The Lahn,
the peaceful dream of nature
The Lahntal is one of the most popular river valleys in Germany.
You can experience the scenic Lahntal with Lahntours-Aktivreisen Gmbh by canoe, bicycle or on a hike. The river is from Roth near Marburg until Lahnstein on more than 160km accessible by canoe. The continuous Lahntalradweg (bike trail) takes you on over 245km from the spring to the river mouth. The same can be discovered via the Lahnwanderweg (hiking trail) on 288km. The high demand and a nationwide study has confirmed that the Lahn is the most popular canoe river in Germany.
What makes the Lahn so special?
First of all the river is in its natural state through out most of its length and a diverse landscape with quaint villages on the river banks contribute to this wonderful experience. The Lahn has its source in the Rothaar Mountains and flows through the Hessian Mittelgebirge (low mountain range) Westerwald and Taunus until she reaches the mouth near Lahstein, where she becomes a tributary to the Rhine. She invites you to a journey full of wonderful experiences and discoveries. The Lahn flows through historically interesting towns such as Marburg, Gießen and Wetzlar, as well as Braunfels with its well known castle. Further downriver is the residence city Weilburg with Germany's only channel tunnel. Followed by the medieval castle in Runkel, the cathedral in Limburg and two towns of the house of Orange-Nassau, Diez and Nassau, not to forget the spa town Bad Ems. In the Lahntal you can easily combine culture with adventure holidays.
Well prepared for tourists.
You will find a very well established infrastructure for canoeists, cyclists and hikers. The Lahntalradweg was the first cycle trail in Germany awarded 4 stars by the German Cycle Association and still belongs to the 10 favourite trails overall. The Lahntalradweg received a makeover and since its completion in 2012, it is well equipped for all visitor's demands. You will find besides rustic country inns and charming city hotels close to the historic centres also campsites directly on the river banks. Furthermore offers Lahntours some special accommodations like an original Indian tipi village. You can reach the Lahntal quickly and easily by car or the train. It is only an hour away from the metropolitan areas of Frankfurt and Cologne and is therefore the ideal place for an active and varied vacation directly on your door steps away from all the daily stress.
Get to know the most beautiful sides of the Lahn with Lahntours
Respect the environment
The banks of the Lahn are protected for their unique wildlife and vegetation. We are glad about this protection as it will ensure that further generations can enjoy an unspoiled nature and a functional habitat of the river landscape in the heart of Germany. This does not go without saying. With the designation of a protection area for the river banks an infrastructure concept was developed together with the canoe tourism and sport, that should accommodate the needs of the Lahntal visitors and at the same time should protect its nature.
For this reason we like to ask all visitors to comply with the terms of the Landschaftsschutz-Verordnung Auenverbund Lahn-Dill. We support this enactment explicitly for its protection value of the wildlife and vegetation:
- Please only disembark at the specially marked official entry and exit points
- Only camp or picnic at the for this purpose designated locations
- Avoid the banks and do not leave any garbage behind
- Please act quietly and do not disturb the animals
- Do not paddle into branches and please do not land on gravel banks
Further information can be found here:
Regulation on the landscape protection area „Auenverbund Lahn-Dill“ >> (German Only)
Lahntours and all other nature enthusiasts will thank you for it!
Absolutely Unique:
The European Bird Sanctuary at the Lahn
The bird sanctuary between Marburg and Gießen with its 750ha (!) is a broad open river valley, a landscape dominated by canebrake, ponds, pools, ditches and unspoiled old tributaries of the Lahn. The area is also used for agriculture and has very little groves. In 2006 it has been declared a landscape protection area, later in 2008 it became part of the conservation system Natura 2000 and therefore enjoys now a special European protection. It is one of the best Hessian areas for species such as the kingfisher, bluethroat, little bittern, merlin and ortolan. The sanctuary is in the town limits of Weimar and Frohenhausen in the administrative district Marburg-Biedenkopf and a small section is part of Lollar in the district of Gießen.
This unique stretch can be discovered by Lahntours customers due to a special authorisation by the regional council Gießen and the highest nature conservation authority. The requirement for this is the ''Qualitätsmanagement Wassertourismus Kanu'' certificate, which we hold:
If you decide to discover the Lahn in this sensitive section, you have to act very responsible and you should at least follow these 10 rules, so the birds and their habitat will not be disturbed:
- Only paddle here from 1st May to 20th September
- This should only be done between 9am and 6pm
- If multiple boats: Not more than 10 canoes in one group at a time and leave 20 Minutes to the next group
- Embark and land only at the designated locations in Roth and in Odenhausen
- Pass through the section between Roth and Odenhausen in a timely manner, don't stop for a break or float on the river for longer periods
- Don't disembark at others than the designated locations or enter the gravel banks
- Never step on the banks, gravel banks or river islands
- Act quietly
- No canoe games (boat races, try to capsize the opponents canoe, etc)
- Take garbage with you and dispose of it in a proper manner
Further information can be found here (German only):
