Six jogging laps to get you fit for spring

Ready, go!

You've peeled yourself out of your winter clothes and still feel like you're wrapped up too thick? Then it's time to start your early-season fitness program. To avoid boredom, it's a good idea to change your route from time to time during your regular run. Luckily, there's plenty of nature in the Rhine metropolis - even in the middle of the city! You're not usually into inner-city jogging? Then get ready for something: I will experience your green (and also a blue) miracle in Düsseldorf.

Through the South Park

Together with the adjacent Südpark, the Volksgarten forms Düsseldorf's largest green lung and is an Eldorado for joggers. A preferred loop of about seven kilometers offers maximum variety - and one or two temptations that you will hopefully be able to resist. Fittingly, you start at the "Zeitfeld", a work of art with 24 station clocks by Klaus Rinke opposite the Volksgarten S-Bahn station. From here, you walk past the boathouse (from which the smell of waffles sometimes emanates - don't stop!) through the old part of the park, which welcomes you with large maple trees and beeches. The wide path, well lit even in the evening, winds south and leads you to a small farm with a health food store, petting zoo and cake café (stay strong here, too) and on to a large lake planted with cherry trees on its eastern shore. At the Deichgraf restaurant, keep to the right and take the path through the former Buga grounds, where something is always in bloom. Return past the Akki cultural center and along the railroad line to the starting point. Time comparison at the clock field - next time then two minutes faster!

Bridge round

This loop is ideal for beginners. The banks of the Rhine offer flat terrain and the fantastic panoramic views over the river make you almost completely forget the effort. You start at the Apollo Theater, under the Rheinkniebrücke, take the winding ramp up to the bridge. On your left, the Rhine Tower, the Landtag and the Gehry buildings greet you, while the wide river flows leisurely at your feet. On the other bank you turn right and pass the villas on Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring, whose residents enjoy the best view of the Old Town panorama. You can walk under the plane trees or take the path down to the Rhine meadows to follow the course of the river. The Oberkassler Bridge, which connects the district of the same name with the city center, is now in front of you. As you cross, you will see the round brick building of the Tonhalle, turn right at the foot of the bridge in the direction of the Kunstakademie and back to the banks of the Rhine. At the waterfront, the promenade designed by Niklaus Fritschi, Benedikt Stahl, and Günter Baum awaits you, leading you past the castle tower and the old town back to the starting point. A refreshing apple spritzer awaits you on the terrace of the KIT. You have earned it now!

Up and down in the Aaper forest

Ambitious runners in particular may feel underchallenged on the flat routes along the Rhine. If you want to get your heart rate up a bit more, you're in good hands in the Aaper or Grafenberger Wald. It's a nice uphill and downhill run - with the added advantage that you'll always have great views of the city. The starting point for an approximately six-kilometer-long loop is the parking lot at the corner of Bauenhäuser Weg/ Fahneburgstraße/ Rennbahnstraße. The jogging route is signposted: For the challenging A1 loop, please follow the black signs with white lettering. Soft forest soil, interrupted here and there by asphalt, compensates for the steep ramps: the course has a total of 90 meters of ascent in store. Even professionals will break a sweat - even in the still cool early spring. Maybe in between just pause consciously and enjoy the forest air in deep breaths. An alternative for those who are not (yet) quite as fit: the somewhat shorter A2 route.

Round Urdenbacher Kämpe

Not your legs, but let your soul dangle. What could be better suited for this than a run through the Urdenbacher Kämpe, Düsseldorf's largest nature reserve? Here in the extensive floodplain landscape, through which the renaturalized Altrhein meanders, the Haus Bürgel Biological Station has defined various circular hiking trails as part of the EU-funded "AuenBlicke" project, some of which can be perfectly explored while jogging. Like the 4.5 kilometer long route "Kämpe kompakt": You start at the Piels Loch hikers' parking lot on Baumberger Weg. Via Ortweg and then Am Ausleger, the route leads along an asphalt road through the orchard meadows to the ferry terminal in Zons. The way back leads over an unpaved path downstream along the Rhine, past the mighty "Stelzpappeln" (poplars), which look like something out of a fairy tale with their bizarre growth and the roots washed out by the high water. The last meters are then again characterized by orchards and wet meadows - and when the apple trees are in white blossom later in the spring, you shouldn't find these difficult either. If you prefer to follow the Altrhein and cover more distance, we recommend the 10-kilometer circular trail "Kämpe inclusiv". You can find more routes through the Urdenbacher Kämpe at www.auenblicke.de.

Around the Unterbach Lake

Swimming, surfing, sailing - Unterbacher See is one of the places to go for water sports in Düsseldorf. But you can also indulge in fitness exquisitely on the shore there and recharge your batteries at the same time, because fresh air and great views are guaranteed. The circuit around Unterbacher See covers about six kilometers - a route for beginners and advanced runners, after all, the number of laps can be extended at will, depending on your motivation and puff. The surface is partly gravel, partly asphalt, and the course is only illuminated in a few sections. So it's best to train here during the day. A possible starting point: the parking lot at Kleiner Torfbruch. Düsseldorf's southeast also offers beautiful running routes away from Unterbacher See, especially in the neighboring Eller Forst with its 15-kilometer network of trails. Around 40 bird species breed in the city's oldest nature reserve. Also recommended: a walk around the neighboring Elbsee lake.

Title image: Düsseldorf Tourismus GmbH, photographer U. Otte