Heede: Krückau, Inland Dunes and Heeder Tannen

Heede is known for its varied landscape: the Krückau flows through the municipality, and its landscape includes inland dunes with heath vegetation as well as the Heeder Tannen woodland. Walking and hiking trails, a designated tour and a farm café give different days outdoors their own character.

Krückau, Heath and Woodland

The inland dunes with their heath vegetation offer a contrast to Heede’s larger woodland areas, where oak is the predominant deciduous tree. The Krückau, meanwhile, flows through the municipality. Together, these landscape features offer a range of impressions without requiring you to make a single destination the focus of your trip: you can explore woodland paths, take in the open heath or discover how the river runs through the municipality.

Choosing Hiking Trails and Tours

The Heeder Tannen have walking and hiking trails within Heede. The recreational area is easy to reach from Heede. The Krückau hiking trail is primarily a walking route, but cyclists are also allowed to use it. From Barmstedt, it reaches the Heeder Tannen and continues east. This lets you consider two questions separately when planning: would you mainly like to get around on foot, or are you looking for a route that is also open to cyclists?

Some sections of the Krückau hiking trail run through floodplain areas, where the ground can be wet. Weather affects ground conditions, so it is worth expecting damp terrain on these sections. The Heeder Tannen Tour is 24 kilometres long, rated easy and listed as taking 1 hour and 22 minutes. It first passes through meadows and fields, then reaches the Heeder Tannen woodland. The route length, difficulty rating and stated duration provide practical guidance when choosing a tour. You may spot woodland animals along the way; sightings depend on the season and are not guaranteed.

Cycling Routes and Traces of the Bronze Age

The Amt Rantzau has cycling routes throughout its administrative area, including the long-distance Ochsenweg cycling route. It passes through Langeln and is around 230 kilometres long. Shortly before Langeln, the Heeder Tannen Tour passes an impressive burial mound field. There are also burial mounds from the Early Bronze Age along the Ochsenweg in Langeln, dating from around 1700 to 1100 BC. When planning your trip, it helps to distinguish between them: each route and tour has its own local connections, while the traces of the Bronze Age add a historical aspect to a cycling trip.

A Break with Local Dairy Products

Melkhus Heede is set among woodland and meadows along the natural upper course of the Krückau. The farm café also serves as a rest stop for cyclists and offers locally produced dairy products, including yoghurt, quark and ice cream. Alongside the trails and scenery, this makes for a specific culinary stop in Heede. If you are looking for accommodation, your preferred focus can help guide your choice: Heede’s trails and the Heeder Tannen offer nature experiences close by, while a particular cycling route may have its own local connection, for example to Langeln or Barmstedt.

In the Wider Destination of Pinneberg

The wider destination of Pinneberg also has its own attractions, distinct from Heede’s landscape. Pinneberger Fahlt is a woodland area and recreational space in the Pinneberg municipal forest, used for walking, jogging and sports. Just behind Pinneberg town centre, Drosteipark has walking paths and opportunities for sport and exercise. For culture, there is the Drostei, the cultural centre of the Pinneberg district, which hosts exhibitions, concerts and literary events.

Other interests in Pinneberg include the Baumpark and the Tree Nursery Museum: the Baumpark comprises 26 “Trees of the Year”; the idea arose as part of the International Garden Exhibition igs Hamburg 2013, in the Pinneberger Baumschulland exhibition area. The Pinneberg Tree Nursery Museum is the only museum in the German-speaking world dedicated to the tree nursery industry. Water sports are another attraction in the wider destination: Cablesport Arena Pinneberg is a cable park on a lake for water skiing and wakeboarding.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Hetlingen, Seeth-Ekholt, Halstenbek, Barmstedt, Helgoland, Haseldorf, Heist, Bevern.

Back to the main travel overview: Pinneberg.