Damme combines well-maintained, signposted hiking and cycling trails with natural and cultural destinations. A numbered junction system opens up shorter and longer routes to local sights. This makes it easy to tailor your stay to different interests: trails, specific landscapes, or mills and exhibitions. The variety of routes complements the individual destinations, without requiring you to pack all your interests into one tour.
Landscape and trails in Damme
The Dammer Berge feature rolling forests interspersed with meadows, valleys, fields, pastureland, moorland and heath. Open stream valleys, meadows and springtime marshes are also part of this landscape; they provide a habitat for a large population of stag beetles. Dammer Bergsee has a different history: it is a former settling pond from iron ore mining. The surrounding area was designated a nature reserve in 1995. The lake is also known for its many rare and endangered plant species.
One well-defined hiking option is the Dammer Bergsee Nature Trail: the Discovery Loop is about 2.5 kilometres long and takes around two hours. If you would prefer to choose a valley rather than a circular trail as your nature destination, Bexaddetal offers a narrow erosion valley with a natural stream, seepage springs and alder spring forest. Access is available from hiking car parks near the Benedictine monastery and on Gramker StraĂźe. The valley is valued as a place for recreation and also provides a setting for learning outside the classroom.
Views, art and an aircraft in the open air
From the Mordkuhlenberg observation tower, the view extends beyond the Dammer Berge recreation area. The path to the tower is lined with eight large iron sculptures. They depict characters from a play and combine the approach to the viewpoint with art along the way.
A Transall aircraft is on permanent loan and displayed at Damme airfield. You can view the transport aircraft from the outside; separate arrangements are required to access the interior. This makes viewing it from the outside a self-contained way to see the exhibit, while a visit inside must be arranged separately.
Mills and regional history
Schnatmühle is an octagonal, brick-built Dutch-style windmill dating from 1895. Check its restoration status before visiting. Höltermann watermill dates from 1801, has been restored and is ready to grind again. Its building houses an exhibition on the history of the mill and farm. Visitors can experience the waterwheel and millstream through the sounds of the milling equipment.
Damme Town Museum focuses on local and regional history, including iron ore mining, and also hosts changing special exhibitions. The DĂĽmmer Bird Exhibition offers a different perspective on nature: it presents almost 200 bird species from the area around DĂĽmmer as original taxidermy specimens. As visiting arrangements may change, it is advisable to check the latest visitor information in advance.
Discover more travel destinations: Holdorf, Steinfeld, Vechta, Neuenkirchen-Vörden, Visbek, Lohne, Goldenstedt, Bakum.
Return to the main travel overview: Vechta.
