Holiday apartment in Elkenrade – Hiking, limestone and half-timbered houses

Elkenrade lies on the edge of the Ubachsberg Plateau in a hilly landscape. At the same time, the village lies between Eyserheide and Wijlre in a scenic setting. Elkenrade is a hamlet in the Land van Kalk. The hilly surroundings provide the landscape setting for paths and houses in the hamlet. The hamlet’s hilly location shapes its landscape connection with the Ubachsberg Plateau and with Eyserheide and Wijlre.

Hiking: trails and the Elkenrade W2 route

Gulpen-Wittem has 330 kilometres of hiking trails and 62 recreational routes of varying lengths. The different lengths provide a concrete basis for planning a day of hiking when setting a daily stage. The Elkenrade W2 hiking route starts at Oude Elkenraderweg in Elkenrade, leads back to Elkenrade and ends on the same road. Anyone planning to hike the W2 for a day aligns the start and return with Oude Elkenraderweg. As a circular route, the W2 returns to the Elkenrade area where it started and ends at Oude Elkenraderweg.

Cycling with numbered signs

Gulpen-Wittem is connected to the Limburg cycle route network. The Limburg route network complements the hiking trails with its own way of choosing routes using numbered signs. Personal cycling routes can be put together using numbered signs along the roadside. For planning your own bike tour, the sequence of sign numbers is the practical starting point. This allows the desired order to be determined before the tour, while the roadside signs guide the selection. The numbers turn your own selection into an organised sequence for a cycling tour through the Gulpen-Wittem area.

Limestone and half-timbering in the hamlet

Some farmhouses in Elkenrade display the hard limestone on which the hamlet was built, including Kunrader stone. In Elkenrade, there are not only farmhouses made of Kunrader stone but also half-timbered houses. Anyone who pays attention to the construction methods while walking through the hamlet encounters solid limestone and half-timbering as different forms. The hard limestone and the half-timbering represent two different building methods in the hamlet.

Alkenrode: Stone, oak beams and clay

The Alkenrode quadrangular farmhouse complex in Elkenrade uses Kunrader stone, old oak beams and clay. Three materials thus come together in this farm complex.

Processional cross by the roadside

A cast-iron processional cross with depictions of Mary and John stands along the Wijlré–Elkenrade–Elkenraderweg road. The cross bears the inscription „Praised be Jesus Christ 1898“. The cast-iron cross differs in its material from the farmhouses made of Kunrader stone, the half-timbered houses, and the old oak beams and clay of Alkenrode. Along the road, a religious symbol is added to the farmhouses and half-timbered houses. Visitors interested in culture can distinguish between the hamlet’s building styles and the religious roadside symbol along the Wijlré–Elkenrade–Elkenraderweg road.

Guests staying at Alkenrode Logies may use the accommodation’s petanque court.

For further orientation: Reijmerstok, Slenaken, Epen, Wittem, Heijenrath, Wijlre, Eys, Gulpen

For the higher-level travel overview: Gulpen-Wittem.