Eislek Pad Bettendorf

12.8km – Easy / moderate.

The old Auto-Pédestre Bettendorf I has “levelled up” and transformed into one of the 18 “Eislek Pads”. Seekers of spectacular insta-friendly sights should probably look elsewhere – this is mostly a calm, peaceful, stress-free hike on quiet forest trails, with the occasional bumpy ridge and historical remnant to enjoy. We’ve done this path (or most of it) several times before, so it was time for a grey January challenge: could we hike the 12.8km in less than two hours, whilst taking enough photos for a reasonably attractive blog post?

We exchanged our hiking boots for running shoes, our Nikon for an iPhone and made the short journey across the Sauer to Bettendorf.

The old Bettendorf AP was just under 11km long, about 2 kilometres shorter than its new “Eislek Pad” incarnation. We were curious to see where these extra kilometres came from, and got our answer (or at least part of it) right at the beginning of the trail, when we were led through windswept fields to a dyke protecting Bettendorf against the increasingly frequent threat of the Sauer flooding.

Dyke on Eislek Pad Bettendorf

Leaving the dyke, it was time for the main – really, the only – physical challenge of the day: up, up, and up into the surrounding hills. Once above 350m altitude, the dull greys of the Sauer valley were transformed into the brilliant whites of January hoarfrost, contrasting beautifully with the rusty-brown forest floor.

Hoarfrost aside, this was also by far the most interesting segment of the hike: narrow ridges clinging to the edges of the plateau, winding languidly past WWII remnants and a lost quarry. Despite our regular pauses to take photos of the beguiling surroundings we still – somehow – managed to be on track for our goal of completing the hike in less than two hours.

Luckily for us, the final few kilometres of the hike have no particular points of interest, so we were able to keep the iPhone in the pocket and descend rapidly back into the Sauer valley well ahead of schedule. We even had the time for a quick stop to admire the baroque turrets of (the privately-owned) Bettendorf Castle before returning to the car.

Is the Bettendorf EP the greatest “Eislek Pad” out there? Almost certainly not. Is it a calm, relaxing distraction for a murky grey January afternoon in the great outdoors? Absolutely. Oh, and I also found my dream house along the way. No, not the castle, this one: