University hiking trail
The university hiking trail created by the Sauerland Mountain Association (SGV) connects the two Ruhr area universities of Bochum and Dortmund . Nevertheless, it runs mostly in a charming landscape outside of built-up areas, mostly in the urban area of Witten . Over a length of around 30 km, it overcomes differences in altitude totaling around 750 m, which are spread over a large number of small climbs.
Route
The path is very well marked in both directions with a white "U". Only the entrance in Bochum is a bit difficult to find; it is located on Lennershofstrasse between the university and the technical college in a small wooded area and can be recognized by a wooden railing.
The path crosses the largest contiguous forest area in Bochum, the Kalwes, down to the Kemnader reservoir , the eastern end of which it circles. Past Haus Herbede , he crosses the Ruhr, climbs into the Vormholz residential area to reach the forest again near Hardenstein Castle . You reach Steinhausen Castle through the Muttental with its mining trail . Shortly afterwards, he passes the Steigerhaus , the clubhouse of the SGV section Witten.
To return to the right side of the Ruhr, it goes through the settlement area Bommern . Through the city park of Witten one climbs up to the Helenenturm and through a depression to the Berger monument , from where the view of the Ruhr University and the Ruhr valley opens for the last / first time. The mountain monument is exactly 15 kilometers from the end of the route.
Along the stream Kohlensiepen and other small streams, the path crosses the western part of the Ardey Mountains . Finally, in “Auf dem Schnee” it bends north (on Mallnitzer Weg - attention: relatively bad waypoint). On a hill you go below the high voltage line Hagen-Dortmund and the view of TU Dortmund opens up for the first / last time. Passing the United Wiendahlsbank colliery and the Kruckel S-Bahn (S5 Witten-Dortmund) you reach the A 44 / A 45 motorway triangle with its motorway police station via fields, occasionally grazing through populated areas . On the other side of the Sauerland line, it goes over fields, through the Eichlinghofen residential area and finally to the south campus of TU Dortmund University. The route leads past student residences to Campus North, in the immediate vicinity of the Dortmund-Universität S-Bahn station (S1 Dortmund-Düsseldorf).
getting there
Since both universities are well connected to public transport, getting there is no problem. The University of Bochum can be reached with the U35 underground line in 10 minutes from Bochum's main train station. TU Dortmund University has its own stop on the S1 S-Bahn. The journey between the start and end point takes about 40 minutes with S1 and U35.