WWF Tour Amrum: Pearl in the North Sea - circular hike from Wittdün

Logo WWF Tour Amrum: Pearl in the North Sea - circular hike from Wittdün
Logo WWF Tour Amrum: Pearl in the North Sea - circular hike from Wittdün
Tour data
10.73km
2 - 10m
Distance
11hm
10hm
Ascent
02:40h
 
Duration
Brief description

Endless beach, idyllic dunes, historic places: This tour takes you through typical habitats and offers exciting insights into the diverse nature and culture of the island.

Difficulty
medium
Rating
Technique
Fitness
Landscape
Experience
Starting point

Ferry terminal Wittdün

Route
Wittdün auf Amrum
0.5 km
Seefohrerhus
1.1 km
Steenodde
2.1 km
Tontaubenschießstand
3.5 km
Heidekate
5.7 km
Wittdün auf Amrum
9.3 km
Rialto
10.6 km


Best season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Description
Amrum is above all one thing: sand. With a total length of 14 km and a width of up to 2 km, Kniepsand nestles on the west side of the island and forms one of the largest beaches in Europe. The island itself impresses with a variety of different landscapes in a small area. From west to east, dunes, woods, heaths, meadows, marshes and finally salt marshes and mudflats line up behind the beach in narrow bands. The island's 2,300 inhabitants live in five villages, of which Wittdün is the largest and most touristy.

The circular hike from Wittdün leads you from the mudflat side of the island through marshlands and fields, past wet meadows and woods across the island to the lighthouse in the dunes and further along the beach back to Wittdün.

Directions
You start in the direction of the village and turn right after about 100 m onto the "Untere Wandelbahn". The paved path leads you along the mudflat side past Wittdün. Especially at low tide you can already see the nature of the national park and in the distance you can see mussel banks in the mudflats.

After about 1 km you reach the "Seezeichenhafen". From here some of the fairways in the Wadden Sea are filled with barrels and prigs. In front of the entrance you will find a national park pavilion with lots of information about the island and the National Park Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer.

You leave the sea mark harbour on the right and walk over a small grass dike further north along the mudflats. The dike is to protect the Wittdüner Marsh from flooding.

The dike ends in Steenodde, the smallest of the five island villages. Here you will come to a crossroads. Keep to the right and follow a gravel road back to the edge of the mudflats until you reach the cliff "Ual Anj".

Enjoy once again the view towards Föhr and the Hallig world, before you leave the cliff edge on the field path branching off to the left and cross the island through fields and meadows in a south-westerly direction. After about 500 m the field path crosses a road. Follow the path straight ahead and a little later you will meet the Gusskölk, the "Lowland of the Geese". After a sharp left turn of the path, turn right at the next crossing and follow the lowland along the edge of the forest. Finally the landscape changes and heath stretches out on the right hand side. At the next crossroads turn right and follow the path to the main road. A tarred footpath and cycle path leads you around to the right parallel to the road towards the lighthouse, which you can already see from here. If you start early, you have the possibility to climb the lighthouse on weekdays until 12.30 pm in the summer months and enjoy a wonderful panoramic view of the island. At the moment it is closed due to corona.

Immediately south of the lighthouse a paved path leads you through the dunes towards the beach. At the nature reserve sign before the last dune you turn left onto a sandy footpath, the dune footpath, which winds along a red row of poles between white dunes and heaths. The irregular course of the path gives you an idea of what natural dynamics mean. Every year the poles have to be moved because they have disappeared in the sand or would suddenly stand in the middle of a colony of gulls. Please stay close to the poles to avoid disturbances.

The trail ends at the dune lake "Wriak Hörn", the largest inland water of the island. You can now walk to the left along the lake via the plank paths directly to Wittdün. Alternatively, you can cross the dunes on a path in a southerly direction and thus make a detour over the wide Kniepsand before returning to Wittdün.

On the Wittdün promenade you will pass the "Kniebbucht". Here you can either walk on the Oberer Wandelbahn or the Untere Wandelbahn. Near high tide and when there are no disturbances you can see numerous wadden sea birds at resting places on the large sand hook that separates Kniep Bay from the North Sea. When visibility is good, you can also see the remains of the "Pallas" in the North Sea from here. This is a wooden freighter that caught fire in 1998 and after a long odyssey and unsuccessful salvage efforts, was stranded off Amrum. About 16,000 coastal birds lost their lives due to oil spills. If you walk around the eastern tip in the south of the island on the promenade, you will come back to the ferry pier shortly afterwards.

Tips for alternative routes:

Beach lovers get their money's worth on a day trip on the west side of Amrum: Take the public bus to Norddorf and walk along the beach back to the ferry pier in Wittdün. If you are looking for beach and island variety, shorten the beach walk and walk through dunes, woods and heath towards the fog. From the bus stop Westerheide the bus takes you back to Wittdün.

Highest point
10 m
Endpoint

Ferry terminal Wittdün

Height profile
© outdooractive.com

Equipment
With the right clothing your hike will be an unforgettable experience in any weather! Our tip: With wind- and waterproof clothing, comfortable hiking boots, a little refreshment and some sunscreen you will rarely go wrong at the North Sea.

For bird and plant enthusiasts, it is worth taking along binoculars and suitable literature - also as an app.

Safety instructions

In order to allow nature to unfold undisturbed, we would like to ask you to support nature conservation in the national park:

Please stay on the marked trails in the National Park and follow the signs for the protection of breeding and resting areas. And even if there are no signs: very nervous birds often indicate that you are too close to their breeding!
Please keep your dog always on a leash when he accompanies you on your journey so that he does not accidentally disturb breeding or resting birds.
Please do not leave any garbage in the nature.
Please do not pick flowers in the national park, because many plants enjoy a special protection. Instead, enjoy their sight on the spot.
Please keep your distance to flocks of birds and seals when you walk along the beach or along the water's edge.

Tips

The lighthouse (de) offers a magnificent view! In summer it is open from Mon-Fri until midday; if necessary, walk the tour in the opposite direction.

Additional information

Directions
Via the B5 to Dagebüll harbour, continue with the ferry via Föhr to Amrum.  
Public transportation
Take the train to Dagebüll-Mole, from there take the ferry via Föhr to Amrum. The tour starts directly at Wittdüner harbour.

From spring to autumn, it is also possible to travel via Nordstrand by boat from Strucklahnungshörn harbour. The harbour can be reached by bus from Husum.

Parking

700 m from the ferry pier in Dagebüll there is a paid parking lot with shuttle bus to the pier.


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General info

Refreshment stop
Cultural/Historical
Fauna
A lot of view
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