Enjoyment Bike Paradise I Star Tour 07 I Around the Oker Dam in the Upper Harz

We start our star tour at Thomas-Merten-Platz on Goslarsche Street. From there we cycle past St. Salvatoris Church heading west and turn left at the intersection into An den Eschenbacher Teichen Street. We follow it and turn left at the fourth junction onto a trail that takes us past the Lower Eschenbacher Pond. After the Wiesengrund House, we cycle left into Adolf-Ey-Straße. We follow this for a bit and turn left into Mönchstalweg, which we follow to the end and then enter Waldweg via the parking lot at the Ferienpark am Waldsee. We ride this westwards following signs towards the mining town Altenau. We are traveling on the former railway line of the Innerstetalbahn between Langelsheim and Altenau. Until 1977, trains ran here in the Upper Harz - since then, the route has been used as a hiking and cycling path and in winter as a cross-country skiing trail. We cycle through the forest, over uplands and pass streams and ditches belonging to the Upper Harz Water Management. Mining becomes alive here - especially when we pass former mines. The idyllic mining town Altenau is reached via the local motorhome parking area. In front of the Altenau Hut Pond we turn left in a curve onto Rothenberger Street, which we follow to the Bergstraße junction. We continue straight along it, passing the spa park and St. Nikolai Church, then cross the Große Oker and turn left onto Breite Street. On this street, we ride through the center of Altenau passing several shops, cafés and restaurants. At the roundabout, we take the second exit heading north on Hüttenstraße towards the town exit. We leave the federal road quickly and turn left onto Rothenberger Street, following it to the end, where we turn right into An der Silberhütte Street. We follow it to the end but then have to divert again to the B498, whose easy-to-ride cycle path quickly leads us to the Oker Dam. Here the Oker is dammed. The Oker Dam serves power supply and contributes to flood protection. At the first bridge, we cross the water and circle the dam on its outer side counterclockwise. Getting lost is not possible here as the path runs right along the water's edge. A highlight is crossing the 260-meter-long dam wall, which is up to 75 meters high. Arriving at the federal road, we cycle southwest on the B498 cycle path towards Schulenberg. After the Altenau turnoff, we follow L517 and K71 to the small Upper Harz mountain village. We pass through, ride past motorhome parking and spa facilities, then turn back onto L517, which leads briefly along the water. After passing Mittelschulenberg, we turn left into the Lange Valley and follow the river of the same name towards Clausthal-Zellerfeld. We pass the Long Pond, the forest lake swimming area by the Upper Hausherzberger Pond, and the Upper Eschenbacher Pond. Finally, we turn back into An den Abtshöfen Street, thus returning to the starting point of our tour.