River Valley - Stever and Lippe

Quietly and calmly, it babbles in from the north: the Stever. Originating in the Baumberge hills near Nottuln, it meanders through the... Münsterland, before they at Olfen its course turns westward. A river with a great responsibility – because it supplies around one million people in the Ruhr region with drinking water. Of course, not without first being collected in the Hullern and Haltern reservoirs.

In Olfen Here, the Stever is treated with particular respect. It was allowed to return to its floodplain. Starting at the venerable industrial monument of the "Alte Fahrt," where the Dortmund-Ems Canal once crossed the river, its old course was revived. Fields gave way to ditches and depressions, nature was given time and space – and gratefully accepted both. It is precisely here that the Stage 6 of the Hohe Mark Steigs along the old canal right into the heart of it Steveraue.

Meanwhile, the Lippe River approaches from the east. It too makes its way through protected floodplains – and for more than ten kilometers, the two rivers flow parallel to each other. A small, two-river landscape emerges: amidst meadows, fields, and forests, populated by wild Konik horses, shaggy giant donkeys, and grazing sheep. Those who venture here will experience a constantly changing landscape – open, vibrant, and full of quiet moments of nature. A place that invites discovery.