Olten-Umrundung
Description
You leave Olten upstream through the old town and then along the Aare towards Aarburg. After a warm-up stretch of just under five kilometers, the ascent to Engelberg, the first of the four hills on the Olten loop, begins below the striking Aarburg. You gain altitude on district roads, some steep and some flat, and then follow a forest road with a pleasant gradient until you turn left at a sharp angle onto a trail. The trail is easy to ride and leads to a vantage point that offers a view of the Alps on a clear day. Maintaining the height, follow the trail north and then northwest. A safe riding style is required along the ridge before the trail becomes steeper, rougher and interspersed with loose stones, showing that the southern foot of the Jura requires a solid riding technique. Increasingly flowy, you reach the edge of the settlement via various trail sections. You cross the village of Starrkirch-Wil on local roads and meadow paths and reach the banks of the Aare. Cross the bridge over the weir at Winznau to reach the other side of the river and tackle the second ascent to Froburg Castle on small roads and gravel paths. A short detour to the castle ruins is worthwhile just for the view, as you can see practically the entire route of the Olten circuit from there.
The subsequent descent is flowing throughout, provided you tackle the tour in dry conditions. In wide serpentines, you wind your way down the slope, repeatedly crossing forest roads, and reach Hauensteinstrasse along the railroad line. The third ascent towards Spittelberg is tackled on side roads and gravel paths. The ascent, which is steep in places, leads through military training grounds; it is possible to bypass the route via Ifenthal and Challhöchi. From the Spittelberg hill, a meadow path leads to Homberglücke and the first part of the descent to Wangen bei Olten. A short crossing below the Sunneberg leads to the single trail, which is technically challenging in places. This ends at the uppermost houses in Wangen. Cross the wide valley via local roads and tackle the fourth and final ascent of the Olten circuit to Born on gravel paths. The fun trail leads eastwards over the crest of the hill, with the River Aare flowing far below on the right. A few meters before the old town of Olten, you reach the end of the trail and roll back to the starting point.
Note: The surface of Jura limestone, roots and loamy forest soil typical of the area is very grippy in dry conditions, but all the more slippery when wet. A particularly cautious riding style is recommended on the Born Trail, as the path is also popular with pedestrians.
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Details of the tour
42 km
1520 m
1520 m
1 day
Olten
Olten
2918
well suited
More information
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User comments (3)
About the author: Jonas Spöring
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
I rode the tour on Sunday, 22.9.2024. The junction at Känzli (km 10.5) is overgrown. You could ride to the right at km 10.0. The whole tour is peppered with crisp ramps - rideable but energy-sapping ;-) One ramp is from km 21, the other from km 26 and the last at km 36. I think I would ride around this ramp via Asp, the others are probably not so easy to ride around.
The tour is great, I liked the first downhill the best, but the Rune Froburg is also a highlight. I was pleasantly surprised that there weren't more pedestrians.
Challenging but a super cool tour for someone who likes to ride a mountain bike
Engelbergkrete, Homberglücke, Wagnerkrete and Bornkrete require good riding technique (S2), the latter also leads along a partially exposed rock edge
the narrow trail at Homberglücke is also very popular with hikers at weekends, so ride with foresight
Additional trail options: keep right at 1.9 km before the SBB underpass and ride the S1 trail above the retirement home/Hof Ruttiger to the Aare bridge in Aarburg (4.2 km); keep right at 22.9 km and ride the Hegibergtrail (S1) in a south-westerly direction to above Rest. Eisenbahn (then ride via Miesernweg to Pt. 481 m.a.s.l. back to the original tour).