Discover Melbeck: canoeing, trails and moorland history

Melbeck offers a range of perspectives for planning your trip: exploring the waterways, cycling and hiking trails, and the history of the Great Moor. If you are looking for accommodation, you can combine these highlights with a visit to the town and consider which experiences matter most for your stay.

Moorland and local history

Peat was extracted from the Great Moor in Melbeck to fuel the saltworks in Lüneburg. The history of the moor is therefore linked to a specific purpose: the peat served as fuel for the saltworks. The “Lüneburger Ilmenauniederung mit Tiergarten” nature reserve also includes areas within the municipality of Melbeck. The moor’s historic use and its connection to the protected area offer different insights into the town.

Canoeing: direction and starting point

Melbeck can also be explored by water. The Kanu Rahmann station can serve as the starting or ending point for a canoe trip. From the Melbeck station, you can paddle only downstream to Lüneburg; hourly boat rentals are not available in Melbeck. Confirm your specific tour plans with the operator in advance. This helps you factor the water-based activity into your trip planning without losing sight of the direction or the station’s options.

More trails and a place to stay at the station

There are several options on land, too: explore Melbeck on cycling and hiking trails or on horseback. At the canoe station, you can stay overnight in a tent or a log cabin. The station is accessible by public transport. Visitors can prepare their own food at the Outdoorschmiede’s barbecue areas. Alongside its role as a canoe-tour stop, the station therefore also offers specific accommodation options and ways to cater for yourself.

More places to discover in the wider Lüneburg destination

The Lüneburg destination brings together landscape and archaeology in different ways. The erratic boulder circle near Breetze, in the Bleckede district, features boulders that bear witness to the glacial formation of the Elbe Urstromtal. It is freely accessible, and parking is available; check the access information before your visit. The megalithic tombs in Schieringer Forst, between Barskamp and Walmsburg, were built during the Neolithic period, between 3000 and 2300 BC. A circular hiking trail leads from Walmsburg village square to the tombs.

Other destinations offer different highlights: The Lüneburg Ship Lift in Scharnebeck is the largest ship lift of its kind in Germany. The Biosphaerium Elbtalaue in Bleckede combines an aquarium landscape, live beavers and more than 1,000 m² of modern exhibition space. At Scharnebeck Climbing Forest, routes between platforms range from a height of three to four metres up to 15 metres; there is also a 435-metre-long zipline course.

In Amelinghausen, you can choose between two circular routes of different lengths: Lopausee and Lopaupark have a 2.2 km trail for jogging, walking and Nordic walking. The Queens’ Trail is an 11-kilometre circular hiking route around the heathland town of Amelinghausen. These regional examples offer further inspiration for planning your trip without replacing Melbeck’s own attractions.

Discover more destinations: Reppenstedt, Nahrendorf, Soderstorf, Embsen, Amelinghausen, Rullstorf, Artlenburg, Barnstedt.

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Lüneburg.