Kiel · Fjord, Laboe and Hohwacht Lakes Loop

A 168 km loop from Laboe memorial

Open this ride in the planner →

Why this ride

Baltic water first, Holstein bends later, no ferry gambling. The best part sits around Laboe memorial view, Schönberg coast road, Hohwacht bay stop, while Lütjenburg old-road reset keeps the day practical instead of turning it into a fuel or food hunt. Check the OSM map, Google preview and GPX checkpoint order before departure; they use the same waypoint sequence. Ride it with legal pull-offs, patience through villages and enough daylight to stop without rushing.

Roadbook

1. Laboe memorial view sight · 12 m

   The Laboe naval memorial is the tallest thing on this coast by a long way, a slim brick tower, seventy-two metres high, that rises from a bluff at the mouth of Kiel Fjord and can be seen from far out at sea. It was built between 1927 and 1936 to commemorate German sailors who died in the First World War, and later its meaning was widened to remember seafarers of all nations who lost their lives at sea, a gesture that still stirs debate. You can climb the tower, or take a lift, for a view over the whole fjord, where ferries, warships and sailing yachts cross the water in a constant parade.

   Beside the memorial, on dry land, lies a Second World War submarine, U-995, now a museum. It is cramped, cold and surprisingly small inside, and walking through it gives you a very direct feel for what the crews endured. Both attractions sit on a bluff above the beach, and the walk down to the water takes a few minutes.

   Laboe itself is a small seaside town of about five thousand, with a harbour, a promenade, and shops selling smoked fish and ice cream. The beach is a pleasant stretch of sand, popular with families in summer, and the air smells of salt and seaweed. In the evening the sun sets over the fjord, and the lights of Kiel glimmer in the distance.

   The ride to get here from Kiel runs along the eastern shore of the fjord, through quiet villages such as Heikendorf, with views of the water through the trees. The road is gentle and winding, with the odd short rise, and in summer weekend traffic can be heavy, with cyclists and families heading for the beach. An early morning start gives you the best light, and a quiet road. Fuel is available in Laboe and Heikendorf, and Kiel has everything. If you start here, take a slow breakfast in the harbour first, and leave the climb until you are warm.

2. Schönberg coast road scenic · 18 m

   East of the Kiel Fjord the shore settles into the long, open sweep of the Probstei, and the coast road gives you the Baltic in small glimpses between dike and field. The most famous landmark of the area stands at the fjord's mouth: the naval memorial at Laboe, a tall, narrow brick tower, around eighty-five metres high, shaped like the stern of a ship, that can be seen from far across the water. It was built in the 1930s as a monument to German sailors and was reopened after the war as a memorial to seafarers of all nations, and a lift takes visitors to the top for a view over the fjord and the sea. Beside it lies a Second World War submarine, which can be visited.

   From Laboe the road runs east along the coast through Stein, Wendtorf and Schönberg, between the sea dike and the open fields of the Probstei. The farmland is among the flattest in the region, and there are long, straight sections where you can see the church tower of the next village a long way before you reach it. The sea often appears as a thin silver strip beyond the dike, with ferries and cargo ships gliding across the horizon toward Kiel.

   The riding is gentle and open. The surface is mostly good and the bends, when they come, are broad, though the wind off the Baltic can push a light bike sideways on exposed sections, and sand blown from the beach car parks sometimes gathers on the tarmac. On summer weekends the road is crowded with cars and cyclists, and the villages fill with holidaymakers, so an early morning ride is a big improvement. Out of season, on a bright day in spring or autumn, the whole coast belongs to you.

   The beaches are the reason for the traffic. Long stretches of sand and shingle front the sea at Wendtorf and Schönberger Strand, with grass-covered dunes and kiosks selling fish rolls and ice cream. Swimming is pleasant in summer, with calm, shallow water, though jellyfish are common in late summer. For services, Laboe has about five thousand people, with fuel, shops and cafés, and Kiel offers everything else. Fill the tank before heading out along the coast, and keep a windproof layer ready for when the sun goes down.

3. Hohwacht bay stop swim · 10 m

   Hohwacht Bay is a wide curve of the Baltic coast in eastern Holstein, with a long, sandy beach, low dunes and shallow, gentle water that warms quickly in summer. The land here is flat and green, with the sea on one side and the rolling hills of Holstein Switzerland on the other, and the light has that clear, northern quality that painters love.

   For swimmers, this is one of the more pleasant stretches of the German Baltic. The beach is sandy and the water is shallow, so it warms up in July and August, and families flock to it. There are cafes and ice-cream stands, and in the evening the sun sinks into the sea, turning the sky orange and pink. Out of season the beach is almost empty, and the gulls and wind are the only company. The air carries the smell of salt and seaweed, and the waves leave long lines of amber-coloured weed.

   The roads around the bay are quiet and pleasant, running between fields of rapeseed and wheat, with old brick farms and small villages. Bends are gentle, and the surface is generally good, with the occasional rough patch. In summer the traffic near the beaches can be heavy, with cars and caravans queuing for the car parks, so go early or late. A cycle path follows the coast, and cyclists are common, so give them room.

   Lütjenburg, six kilometres away, has fuel, a supermarket and a pleasant old centre with a market square. Close by is Panker, a manor estate with a distinctive yellow house, known for its horses and a hill with a viewing tower called Hessenstein, from where you can see the Baltic and the hills. The country is full of manor houses, many of them still working farms, and the local cheese and smoked fish are excellent. Fuel is easy to find in Lütjenburg, and the best advice is to bring a towel and an appetite.

4. Lütjenburg old-road reset food · 35 m

   The land around Lütjenburg is what geologists call young moraine, which means the last ice sheet only left about fifteen thousand years ago, and the ground still looks freshly rumpled. Instead of the flat plains of the west or the old, rounded hills of the south, this corner of Holstein is a patchwork of small hills, hollows and ponds, with farmland cut into fields by hedges and lines of trees. The old roads here follow the grain of the land, dipping into valleys, crossing little streams and climbing again, with none of the dead-straight grid of the modern bypasses.

   That is why the older road is worth taking. It runs through hamlets with names ending in dorf and hagen, past brick farms, tall barns and the occasional red-roofed manor house, and the bends are tight enough to keep you awake without being a worry. The surface varies from smooth tarmac to patched, sandy sections, and there are blind crests where tractors loom suddenly out of sight. Slow down at the crests, watch for gravel at field entrances, and keep an eye on the wind, which blows steadily from the west and brings sudden showers.

   Lütjenburg, on its low rise, is the natural place for a reset. The market square has a small fountain, a few cafés and a bakery or two, and the church stands over it with a solid, plain tower. It is a town of about six thousand people, large enough for fuel stations, supermarkets and a pharmacy, and small enough that you can see all of the centre in ten minutes. Park on or near the square and take your time over a coffee and cake. Franzbrötchen, a cinnamon pastry pressed flat, is a northern German snack that deserves more fame than it gets.

   The Baltic is a few kilometres north, and in summer many riders head there for a swim, so the road toward Hohwacht can be busy with cars and bicycles on weekends. Inland, the roads toward Plön and the lakes are quieter, with fewer cars and more trees, and the light on a clear evening there is a joy. Spring is the best time, when the rape flowers and the beeches are in new leaf, and September is a close second.

5. Plön lake sweep scenic · 28 m

   A circuit of the Great Plön Lake is one of the nicest easy rides in Schleswig-Holstein, and the best part of it is that the lake never really leaves you. At times the water is a bright sheet ahead through the trees, at others a dark gleam behind a field, and now and then the road comes down to the shore itself, at a harbour, a landing stage or a beach. The lake is the largest in the state, wide and island-dotted, and the glacial hills around it give the road a pleasant rise and fall.

   On the south side, near Ascheberg, the road runs close to the water through beech woods and lakeside meadows, and the bends are smooth and open, with good tarmac. Farther round, near Bosau, lies a small, ancient church on a spit of land that juts into the lake, and it is easily one of the most beautiful spots on the shore. A medieval priest named Helmold of Bosau wrote a chronicle here in the twelfth century about the Slavic peoples of the region and the German conquest of their lands, and it is still the best source of information about that period. Bosau's brick church dates from around the same time as his writing, and the setting beside the water is serene.

   The wind is the main factor on the open sections, and on warm, still days the lake smells of reeds and sun-warmed mud. Cyclists use the lakeside paths in large numbers, so keep your speed down and pass with care. On summer weekends the road fills with cars, and parking at the beaches and landings can be difficult, so an early start is wise. In autumn the beech woods turn gold and the water is cold and clear, and the roads are quiet.

   The villages along the way are small, with a bakery or a shop at best, and you may find a café at one of the harbours in season. Plön, with about thirteen thousand people, is the main town, with fuel stations, supermarkets and many places to eat, and Ascheberg and Bösdorf are smaller. Plan fuel in Plön before you set off round the lake, and carry a drink. Plan at least two hours for the circuit, with stops, and more if you want to swim.

6. Back to Laboe finish · 12 m

   By the time the road brings you back to Laboe, the day has usually done its work, and the town greets you with the particular tiredness of a seaside place at dusk. Fishing boats bump gently in the harbour, the promenade lights flicker on, and somewhere a ship's horn sounds out on the fjord. It is a pleasant place to end a ride, small enough that you can see everything in a few minutes.

   Kiel Fjord has a long sailing tradition. The city hosts Kiel Week every June, which is the largest sailing event in the world, with thousands of boats and a huge festival on the shore, and the Olympic sailing competitions of 1936 and 1972 were held at Schilksee, on the western side of the fjord. Laboe, on the opposite shore, has always had a front-row seat. In summer the water is full of white sails, and the ferries run to Kiel across the fjord, a short, cheap and pleasant crossing if you leave the bike behind.

   The smell of the place is a mixture of tar, seaweed and smoked fish, and you can buy the last at a stall by the harbour. Try a smoked herring or a sprat, eaten with your fingers from paper, and wash it down with a coffee or a beer. The restaurants along the front serve the usual north German fare of fried fish with potatoes, and portions are generous.

   Fuel is on hand in Laboe itself and in Heikendorf, five kilometres away, a bigger place with supermarkets. After a day on the road, a short walk along the beach is the best way to unwind. The tide barely moves in the Baltic, so there is no need to time anything, and the water is calm in the evening. If the weather is clear, stay to see the last of the light fade over the fjord, and watch the ships pass. It is a modest and peaceful finish.

Where this sits

Rides near here