Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal) – Hohenhörn Canal Ferry loop from Burg (Dithmarschen)

Bike touring routes & trails

Germany

Schleswig-Holstein

Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal) – Hohenhörn Canal Ferry loop from Burg (Dithmarschen)

Moderate

4.6

(34)

108

riders

Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal) – Hohenhörn Canal Ferry loop from Burg (Dithmarschen)

03:48

66.1km

130m

Cycling

Moderate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The route includes a crossing by ferry. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: August 23, 2026

This route includes a ferry crossing

Tips

Temporary access restrictions

Includes segments with temporary access restrictions.

After 35.1 km for 224 m

Open: • January-December (otherwise closed)

After 60.5 km for 214 m

Open: • January-December (otherwise closed)

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

11.0 km

View of the Schafstedt High Bridge over the Kiel Canal

Highlight • Viewpoint

Driving here on the canal near Schafstedt is a really beautiful, impressive route on the NOK. Then to have a view of the high bridge in the nicest weather, to be amazed to admire the construction, is a real experience.

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12.4 km

Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal)

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The North Baltic Sea Canal (NOK; international name Kiel Canal, in Germany until 1948 Kaiser Wilhelm Canal) connects the North Sea (Elbe estuary) with the Baltic Sea (Kiel Fjord). The foundation stone was laid in 1887 and the small double lock at Brunsbüttel and Holtenau was opened in 1895. The large double locks in Brunsbüttel and Holtenau were opened in 1914. The Kiel Canal is a federal waterway and the busiest artificial sea shipping route in the world. Almost 30,000 (2021: 27,293, 2020: 25,247, 2019: 28,797, 2018: 30,009) ships pass through the canal every year.
Over its length of 98 kilometers, it crosses the state of Schleswig-Holstein between Brunsbüttel and Kiel-Holtenau. This saves him the journey around the Cimbrian Peninsula (Jutland) through the North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat. With the canal, the route is on average 250 nautical miles (around 460 km) shorter, depending on the port of departure and destination.

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17.5 km

Grunental High Bridge and view of the Kiel Canal

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Hello. In any case, it is always worth a tour. But you should start in Brunsbüttel, because you usually have tailwind, I did it from Holtenau with headwind because I didn't know better. 😂

The most exciting are the ships 🚢 on the canal, simply wonderful to look at.

For an overnight tour I can recommend the Heuherberge in Beldorf and the Ferienhof Sievers in Hanerau-Hademarschen! Very good value for money. 👍

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33.7 km

Gieselau Canal Lock and Bascule Bridge

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Lock from the Eider region to the Kiel Canal.

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55.5 km

Hohenhörn Canal Ferry

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The Hohenhörn ferry is one of 14 ferries that take cars, pedestrians and cyclists across the canal day and night.

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60.4 km

View of the Hochdonn High Bridge

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The reason for the construction of a crossing structure in this region was the construction of the Kiel Canal (NOK), which was also owned by the WSV and was completed in 1895. Since the inauguration of the waterway, then known as the "Kaiser Wilhelm Canal", a single-track swing bridge near Taterpfahl has been used to carry rail traffic on the Hamburg Altona - Westerland route.
Shortly after the canal was completed, both the size of ships and the volume of shipping increased significantly. It was primarily for this reason that the decision was made to widen the canal for the first time. The swing bridge, which was designed for the original width of the canal, now represented a bottleneck. In order to make rail and shipping traffic independent of each other during the first widening of the canal, which was carried out from 1907 to 1914, the plans led to the necessary new bridge being built in the form of a high bridge despite considerable additional costs to carry out.
The construction of a high bridge near Taterpfahl was not possible due to the lack of load-bearing capacity of the subsoil. The canal crossing was relocated to a geest ridge about 12 km further east to Hochdonn. After the Rendsburg High Bridge (built 1911 - 1913), the Hochdonner High Bridge (built 1913 -1920) is the second large steel structure that was built on the basis of the design and construction plans carried out by Dr.-Ing. Voß (1872 - 1953). The fact that the bridge can still be used for rail traffic even after a service life of almost 100 years is an impressive confirmation of the high quality of this engineering and craftsmanship achievement.
Source: Kiel Canal Waterways and Shipping Office

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60.5 km

Hochdonn Ferry and Railway Bridge on the Kiel Canal

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The ferries across the Kiel Canal run around the clock as needed. You'll definitely come over, no matter when you come. And it's free. There is nothing to complain about. ;)

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60.8 km

View of the Hochdonn Railway Bridge

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When the summer weather is nice, a tour here is worth it.

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66.1 km

End point

Train Station

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

40.1 km

19.9 km

5.42 km

632 m

< 100 m

Surfaces

45.6 km

18.2 km

1.90 km

223 m

174 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Monday 12 October

14°C

6°C

65 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 23.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

September 3, 2022,Tour am NOK

Family outing on the NOK. With nice weather and a little headwind. Many ships that accompanied us to our destination.

It started at the Gieselschleusse, from there from the north side of the NOK straight towards Hohenrön. Unfortunately we had to leave the NOK for a few kilometers due to the closure and had to take a detour via Dammsknöll …

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October 20, 2024,Herbstliche Runde am NOK, Hochdonn bis Oldenbüttel

In the hinterland from the A23 towards Oldenbüttel, crossed the canal and then along the canal to Hochdonn, changed sides again and back to the Hohenhörn ferry, and back to the car.

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