Mariager Route (city hiking trail)

We continue along the Mariagerfjord in Himmerland with the approximately 12.5 km long Mariager Route, which has even been designated a premium urban hiking trail. But that doesn't mean you'll only be walking between gray blocks of houses and on asphalt paths. Quite the opposite – the loop takes a wide detour around the charming rose town of Mariager, where you'll mostly be surrounded by greenery. There's a lot to see, so we start right at the large parking lot by the marina, admire the old wooden wagons of the heritage railway, and walk along the water to the Mariager Salt Center. Naturally, everything here revolves around salt in every imaginable form, and it's worth at least taking a quick look inside. In addition to the opportunity to purchase some lovely souvenirs, there's a simulation of a salt mine, a saltwater pool where you can float like you're in the Dead Sea, and a café with a truly beautiful terrace right on the fjord. Right through the well-maintained Mariager campsite (where we'll also spend the night later), we head to the new bathing jetty, which is also a real architectural eye-catcher. Of course, I can't resist and get my circulation going – there's nothing like a refreshing morning dip in the fjord! Simply wonderful! We now hike directly along the fjord shore. The narrow nature trail leads us past several beaches until we plunge inland into the Vesterskov forest and then past fields and meadows to the outskirts of Mariager. Right through the small rose garden, we continue into Munkholmanlægget Park, where an attraction awaits me that I've been looking forward to all day. Finally, I'm troll hunting again, because here in Mariager, too, you'll find a wooden troll sculpture by the artist Thomas Dambo. The mighty "Ivan Evigvår" kindly volunteers for a quick photo session – it's nice to meet him! On the Mariager route, after a long section along a dirt road with panoramic views, the next highlight follows shortly after: Hohøj is Scandinavia's largest Bronze Age burial mound and also offers a magnificent vantage point over Mariager and the fjord. The perfect place for a quick lunch break! And since there are, of course, quite a few legends surrounding the burial mound, there's a dedicated exhibition downstairs in the pink cottage where you can learn about its history and excavations. Through the forest and scattered small patches of heather blooming, which seem truly enchanted, we now slowly descend towards Mariager. Here we stroll a bit through the cobblestone streets and admire the colorful houses decorated with hollyhocks. The crooked half-timbered facades with their brightly colored wooden doors make for truly beautiful photo opportunities. At Mariager's market square, we treat ourselves to a large ice cream from Vaffelbageren to round off our tour – it's simply a must here. A quick detour to the village cemetery with its pretty monastery church, and then we're back at the marina. We got a great impression of Mariager and its diverse, green surroundings! If the tour seems a bit too long for you, I might recommend skipping the large eastern loop of the tour to Hohøj – unless you're particularly interested in prehistoric sites. My favorite parts of the tour were the paths along the fjord, the Troll & Rose Garden, and the romantic alleyways of Mariager.