Greffern: Polder Landscape, Hiking Trails and Rhine Floodplains

If you choose Greffern as your destination, you can plan your trip around three specific highlights: the polder and Rhine floodplain landscape, hiking and cycling routes, and the town’s history. This lets you match your choice of destination to the activities you actually want to include.

Polder Landscape and Rhine Floodplains

The managed Söllingen/Greffern polder covers around 580 hectares and is regularly flooded for ecological reasons. This makes the polder a highlight in its own right, alongside the choice of individual hiking and cycling routes. If you are considering Greffern for its polder landscape, regular flooding is part of this natural feature.

Hiking Trails with Different Highlights

A 7.5-kilometre hiking trail runs through the “Alter Kopfgrund” nature reserve. In the Rhine floodplains, signs provide information about the areas, notable people from Greffern, and events. The signs therefore add information about local topics to the landscape experience.

Another hiking option is the circular route through the “Kalter Grund” nature reserve, which runs from Rheinmünster-Greffern through the Rhine floodplains. Along the way, hikers pass various polder structures. The two trail descriptions highlight different features: the Alter Kopfgrund trail is specified as 7.5 kilometres long, while the Kalter Grund route is defined by its circular layout, its course through the Rhine floodplains, and the polder structures.

The Polder Information Trail consists of two circular routes in the districts of Söllingen and Greffern. Each is around 6 kilometres long, and the routes can be explored on foot or by bike. Compared with the 7.5-kilometre hiking trail, the two loops offer a different route layout. The information trail also explicitly mentions both ways of getting around.

Cycling Tour and Rhine Crossing

For a longer cycling tour, the approximately 130-kilometre PAMINA Rhine Floodplains Cycling Route offers a very different scale. It runs on both sides of the German-French border between Rheinmünster-Greffern and Drusenheim in France, as well as Leimersheim and Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen. Compared with the Polder Information Trail, the focus here is on a cross-border route. The distances and route details can help you factor these different cycling options into your trip planning.

The “Drusus” Rhine ferry connects Greffern with Drusenheim. If you are planning a crossing, it is best to check the timetable in advance. This lets you include the ferry connection as a separate item in your trip plans.

Church History

The town’s history can also be included in your trip plans. A chapel in Greffern is documented as far back as 1366. St. John and Paul Catholic Church in Greffern is documented as far back as 1889. These dates provide specific historical reference points if you want to consider the town’s church history alongside its landscape and trails. The chapel is documented 523 years earlier than the church.

Discover more destinations: Söllingen

Go to the regional travel overview: Rheinmünster.