Discover Bad Essen

Bad Essen brings together a wide range of discoveries: the freely accessible graduation tower in the Saline Park invites you to linger, trails lead through parkland to castles, and dinosaur tracks await in Barkhausen. There is also a walking tour of the town, art and puppet theatre, as well as activities along the Mittelland Canal. You can choose a holiday apartment in Bad Essen to suit your trip based on whether you want to focus on short walks around town, longer routes, culture or time by the water.

Trails through town and countryside

If you are looking for a manageable circular walk, you will find the starting point for three Bad Essen Terrain Therapy circular trails at the entrance to the Saline Park, opposite the outdoor saline pool. They are between three and five kilometres long. Another route option is the Castle Circular Route: it can start at Harpenfeld village square, by the village pond and forge, and runs for just over nine kilometres through meadows and parkland. Along the way, it passes Ippenburg Castle and crosses Rose Island before reaching Hünnefeld Castle. The English landscape garden and the Alte Rentei café are among the named stops at the destination.

The digital walking tour of the town also leads to several stops in Bad Essen. The approximately 1.5-kilometre circular route starts and ends at the SoleArena. Its stops are the Himmelsterrasse, the Old Watermill, the Schafstall, the Landhotel Buchenhof, the Old Pharmacy, Karlsplatz, St. Nicholas Church, the Historic Church Square, the Hünnefeld Mortuary and the Kaffeemühle. This lets you factor in the route length and its many individual stops when planning your day. For a longer tour, the TERRA.track Megalosaurus runs for 19 kilometres, with views of the dinosaur tracks in Barkhausen, and back to Bad Essen; the route includes 300 metres of elevation gain. Bad Essen has four other TERRA.tracks: Goethegang, Wildstein, Hünnefelder Tannen and Schwarzer Brink.

Saline Park, dinosaur tracks and the Mittelland Canal

The graduation tower at the SoleArena in the Saline Park operates year-round and is freely accessible. One of the three health trails runs along the WEG DER SINNE (Path of the Senses). Its activity stations focus on hearing, seeing, balancing, smelling, touching and tasting. On Tuesdays, breathing, movement and relaxation exercises take place at the SoleArena from 1:30 to 1:50 p.m., under expert guidance. These short activities and the walking tour of the town offer different reasons to plan a visit to the SoleArena as a starting or finishing point.

The dinosaur tracks in Bad Essen-Barkhausen can be visited year-round and are freely accessible. You can explore them as a destination in their own right or include them in your plans for the TERRA.track Megalosaurus, which runs to Barkhausen and back to Bad Essen. At the Mittelland Canal, Marina Bad Essen offers another way to spend time outdoors: visitors can stroll along the marina promenade or rent a small boat without a licence. The 15-horsepower motorboats Pauline and Greta are available for trips.

Art and puppet theatre

The “Schafstall” of the Bad Essen Art and Museum Association is a venue for art exhibitions. The range extends from painting to applied art and modern design. Near the art school, puppet theatre is performed at the “Theater im Waggon”. If you would like to include exhibitions or theatre in your trip alongside trails and nature, these offer further options for your stay. The mix of short walks, longer tours and cultural activities can help you decide what to focus on during your trip and, in turn, choose suitable accommodation in Bad Essen.

More places to consider when planning your trip: Hagen Am Teutoburger Wald, Glandorf, Bad Iburg, Merzen, Bad Laer, Fürstenau, Bramsche, Bersenbrück.

Go to the main travel overview: Osnabrück.