Leisurely cycling with a view: this day trip takes you from Scharmützelsee to Dahme Heideseen Nature Park, combining nature experiences with regional cuisine. Along the way, you can see how the Ice Age has shaped the natural landscape – unique lakes, sandy hills and species-rich shores. Insights into the fishing tradition and encounters with local hosts provide food for thought and stories that linger in the memory. Easy to cycle and imbued with maritime holiday charm.
Start / Finish: Bad Saarow railroad station
Length / Duration: 46 kilometers / approx. 3,0 – 3,5 hours
Logo / route sign: logo of an eagle and pikeperch
Character: moderate day trip with a few metres of elevation gain (150 m), mostly on paved cycle paths and occasionally on side roads.
Course: Bad Saarow, Reichenwalde, Storkow, Groß Schauen, Storkow, Wendisch Rietz, Diensdorf-Radlow, Pieskow, Bad Saarow
Extra tip: The tour includes great observation points for birdwatchers. Binoculars are highly recommended!
Arrival / Departure:
- Public transport: From Berlin main station with RE1 (Cottbus) to Fürstenwalde (Spree), continue with RB35 to Bad Saarow (approx. 1 h)
- By car: From Berlin via A113, A10 and A12 (approx. 1 h), Public car park: e.g. Ulmenstraße or Pieskower Straße, Bad Saarow
Route description
Start in Bad Saarow
Founded as an elegant villa colony for Berliners, Bad Saarow quickly developed into a renowned health resort thanks to its thermal brine and healing moor. The spirit of the Wilhelminian era is still palpable today, making this town on Lake Scharmützelsee a popular destination for city dwellers seeking escape and an ideal starting point for excursions. The Kurfürstensteg footbridge is a fitting start. From here, the view sweeps over the lake stretching southwards: glaciers from the last ice age carved a ten-kilometre-long channel into the landscape. The glittering ‘water window’ is the basis for biodiversity, fishing and that fascinating expanse.
Tip: The Kurfürstensteg is a great place to observe bird life: the OrnithoQRCode provides current sightings and invites you to join in: coots, great crested grebes, great reed warblers, goosanders.
Less than five pedal strokes away, research is being conducted: the BTU Cottbus catamaran points to an obvious development: the lake is becoming clearer and clearer, which is good news for clear-water fish such as the demanding whitefish.
Sandy specialists
One last look from the Saarow lake promenade, then it's off across the fields towards Storkow, with its beautiful views. You can feel the Saarow hills a little in your legs. The actual climb awaits at the Waltersberge inland dune, also a result of the Ice Age. At the top of the nature reserve of the same name, at an altitude of almost 70 metres, the view over Lake Storkow opens up, framed by gnarled pine trees. The sandy habitat in this open landscape is home to specialists such as the antlion, which lurks in small funnels waiting for prey, as well as birds such as the woodlark and the wheatear.
Naturgut Köllnitz and the Sielmann Foundation: where the eagle meets the zander
Passing Lake Storkow, the route leads to the highlight of the tour: Naturgut Köllnitz on the Groß Schauen lake chain. Fishing has been practised here since the 13th century. Today, the site combines traditional fishing with modern processing. Here it becomes clear why zander prefer murkier water: their light-sensitive young fish fare better in nutrient-rich waters. The Groß Schauener Lakes are ideal hunting grounds. The nature reserve is run according to a sustainable philosophy: from breeding and sustainable fishing to regional dishes on your plate.
The Köllnitzer Ensemble is perfect for a longer break: farm shop and smokehouse, two restaurants, relaxing by the Köllnitzer Fließ stream, favourite view of the lake – and right next door, the Heinz Sielmann Foundation's nature discovery centre. There, it becomes clear why ospreys love the region: exposed nesting sites and rich waters.
Tip: for even more nature moments, walk the nature trail from the nature reserve to the Selchow observation tower: from there, you can enjoy sweeping views over the water, where, with a little patience, you can observe ospreys and the breeding islands of common terns.
Prominent landscape conservationists in the Dahme Heideseen Nature Park
South of Storkow lies one of the largest and most valuable inland salt deposits in the region – a rare landscape of salt marshes and moors. After being placed under protection, it was actively maintained to stop ‘sweetening’ and reed growth. From an ornithological point of view, the view from the Salzwegturm tower is worth seeing in every season: larks, lapwings and hunting birds of prey circle overhead.
Once again, the route leads into Storkow. Behind the castle, water buffalo have been working as powerful landscape conservationists since 2012: they open up dense reed beds, their hooves create pools that provide habitats for insects and amphibians – which in turn benefits storks: the town's heraldic animal. In the castle grounds, the Dahme Heideseen Nature Park exhibition ‘From Soaking Wet to Bone Dry’ covers everything from ice age soils to wet meadows and pine forests.
Wendisch Rietz – maritime holiday charm & fishing culture
In Wendisch Rietz, the holiday mood returns: colourful wooden houses, jetties, boats – ‘Swedish flair’ on Lake Scharmützel, only in the Mark Brandenburg. The village adds another culinary highlight to the tour and combines water and Brandenburg serenity. If you are looking for authenticity, Fischland is the place to be. Here, the cooperative history of regional fishing lives on. Between rowing boats and the smell of smoke, the village tells the story of working with and on the lake. The question ‘Why regional?’ is answered in a very practical way at the Fischhaus am Glubigsee: smoking courses and workshops show how even fish species with lots of bones, such as roach, can be turned into a fine dish using traditional techniques. Or simply enjoy the region's cuisine on the sunny lakeside terrace directly on Lake Glubig.
Fontane and the cuckoo quote at the ‘Märkisches Meer’
The last third of the tour follows the eastern shore of Lake Scharmützel: bathing spots beckon, the view remains wide. In Diensdorf Radlow, the Hotel ‘Märkisches Meer’ invites you with its panoramic lake terrace. The hotel is named after Theodor Fontane, who is commonly credited with coining the term ‘Märkisches Meer’. However, research by the Fontane Society shows that the famous quote was actually attributed to him by mistake. This ‘cuckoo quote’ by a creative journalist describes the fascination of the lake so aptly that it has stuck to this day.
Sights:
- Kurfürstensteg footbridge
- Research vessel
- Waltersberge inland dunes
- Köllnitz nature reserve
- Heinz Sielmann Foundation exhibition and Groß Schauen nature trail
- Selchow observation tower
- Salzwegturm tower
- Storkow Castle visitor centre
- Water buffalo
- Fischland Scharmützelsee lake
Refreshment tips:
- Storkow: Restaurant Alter Weinberg, Storchenklause Storkow
- Groß Schauen: Aalhof Gödicke, Naturgut Köllnitz
- Wendisch Rietz: Heimathafen bei Uwe, Fischhaus Wendisch-Rietz;
- Diensdorf-Radlow: Theo's im Märkischen Meer
- Bad Saarow: Carpe Diem, SeaSide, Villa Contessa, Seebad, Das Dorsch
Information on site:
- Tourist information at Bad Saarow railroad station
- Tourist information in the “Haus des Gastes” in Wendisch Rietz
- Tourist information at Storkow Castle (Mark)
Possible combinations:
- Oder-Spree-Tour
- Devil's Tour
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