The best hikes from bus stations in Eleonorenwald

The carved stone shows a deep plough. Because a large part of the Eleonorenwald is not that old at all, but only originated in the very late 1880s - 1950s, partly to quickly gain growing wood for mining. The most original part of the forest covers about 50 hectares and is called "Langelt". Since the Arrenberger people wanted to use the forest economically, they bought up large areas of land and broke up the heathland with huge deep ploughs so that coniferous trees could be planted. You can find such a deep plough in front of the museum village in Cloppenburg. You should definitely take a look at it - and you don't have to go INTO the museum for that, it's standing outside.

The old barn absolutely fascinated me. It's incredibly beautiful and well-preserved.

They are not as spectacular as other megalithic graves, but they show how widespread the culture is. More information is available via strassedermegalithkultur dot de. This route is also part of the Geestweg long-distance hiking trail. You can also find the Geestweg with a great description here on Komoot

The garbage is actually a problem here, I agree with the other two commentators. The residents also find it annoying and the next public garbage can isn't that far away. But I still like coming here when I walk my dog in the area, the water is really nice for dogs.

The Marka is one of the 5 ancient Hümmling rivers. In the Markatal area, this river is still unchanged and meanders through the landscape. Due to its unique ecology, this area is a strictly protected area and dogs must be kept on a leash. From this bridge, which is unfortunately increasingly dilapidated, you have a great view of the floodplain forest area on one side and a meadow area on the other side, before the Marka disappears back into the Eleonore Forest.

The Gehlenborg barn is around 400 years old. It can be visited inside from spring to autumn, where the local history society has created an informative exhibition that tells the story of Markhausen and the barn. There are also weatherproof benches there, and the light switches are on the left of the gatepost next to the door. If there is a wooden sign outside saying "open", you can open the gate (press it a little to get the wooden wedge out of the iron part). The barn itself has been restored to its original state with clay half-timbering and a thatched roof. The clay was brought from an almost dried-up clay pit in Neuvrees near Gehlenberg (if you come via Gehlenberg, stop by the Kulturmühle, where there is an open-air exhibition showing what a clay pit looks like without clay. It's worth it!) Just take a look at the beams - below you can see exactly where some have been replaced, because they went through a saw. But if you look at the other beams, they are the way the tree grew back then. This is what makes the old barn incredibly charming!

The Plingenberger Steine im Langen Sand - that's the full name - is a large stone burial complex of five graves. They were dated to the time of the Neolithic funnel beaker culture. Unfortunately only one of the original five graves has been preserved. This is a tomb that has a mound and the edges of which are not readily discernible. Except for one stone on the south-east side, all the tombstones are still in situ. This means that the stones are still in the same place as when they were erected for the burial place.

Clear, fast-flowing water, interesting underwater flora.