Why this ride
A 322 km round trip from Bad Ems - roughly 5 h 59 in the saddle. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22, Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof, Iversheim and Köln-Alteburg. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems and Köln-Alteburg
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 322 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 59
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Moselle Wine Route
For about 31 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 31 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Iversheim → Köln-Alteburg
51 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 46 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems
Rome built in stone here, and then the town grew on top of it. Bad Ems stands where the Lahn winds through a tight gorge, and the fort and the civil settlement beside it formed a small frontier community, with soldiers, traders and families living in the shadow of the Limes. The Roman fort is now buried beneath the modern town, so the site is more an idea than a sight, but the Limes trail in the woods above makes the story easy to follow, and the town museum helps with the details.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22.
2. Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22
Above Leutesdorf, on the right bank of the Rhine between Neuwied and Bad Hönningen, the hills climb steeply from the river, covered with vineyards and forests, and the Roman frontier ran along their crest. Watchtowers WP 1/21 and 1/22 stood here in the early part of the Upper Germanic Limes, just a few kilometres from its starting point at Rheinbrohl, watching over the valley and the lands beyond. Today the tower sites are quiet spots in the woods, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22 comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof.
3. Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof
There is very little to see at first glance here, which is exactly what makes the place oddly moving. South of Bonn, in the edge of the Kottenforst near the Heiderhof quarter of Bad Godesberg and the town of Wachtberg, the forest floor hides the faint outlines of Roman practice camps. Legionaries stationed at the fortress of Bonna on the Rhine marched out here to train at the hard, boring work that won the empire its wars: digging ditches, throwing up earth ramparts and laying out a camp to the standard plan in a few hours. A handful of these training camps in the Kottenforst are part of the Lower German Limes, the Roman frontier along the Rhine recognised by UNESCO in 2021.
Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 74 km into the recorded legs you reach Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof. Next is Iversheim.
4. Iversheim
Iversheim is a village in the valley of the Erft, at the northern edge of the Eifel, just downstream from the old spa town of Bad Münstereifel. It is known for one thing: a Roman lime-burning works, one of the best preserved in Europe. The Romans built a series of kilns here to burn limestone from the surrounding hills into quicklime, which was used to make mortar for the forts, towns and roads of the province of Lower Germany. The kilns were worked by detachments of soldiers from the Rhine legions, as inscriptions found on the site show.
Read the complete Iversheim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Iversheim, about halfway. Next is Köln-Alteburg.
5. Köln-Alteburg
The Roman navy is not the first thing most people associate with Cologne, but for almost two centuries the Rhine fleet, the Classis Germanica, had its main base here at Alteburg, just south of the Roman city. The fort sat on a terrace above the river in what is now the leafy district of Marienburg, near Bayenthal, and from here warships patrolled the Rhine, carried supplies and soldiers, and kept watch on the frontier. The site belongs to the Lower Germanic Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021, though today it lies mostly under villas, streets and gardens, with only traces and information boards to show where it stood.
Read the complete Köln-Alteburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Köln-Alteburg sits at 161 km, about halfway. Next is back through Iversheim.
6. back through Iversheim
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Iversheim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Iversheim comes up about 210 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof.
7. back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 247 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22.
8. back through Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22, late in the day. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems.
9. Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 322 km.
Leg by leg
Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems to Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22
Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems → Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22 is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22 to Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof
Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22 → Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof to Iversheim
Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof → Iversheim is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Iversheim to Köln-Alteburg
Iversheim → Köln-Alteburg is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Köln-Alteburg to back through Iversheim
Köln-Alteburg → back through Iversheim is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Iversheim to back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof
back through Iversheim → back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof to back through Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22
back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof → back through Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22 is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22 to Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems
back through Watchtowers WP 1/21 to 1/22 → Fort site and civil settlement of Bad Ems is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.