Germany
HARZ
Hahnenklee, Sankt Andreasberg, Braunlage, Germany – Pretty KID Friendly
Lots of areas so plenty of km..
For us the Harz has kind of always been a place you go, when you are on retirement
But in resent years the vibe has changed and especially MTB has become big, which makes sense. In many ways the nature comes close to that of eastern Norway, but the beer is cheaper.
So, after a stop in Denmark – we needed to take over a farm and sell a house (more about that in a different post ;)) – we set of and headed south – first stop Germany’s biggest national park – The Harz.
We landed in Hahnenklee and headed for the top – the girls on bikes and us by foot – the plan was to check out the area before getting on the bikes – something we have learned along the way.
Hahnenklee
You can take the chairlift to the top or ride your bike on various lines – there is something for almost everyone. The chairlift is slow, so if you are in good shape the difference is maybe 10 min.
The different lines are easy to find at the top. But as you descend, they start crossing each other, which makes it very confusing. But there is something for everyone. Difficult lines with gap jumps but also flowy North Shore trails.
Kid friendly
In a sense, yes. There is plenty of fun things at the top (Bocken) – playground, trampolines, a sledge line and mountain carts (you need to pay for that).
The kids rode the flowtrail, which was good fun, but it was short compared to Trysil
Still, it was definitely rideable for them, and the chairlift just makes it really easy for them.
All in all, you could definitely spend some days here – then you would also figure out, how the various lines run down the mountain and maybe not get quite as frustrated, as we did
Parking was possible at the bottom by the chairlift – big parking lot. There is also a parking lot a just a little bit further up the mountain, which had dedicated camper van lots and a toilet drainage installation.
St. Andreasberg
Here we all took the chairlift up. The blue line was thrilling for the girls – they really enjoyed it, and so did we. Katrine mostly rode the easy line, and Jakob took on the black and had a lot of fun with that.
There is, just like Hahnenklee, something for everyone. Nice, flowy lines and pretty steep technical lines, which demands some fairly good basic MTB skills.
Here there is also a sledge – looked a bit boring compared to Hahnenklee.
A nice area where you easily can spend a day with kids – at the end of the trails there is a nice restaurant with cheap food and beer – a huge part of this activity for us. Not the beer but the “hygge” which best translates to keeping it cosy and enjoying each other’s company as much as the rides.
The parking lot at the bottom was just that. No services but plenty of space.
Braunlauge
We were told that this area was the most fun but also mostly for the experienced biker. Firstly, the kids could not ride. You needed to be 12 to ride your bike from the top down – and that makes sense.
We had some seriously fun rides after Katrine found her way
Knowing a line makes it easier to keep the pace up and not braking too much.
Braunlage has some serious funny lines! Plenty of flow, lots of jumps, North Shore trails and even a road gap. Jakob also tried a more technical, rocky line, but this was actually just more frustrating than fun. It was just too bumpy a ride to be fun…
At the top there is much fun for the kids. Which makes it easy for the parents to take turns. A playground, goats, rabbits and a nice view at the Harz’ highest mountain Brocken.
Monster rollers
Kids, 10 years or older, can try the monster rollers – they looked like A LOT of fun.
Parking lot was once again pretty big, and we parked just in front of a small training area with some nice jumps and a few wooden obstacles. Good fun for the girls while we were cooking dinner.
Guided tours
Due to a corona test we missed out on our booked tour with MTB Travels – lead by the Danish guy, Martin Nørris. They arrange all kinds of guided tours, and we had booked a roundtrip, where you get to ride the forests and hills of the Harz. They even arrange tours, where they do some rides with the kids, while you can take a long trip – sounds nice right?
Anyway, that will be next time – because there will be a next time.
OUR RATINGS
Based on “fun factor”
3.5/5
Jakob
3.5/5
Katrine
3.5/5
Sofie
3.5/5
Lærke
3/5
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