Do you like cycling and castles? Then check out this overview of the 100 Schlösser Route in Münsterland to plan your adventure!
The 100 Schlösser Route is a 1080 km long bike route through the Münsterland region of Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia. Each day on the trail presents a multitude of castles and various beautiful landscapes. The trail is divided into 4 loops in each of the cardinal directions with Münster as a general start point. In this overview, you can find out more about each route and how to best plan your tour on the 100 Schlösser Route.
North Route Overview
At 300 km, the north route is one of the longer sections of the 100 Schlösser Route. This trail begins and ends in Münster and is connected with all three of the other routes. This route is the hilliest of the 4, with the biggest hills in the north between Bad Iburg and Tecklenburg although there is another long stretch of ups and downs before Billerbeck. The north loop has the best signage of all routes. It was very easy to follow and I almost never needed my phone to help me find the way.
Castle Highlights
Schloss Harkotten von Korf and von Ketteler, Wasserschloss Loburg, Schloss Iburg and the Benedictine Abbey, Wasserburg Steinfurt, Schloss Surrenburg, Haus Welbergen, Wasserschloss Burgsteinfurt, Schloss Darfeld, Kolvenburg, Burg Hühlshoff
Cutest Villages
Bad Iburg, Tecklenburg, Burgsteinfurt, Horstmar
Landscape and Other Highlights
Münster, Kloster Vinnenberg, Teutoburger Forest, Werse River, Ibbenbüren Aa River
To read about my hilly experience on the north route, click here.
East Route Overview
What the east route lacks in castles it makes up for in landscapes. This 250km long route takes you atop gentle hills for fantastic countryside panoramas. The signs were mediocre on this route compared to the north route. This route is recommendable for some seriously enjoyable rural cycling.
Castle Highlights
Schloss Harkotten von Korf and von Ketteler, Wasserschloss Loburg, Haus Diek, Haus Geist, Schloss Hovestadt
Cutest Villages
Stromberg, Oestinghausen, Ahlen
Landscape and Other Highlights
Münster, Werse River, Kloster Vinnenberg, Vier-Jahreszeiten-Park, Lippe River, Blaue Lagune, wildlife
See here to learn more about my time on the east route.
South Route Overview
Coming in at 204 km, the south route is the shortest of all the 100 Schlösser Routes. But that doesn’t mean it comes in last! Some of the most spectacular castles to see are on this section of trail. The signage was not reliable on this route (or perhaps I was just getting used to it?), but getting to all the amazing castles was worth it. Sometimes there were signs, but they were covered with foliage or bleached from the sun and near impossible to read. Many of the castles on this route are more than worth a whole day’s visit if you would rather not cycle.
Castle Highlights
Wasserschloss Haus Steinfurt, Schloss Westerwinkel, Wasserschloss Nordkirchen, Burg Vischering, Burg Hülshoff, Haus Bisping, Schloss Lüddinghausen, Schloss Senden, Kolvenburg
Cutest Villages
Drensteinfurt, Lüddinghausen
Landscape and Other Highlights
Münster, Werse River, Stever River
Here you can check out all the details of my rainy trip on the south route.
West Route Overview
With 316 km, the west route is the longest of the four Schlösser Routes. And it’s the only one that does not cross through Münster. Parts of the trail cross over into the Netherlands, however briefly. The trail is decently signposted, although there were several instances where my map did not match the trail markers.
In terms of landscapes, I’m a big sucker for water and this trail delivers. There are long stretches along the Aa River, which means easy, flat, and traffic-free cycling. Spoiled by the south route before this, I didn’t find the concentration of castles as high, but the trail makes up for this with the landscape. Like I said, plenty of water but also forests, fields, and farms on ill-frequented roads. Even if castles aren’t really your thing, any cyclist will enjoy the diversity of landscapes on this route.
Castle Highlights
Schloss Lembeck, Schloss Raesfeld, Wasserburg Anholt, Schloss Ahaus, Schloss Sythen, Wasserburg Gamen, Burg Ramsdorf, Schloss Velen
Cutest Villages
Karthaus, Raesfeld, Nienborg, Asbeck
Landscape and Other Highlights
pony farm, the lake in Haltern am See, Bocholter Aa River, being in the Netherlands, Pröbstingsee, Damenstift Asbeck (convent village)
To find out more about my time on the west route, click here.
Tip: Less is more! To really enjoy the 100 Schlösser Route, I suggest doing one loop per visit instead of all 1000 kilometers at once. It is also a good idea to cycle around 50 kilometers per day which allows time for finding and visiting the many attractions along the way. This also ensures that you’re not too exhausted to do the visiting once you arrive.
Accommodation
There are three main options for where to stay when you’re cycling the 100 Schlösser Route: camping, hotels/pension/etc., and Münster.
Münster
In planning my tour, I was uncertain about the situation with campgrounds and Corona. To avoid that all together, I took advantage of the layout of this route and decided to rent somewhere in Münster for 3 weeks. This had various pros and cons. Staying in one accommodation for 3 weeks can allow you to get a cheaper rate per day. Not camping means that you have a shower all to yourself, a bed, possibly a kitchen, and pretty secure protection against the elements. Not to mention you won’t have to lug around so much luggage!
On the other hand, this also meant that I had to travel out to the route and back daily, which was more expensive than I had thought (and takes up time). A (calendar) month-long ticket for Münserland comes in around 290€, which is about the same as purchasing individual tickets each day for 15 days. Instead, I purchased a 9 o’clock ticket. This allowed me to take transportation throughout Münsterland starting at 9:00 on weekdays and around the clock on weekends. This ticket was 180€ and also permitted a bicycle or another adult after 7PM weekdays and all day on weekends. The north and south routes were easily accessible by mostly direct connections with Münster. The west route required longer connections, sometimes by bus. The east route is not well connected, but new train stations which would improve that are in progress.
Hotels/Pensions/Etc.
This is always an option if it is within your budget. The Münster region is very cycle friendly with thousands of kilometers of signed bike trails so there are lots of cycle friendly accommodations available.
Camping
Based on the information in the guide book, I would say camping is possible. Campsites are not conveniently located along the trail like they were on my trip across France and Berlin-Copenhagen. As I was not camping, I did not notice many campsites as I cycled, but I was also not particularly looking for them either. It seems possible, but definitely plan out where you will camp in advance and check to make sure these places are in fact open when you will be cycling!
Weather
Münster does not have the largest amount of rainfall per year, but they have a large amount of rainy days. Depending on the kind of summer Germany is having, Münster can be really warm and/or really rainy. Come prepared for both! I used my rain gear almost daily, but rarely needed it all day long. Bring layers and dress for the elements.
Train Connections
From Münster, the north and south routes are the most well-connected. Portions of the west route are easily accessible by train from Münster. The towns Borken and Bocholt can be reached by a long bus ride from Münster or trains from Düsseldorf and Essen. The east route is least well-connected by train although lines are in construction which would make accessing the bike trail easier. There are connections in Münster, Ostbevern, Warendorf, Oelde, Ahlen, and Hiltrup.
Did you find this 100 Schlösser Route overview helpful? Is there anything else you need to know for planning your castle-seeing, bike-touring adventure? Please let me know in the comments on any of the route pages 🙂