Discover Ankum

In Ankum, forest themes, traces of the Stone Age, and paths by the lake come together. Each place has its own focus: the forest explores ecological connections, Westerholte is home to ancient burial sites, and the Ankumer See is a local recreation area. You can shape your stay around the discoveries that interest you most.

Experience the forest and discover ancient traces

The nature trail in Kunkheide Forest is located on Schillerberg, southwest of Ankum. Along its route of about three kilometres, eleven information boards explain the functions of forests, the water cycle in forests, forest habitats, and sustainable forest management. There are several benches along the trail, which is maintained by the municipality. The topics also make the trail an opportunity to see the forest not just as a landscape, but as a habitat and a managed natural environment.

The prehistoric circular trail in Westerholte, a district of Ankum, offers a different focus. It passes six stone graves, several burial mounds, and a particularly noteworthy stone cist grave. The stone graves in Westerholte are over 4,000 years old. South of Ankum, near Westerholte, is also the Giersfeld Stone Grave Trail, a circular hiking trail and part of the Megalithic Culture Route. The nature trail and archaeological routes offer different subjects for a walk: ecological connections on the one hand, prehistoric burial sites on the other.

Paths and new facilities at Ankumer See

A footpath runs around the recreation area at Ankumer See. Other facilities mentioned there include a large adventure playground and an outdoor Kneipp facility. The municipality announced the completion and acceptance of work on this facility on 21 September 2026. An outdoor wedding island on the lake was also completed and designated as such in September 2026. Each feature gives the lake its own character: the footpath provides access to the recreation area on foot, the playground and Kneipp facility add to the leisure activities, and the island offers a distinctive design feature.

History on Vogelberg and at the local history museum

An old ring rampart stood on Vogelberg; it was an Old Saxon folk and refuge fortress. A baptistery was built inside the rampart after the year 800. The local history museum offers a glimpse into another period of the town’s history: the former farming citizens’ house, built in 1789, was converted into the museum in 1986/87. These two places illustrate different chapters, from the early ring rampart and baptistery to the history of a historic house.

Planning your day trips

The Ankum branch of the Bersenbrück Joint Municipality Tourist Information Office offers inspiration for cycling tours through the Artland parkland, tips on cultural attractions, and recommendations for hikes. This can help you put together nature and cultural activities for your stay. When choosing accommodation, you can first consider whether you want to focus mainly on the forest, archaeological history, the lake, or additional destinations in the wider Osnabrück destination.

More destinations in the wider Osnabrück destination

In the wider Osnabrück destination, the Dinosaur Trail near the Bad Essen-Barkhausen dinosaur tracks offers a different scale for a hike: the signposted circular trail is 16 kilometres long. Fossilised dinosaur tracks can be seen on a steep rock face; the visitor area also includes two dinosaur replicas and detailed information boards. By comparison, the nature trail in Kunkheide Forest is significantly shorter, at about three kilometres. These distances give you a concrete point of reference when factoring the length of a walk or hike into your plans.

The Bad Iburg treetop walk is also part of the wider Osnabrück destination. It offers a forest experience along almost 600 metres of walkway. Its accessible entrance tower is over 30 metres high and offers panoramic views of Iburg Castle and the Teutoburg Forest. Alongside Ankum’s trails and historic sites, you can therefore choose from other nature and cultural experiences in the region.

Discover more destinations: Menslage, Bippen, Georgsmarienhütte, Glandorf, Bad Iburg, Bramsche, Bad Essen, Badbergen.

Back to the wider travel overview: Osnabrück.