In the Foot­steps of Wolves

On the bike tour you can fol­low the tracks of the Lusa­t­ian wolves. Since the end of the 1990s, sev­eral wolf packs have been liv­ing in Lusa­tia again. On the way, you will get to know the wolves' set­tle­ment area. The the­matic cycle path leads from Weißwasser via the Nochten erratic block park to Rietschen. You will encounter dense pine forests, inland dunes, ponds and flow­ing waters along the way. But small vil­lages and the mem­o­rable open-cast min­ing and post-min­ing land­scape are also in the Lusa­t­ian wolves' stomp­ing ground. Get to know the var­ied mix­ture of open coun­try­side and closed for­est areas that offers the wolf such favourable hunt­ing con­di­tions for deer, stags and wild boar. Not only the wolf feels at home here, but also other pro­tected ani­mal species such as otters, white-tailed eagles and cranes, which guests can observe with a lit­tle luck. 

An exhi­bi­tion on the life of wolves can be seen in the wolf barn at the Erlichthof set­tle­ment in Rietschen. The Wolf Region Lusa­tia con­tact office is also located here and pro­vides vis­i­tors with up-to-date infor­ma­tion on the Lusa­t­ian wolf pop­u­la­tion.

Infor­ma­tion boards at var­i­ous loca­tions along the trail pro­vide insight­ful infor­ma­tion on the biol­ogy and way of life of wolves.

Length: 45 kilo­me­tres

Start: Weißwasser, rail­way sta­tion, Bahn­hof­s­traße 16 (coor­di­nates 51.505543, 14.638699)

Des­ti­na­tion: Rietschen, rail­way sta­tion

Route via: Nochten - Boxberg /O.L. - Kringels­dorf - Reich­walde - Ham­mer­stadt - Werda.

Route con­di­tions:
Asphalted cycle paths and side roads with lit­tle traf­fic, partly solid gravel paths.

Places of inter­est along the route:

• Weißwasser: Muskau for­est rail­way, glass museum
• Obser­va­tion tower on Schwer Berg
• Nochten Lusa­t­ian erratic boul­der park
• Ohr land­scaped area with amphithe­atre (approx. 3 km)
• Reich­walde open-cast mine edge with look­out point at brick­works
• Lusa­t­ian wolves" exhi­bi­tion in the wolf barn in the Erlichthof museum vil­lage in Rietschen with infor­ma­tion boards, spec­i­mens and films about Lusa­t­ian wolves.

Gas­tro­nomic tips:

• Big Rock snack bar and cafe­te­ria in Nochten boul­der park
• Lin­den­hof restau­rant in Boxberg/O.L.
• Höfchen bak­ery in Reich­walde
• Forsthaus and barn café at Erlichthof in Rietschen

Park­ing: at the rail­way sta­tion in Weißwasser

Bicy­cle rental: in Weißwasser and Boxberg/Ober­lausitz

Maps / Lit­er­a­ture: Cycling map Heide- und Teich­land­schaft Sheet 2 - Bios­phere Reserve / Bautzen, 1:50,000, Sach­sen Kar­togra­phie, ISBN 978-3-86843-025-7, 6.50 Euro