Gokels: Hiking in a landscape shaped by the Ice Age

Gokels is a starting point for longer hikes on well-marked trails. The landscape was shaped by the Ice Age: around Vossberg are wooded old moraine hills, alongside the lowlands of the Haner Au. If you are planning a stay focused on hiking and scenery, you will find specific pointers here to help you choose your destination.

Hiking and scenery

The wooded heights and the lowlands form distinct types of landscape. Both areas were designated a landscape protection area in 2000. From higher vantage points, you can look north towards the lowlands and the Kiel Canal. Gokels’s landscape therefore encompasses both the hills around Vossberg and the lower-lying areas of the Haner Au.

Gokels is a starting point for longer hikes on well-marked trails. If you would like to include hiking in your travel plans, this gives you a clear guide: the focus is on extended hikes, not on any specific short route mentioned here. The trail markings are also part of the hiking offer described. You can therefore consider Gokels as a destination for a stay where trails and scenery play an important part in your plans.

Church and local history

St. John’s Church stands on Bakenberg, where services are held regularly. The church grounds also commemorate the plague outbreak of 1713. These two features give Bakenberg religious and historical significance, though they do not relate to the same event.

Another memorial site is a separate stone by the community centre. It commemorates the 700th anniversary of the first documented mention of Ohrsee, in 1281. The church and the memorial stone thus preserve different aspects of local history: the plague of 1713 is commemorated on Bakenberg, while the stone by the community centre recalls the documented mention of Ohrsee. The megalithic tombs in the wooded old moraine hills around Vossberg, in turn, point to the beginnings of settlement. Here, landscape and history can be encountered in different forms and at different named locations.

Getting here by train

Gokels is served by the RB 63 on the Neumünster–Heide–Büsum route. Since train services can change, it is advisable to check the current timetable before departure. This lets you fit the train journey into the rest of your travel plans without assuming a particular service frequency.

In the wider destination of Rendsburg-Eckernförde

For a broader regional perspective, it is worth looking at the wider destination of Rendsburg-Eckernförde. The district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde has four nature parks. A significant proportion of them consists of nature reserves and landscape protection areas, providing habitats for a wide variety of animal and plant life. The Nature Park Trail is 180 kilometres long and passes through the district’s four nature parks; there is also a signposted 1,000-kilometre cycling network there. These details describe the district and complement Gokels’s local hiking trails with further options across the wider destination.

The 98-metre-high Aschberg is also part of this regional landscape: in fine weather, the panoramic view from there extends to the Kiel Canal, Eckernförde Bay and the state capital, Kiel. When choosing a hotel, you can weigh up different travel interests: Gokels offers access to longer hikes, wooded old moraine hills and local history; the wider destination of Rendsburg-Eckernförde also encompasses other natural and scenic areas.

Discover more destinations: Hohenwestedt, Barkelsby, Hoffeld, Schönwohld, Owschlag, Dänischenhagen, Westerrönfeld, Büdelsdorf.

To the wider travel overview: Rendsburg-Eckernförde.