Why this ride
From Fronreute it runs 312 km to Fronreute; allow about 5 h 07 of riding. It goes by way of Ödenahlen, Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura, Grundwiesen and Ach Valley. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Schreckensee and Ach Valley
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 312 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 07
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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
Schreckensee → Ödenahlen
35 km on Schreckensee → Ödenahlen.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 35 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Schreckensee
The Schreckensee, the lake of terror, is a disappointingly peaceful place for such a dramatic name. It is a small kettle lake in the moraine country of Upper Swabia, between Ravensburg and Aulendorf, left behind when a block of glacial ice melted at the end of the last Ice Age. Its shores, now partly bog and reed bed, hide the remains of prehistoric settlements, and it is one of the German sites in the UNESCO listing of Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps. As at most of these sites, nothing is visible on the surface; the timbers and household waste lie preserved underwater and in the peat, waiting for future archaeologists.
Read the complete Schreckensee write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Schreckensee is where the day begins. Next is Ödenahlen.
2. Ödenahlen
The Federsee basin in Upper Swabia is one of those landscapes that hides its importance. It looks like a flat expanse of reeds, wet meadows and woodland around a shrinking lake, but beneath the peat lie dozens of prehistoric settlements, preserved because the bog kept the oxygen out. Ödenahlen is one of these sites, a Neolithic village on the edge of the moor, and the Federsee settlements are part of the UNESCO Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps. Wooden floors, house walls, wheels and everyday objects have been excavated here, and some of the oldest wooden wheels in Europe come from this region.
Read the complete Ödenahlen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ödenahlen comes up 42 km in. Next is Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura.
3. Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura
Forty thousand years ago, someone sitting in a cave above the Ach valley carved a tiny woman out of mammoth ivory, and someone else made a flute from the wing bone of a griffon vulture. Both were found in the Hohle Fels near Schelklingen, a few kilometres from where you are standing, and they rank among the oldest figurative art and musical instruments ever found. The caves of the Ach and Lone valleys were inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2017 as the Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura, and they changed how archaeologists think about the first modern humans in Europe.
Read the complete Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
83 km in you reach Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura. Next is Grundwiesen.
4. Grundwiesen
The Federsee is what remains of a much larger lake that filled the basin after the last ice age, and over thousands of years it silted up into a vast moor, one of the most important wetlands in southern Germany. Wet ground preserves things well, which is why this corner is a treasure chest for archaeology. People settled around the lake from the Stone Age on, building houses on timber foundations or on stilts, and the waterlogged soil has kept their wood, tools and even textiles in remarkable condition.
Read the complete Grundwiesen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Grundwiesen, about halfway. Next is Ach Valley.
5. Ach Valley
Below the village of Schelklingen the Swabian Jura gives up some of the oldest art in the world. In the caves of the Ach and Lone valleys, early modern humans carved ivory and bone about forty thousand years ago, among them a small female figure found in the Hohle Fels cave in 2008, which is among the oldest known sculptures of the human form. Flutes made from bird bone and mammoth ivory turned up too. UNESCO listed six of these caves in 2017 under the title of Caves and Ice Age Art of the Swabian Jura, and a museum in nearby Blaubeuren tells the story well.
Read the complete Ach Valley write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ach Valley sits at 166 km, about halfway. Next is back through Grundwiesen.
6. back through Grundwiesen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Grundwiesen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Grundwiesen comes up 208 km in. Next is back through Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura.
7. back through Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
249 km in you reach back through Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura. Next is back through Ödenahlen.
8. back through Ödenahlen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ödenahlen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ödenahlen, late in the day. Next is Schreckensee.
9. Schreckensee
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Schreckensee 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 312 km.
Leg by leg
Schreckensee to Ödenahlen
Schreckensee → Ödenahlen is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ödenahlen to Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura
Ödenahlen → Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura to Grundwiesen
Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura → Grundwiesen is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Grundwiesen to Ach Valley
Grundwiesen → Ach Valley is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ach Valley to back through Grundwiesen
Ach Valley → back through Grundwiesen is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Grundwiesen to back through Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura
back through Grundwiesen → back through Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura to back through Ödenahlen
back through Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura → back through Ödenahlen is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ödenahlen to Schreckensee
back through Ödenahlen → Schreckensee is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.