Then this one-way late-riser tour through the Märkische Schweiz Nature Park is just the thing for you. Not far from Berlin, the Oberbarnimer Feldsteinroute connects pretty villages, fascinating farmsteads, and atmospheric landscapes.
Your highlights:
- Informative: Background stories along the way tell of the secrets of the field stones
- gravel fun: around a third of the route is on unpaved roads - experience pure driving pleasure with robust wheels and slightly wider tires
- Varied: through hilly landscapes and fragrant forests and along lakes, small streams, fields and picturesque villages
- Well supplied: many culinary stops and a sundowner by the lake
- Highlights: Favorite view from the ferry in Strausberg
Start: Obersdorf train station
Objective: S-Bahn Strausberg
Length: 37 km / approx. 3 - 3,5 hours
Public transport: RB26 from Ostkreuz/Lichtenberg to Obersdorf station
Departure public transport: S5 from S-Bhf. Strausberg Stadt
Directions:
Once you arrive at the train station in Obersdorf, follow Bahnhofsstraße to the left and then continue on Hermersdorfer Straße. Then turn left onto Münchehofer Chaussee. The gravel adventure can begin.
On the Trail of the Stones
The Oberbarnim fieldstone route takes you through the landscape shaped by the Ice Age. The many rocks that the ice pushed forward were collected by farmers from fields and forests and used as building material for buildings, field paths and roads. The colored minerals in the rocks create the beautiful multi-colored nature of the fieldstone buildings. The builders deliberately used this peculiarity as a decorative element, as you will notice again and again on the tour.
After a short ride on the regional train, you can take the European cycle route R1 in Obersdorf, directly into the Märkische Schweiz Nature Park. In the small village of Münchehofe, it is worth taking a detour to the Großer Klobichsee. There is a great place to swim and a small snack bar at the camping park. It is also worth stopping at the natural monument of the drifting sand dune. The dune-like elevation was created by sand being blown up in the post-glacial period. It is very dry, so only sparse vegetation can be seen. At the same time, the sunny sandy areas provide a habitat for many heat-loving insects.
Passing the babbling mill stream and the old mill, you'll reach the turnoff towards Tornow and Pritzhagen. Here you leave the paved cycle path and continue on forest tracks, sometimes with sandy sections, with occasional ups and downs. Before you put your calves to the test on the climbs, you can stop at the Drei Eichen Environmental Center, run by nature enthusiasts, just beyond the turnoff. Here you'll find fascinating information about the surrounding nature reserves and their unique flora and fauna. The small café also offers cake and free refills for your water bottle.
Hidden gems at Lake Tornowsee
The Pritzhagen Mill lies before you like something out of a picture book. Today's bistro is situated in a secluded and idyllic spot amidst nature on the banks of the small Stöbber River. The innkeeper, renowned for his gruff charm, serves homemade fish dishes and cakes in a 1920s Swedish country-house style setting. The spacious garden invites you to linger. Right next door is a fish ladder, allowing fish to bypass the mill's weir.
The nearby Tornow Manor House presents itself in an equally idyllic setting. The manor house stands alone in a secluded location directly on the shores of the Großer Tornowsee lake, which is surrounded by dense forest.
If you have a little more time, you can take a short hike to the Dachsberg viewpoint. This roughly one-hour detour rewards you with an impressive view over the Märkische Schweiz region. Dornberg, Jenashöhe, and Silberberg rise up here, creating a typical low mountain range atmosphere.
A bit rocky, but beautiful!
You leave the wooded areas and head out into the fields. The start is the beautiful Pritzhagen with its village green, pond and historic buildings worth seeing. Unmissable: the field stones as the basis for the design of the place.
You continue on partly unpaved field and forest paths, with a bit of gravel or sand here and there. This is pure gravel fun! There are idyllic rest stops on the left and right and the information boards set up on the Oberbarnim fieldstone route remind you that although the fieldstones were a sought-after building material, they were more of a hindrance and time-consuming for farmers when working in the fields.
artists' town of Ihlow
You come to Ihlow, an equally picturesque village on a green, overlooked by a fieldstone church. There is a whole ensemble of fieldstone buildings. Lovingly renovated and with well-tended, overgrown gardens, they look so pretty that the ARD set the comedy series about police chief Krause in Ihlow. The place, which has now developed into an artists' village, exudes a special charm.
If you haven't taken a break yet, the Ihlow organic farm is a great place to stop over. When the weather is nice, you can sit in the garden in a very romantic way. The small restaurant/café offers homemade cakes and wholemeal bread, fresh salads, soups and vegetarian options. Organic and regional products are available in the farm shop next door.
tour end in Strausberg
The tour takes you further to Prädikow and Klosterdorf, equally attractive villages with their fieldstone buildings. On the last section, you finally roll on the best asphalt into Strausberg, the destination of your late-riser tour. You pass the airfield and the old town and head towards Straussee, where you can end the day with a sundowner overlooking the lake.
Plan your late-riser gravel tour now.
Refreshment tips:
- MunchehofeSnack bar at Campingpark Klobichsee (season May - October); Waldcafé Drei Eichen (season May - October)
- PritzhagenBistro and Café Pritzhagener Mühle (Season May - October)
- Ihlow: Ihlow organic farm with café (season May - October)
- StrausbergCountry house by the lake, Bar Caliente
