Canoeing on the Rhine
Beautiful tours for beginners and advanced canoeists
Kategorien: Hobby Canyoning Sport
With its length of 1320 kilometres, the Rhine offers canoeists many opportunities to pursue their water sports. The river is always on the move and meanders through the most diverse landscapes. If you are looking for a suitable tour to explore one of the most important rivers in Europe by canoe, you will find below some beautiful routes that are recommended for beginners and experienced canoeists.
© Tom Bayer / Fotolia
Canoeing on the Old Rhine from Steinenstadt
The Old Rhine is the winding, old Rhine bed, which has been closed to shipping traffic for a few decades. Besides the natural river banks, small islands and gravel banks invite you to canoe. The section of the river around Neuchâtel has a wide and shallow Old Rhine, which is attractive to newcomers and experienced canoeists. A suitable start is from Steinenstadt. For a short, approximately 2-hour tour, you can canoe 13 kilometres to Grißheim. If you are still fit, the continuation to Hartheim is a nice addition. For the further 8 kilometres you should plan on another one and a half hours.
Canoeing on the Hochrhein - from Stein am Rhein to Schaffhausen to the Rhine Falls
This approximately 20-kilometre-long tour takes about 4 to 5 hours with a short break and starts in the picturesque little town of Stein am Rhein. Shortly after the start of the route, canoeing through the current of the river is child's play. Along inviting banks surrounded by magnificent landscapes, halfway along the route you reach the towns of Diessenhofen and Gailingen, where an impressive 19th century wooden bridge can be admired. The second section of the route leads through varied nature and should end before Schaffhausen at a safe distance from the Rhine Falls, which are well worth seeing.
Canoeing from Rüdesheim to Koblenz - a tour through the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage
At least one day is needed for the over 65 kilometres long route, which runs along imposing castles and palaces. For slower riders there are numerous camping sites and other overnight accommodation options if required. The canoe is best launched in Bingerbrück, after the Nahe flows into the Rhine.
Right at the beginning of the tour you can see the ruins of Ehrenfels on the right bank and the Mäuseturm on an island. The tour continues past Rheinstein Castle, Reichenstein Castle at the mouth of the Morgenbach in Trechtingshausen and Sooneck Castle. After about 30 kilometres and a few more castles and ruins you reach the highlight of the canoe tour: 
© Ilhan Balta / Fotolia
the Loreley. The slate rock in the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley is located at the narrowest and deepest point of the Middle Rhine. If you still haven't had enough, you can follow the river past Rhens with the Königsstuhl, Stolzenfels Castle, Ehrenbreitstein Fortress and various other sights as far as Koblenz.
