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.
From Krefeld it runs 251 km to Krefeld; allow about 3 h 27 of riding. On the way it passes Uedem-Hochwald | Hochwald 8.2, Arnhem-Meinerswijk and back through Uedem-Hochwald | Hochwald 8.2. It crosses from Germany into Netherlands - carry ID and check the toll rules.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Krefeld-Gellep
Most people pass Krefeld-Gellep without a second thought, because the view is dominated by the harbour of Uerdingen, chemical works and Rhine barges. Yet this is one of the most important Roman and early medieval sites on the Lower Rhine. The Roman fort here was called Gelduba, and it belongs to the Lower German Limes, the frontier along the river that UNESCO recognised in 2021. Tacitus mentions Gelduba in his account of the Batavian revolt of 69 and 70 AD, when legions and rebels fought around the camp, and archaeologists have found traces of that violence in the ground.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Krefeld-Gellep is where the day begins. Next is Uedem-Hochwald | Hochwald 8.2, 62 km on.
2. Uedem-Hochwald | Hochwald 8.2
The Hochwald is a long wooded ridge on the left bank of the Lower Rhine, between Uedem and Xanten, and it stands out because everything around it is flat. It is a terminal moraine, a pile of rubble pushed up by an ice sheet in the last ice age, and its slopes carry beech and oak and pine, a cool green island in a plain of fields and pastures. Near Uedem, the Hochwald runs for some kilometres in a line, and walkers use the forest paths.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Uedem-Hochwald | Hochwald 8.2 comes up about 60 km into the recorded legs. Next is Arnhem-Meinerswijk.
3. Arnhem-Meinerswijk
The Rhine has always been a frontier here. In Roman times, the Lower Rhine marked the northern edge of the empire, and the Romans built a chain of forts, watchtowers and roads along its banks to guard it. At Meinerswijk, on the southern bank of the river opposite Arnhem, the remains of one of those forts lie buried in the floodplain. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Lower German Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2021. There is little to see on the surface, but the floodplain itself, a wide expanse of meadows, ponds and willows, is a pleasant place to walk, and markers explain the history.