandels through Recklinghausen to the König-Ludwig-Trasse. The Henrichenburg boat lift marks the tour’s main attraction, before the route continues along the riverside path of the Rhine-Herne Canal to the Emscherland and then back to the festival site via the Emscher-Weg. The Hoheward slag heap awaits you as the final highlight.

This tour, organised by cyclist_andy, starts on Saturday 12 September 2026 at 1.45 pm and on Sunday 13 September 2026 at 12.45 pm at the radrevier.ruhr information stand on the Gravel Ground. You can also sign up for the free tour at the radrevier.ruhr stand during the Expo opening hours.

• Saturday 12 September at 1.45 pm and Sunday 13 September at 12.45 pm
• 3–3.5 hours ride
• Type of ride: Gravel

Andreas has come up with this brilliant tour suggestion around Herne for Gravel Ground 2026. The exciting and varied mix of lovely riverside paths, unexpected nature trails, brisk cycle paths along disused railway lines and panoramic slag heap landscapes perfectly illustrates just how wonderful gravel riding in the Ruhr region is.

Andreas’s guided gravel ride sets off on Saturday 12 September 2026 at 3.00 pm and on Sunday 13 September 2026 at 1.00 pm from the radrevier.ruhr information stand at Gravel Ground. You can also sign up for the free tour at the radrevier.ruhr stand during the expo opening hours.

• Saturday 12 September 2026 at 3 pm and Sunday 13 September 2026 at 1 pm
• 3–4 hours ride
• Type of ride: Gravel

On this route, I’ll show you some of the highlights, such as sections of the Emscher Cycle Route, the Waltrop Colliery, the Henrichenburg Boat Lift and the new Emscherland. We’ll mainly be riding on flat paths – no trails or anything like that – so it’s ideal for beginners.

The guided gravel ride led by mtb_road_anni starts on Sunday 13 September 2026 at 11.00 am at the radrevier.ruhr information stand on the Gravel Ground. From there, we’ll first take a free shuttle bus to the tour’s starting point. You can also sign up for the free tour at the radrevier.ruhr stand during the Expo opening hours.

• Sunday, 13 September 2026 at 11.00 am
• 2.5–3 hours ride
• Type of ride: Gravel

The tour begins at the GravelGround festival site. From here, we set off for the Emscherbruch and Ewaldsee. The route takes us on past the moated castles of Herten and Westholt, through the varied landscape of the northern Ruhr region and into the urban areas. Another highlight of the tour is Berge Castle, another moated castle with extensive grounds. We’ll pass the remains of the Parkstadion and the Arena Auf Schalke before heading along the Rhine-Herne Canal, past the Graf Bismarck Marina to the Grimberger Sichel, right next to Zoom Erlebniswelt. We’ll then cycle along the edge of the Resser Mark back to the starting point, the GravelGround.

The guided gravel ride organised by Nordpott starts on Sunday 13 September 2026 at 11.15 am at the radrevier.ruhr information stand on the Gravel Ground. Registration for the free tour is also available at the radrevier.ruhr stand during the Expo opening hours

• Sunday, 13 September 2026 at 11.15 am
• 2-hour ride
• Type of ride: Gravel