The best walks and hikes around Übach-Palenberg

Rimburg Castle is a moated castle with a history dating back to the 12th century, likely built on the remains of a Roman roadside post. Over the centuries, the complex has been rebuilt several times, particularly in the 19th century in the Baroque style, and has seen changing owners. During the Napoleonic Wars and World War II, the castle was damaged but was largely preserved and repaired.

Nice photo stop, but otherwise not much to explore

Reconstructed Roman bathhouse with information board

Size/Extent: 6 lakes with a total area of 60,000 square meters, total area of 240,000 square meters. Accessibility: Car parking lot at the Schley River in Marienberg with a footpath, and another footpath from Aachener Straße in Palenberg. Recreational opportunities: Children's playground, multi-generational playground, pedal boating, miniature golf course, concert pavilion, boules or bocce court, basketball and soccer fields. Restaurants: Year-round refreshment with an information point from EuRegionale 2008. Attractions: Reconstructed Roman bathhouse.

Willy Dohmen's best friend, Schmölders Jupp, should not be forgotten. After leasing out his wallpaper business, he turned to stone. Schmölders Jupp carves the glacial boulders so artfully that a small sculpture garden has already been created in the park. Source: https://franzscharf.de.tl/Der-Willy_Dohmen_Park.htm

A gem between Geilenkirchen and Übach-Palenberg. A park for loving and strolling in Windhausen. Nestled in the Wurmtal valley, between Geilenkirchen and Übach-Palenberg, lies Willy Dohmen Park – a local recreation gem with its Boskop Avenue, frog ponds, and a bakery. Windhausen entrepreneur Willy Dohmen is the planner and "head gardener" of the 50-acre private parkland. The farmer's son created the park in his former gravel pit, from which he extracted sand and gravel for his road construction company after the war. Instead of filling the hole, as the authorities initially demanded, Willy Dohmen has spent the last 15 years creating a park for everyone there. Open 24 hours a day. Coming from Geilenkirchen, the thick stone on the right side of Wurmtalstraße is the only indication of the local recreation area, hidden behind an earthen embankment. Once you've parked your car in the small parking lot, you enter Willy Dohmen Park through a gate that's unlocked 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "If you have a season ticket, you just walk past the ticket office," jokes Willy Dohmen. First-time visitors shouldn't even look for the ticket office, because there isn't one. Admission is free, and it should stay that way; just as the unrestricted opening hours are to be maintained as long as the "riots" are kept within limits. Visitors can find out what is and isn't allowed in the park on signs. Dogs must be kept on a leash, petting is permitted, but smoking, fishing, and hunting are not. Of course, the owner doesn't interfere with petting. However, if someone who doesn't have two very long legs and goes by the name of a heron is fishing the ponds empty, Willy Dohmen can get a little forceful. "There were some jokers who sold the fish from Dohmen Park in nearby Frelenberg; others already had the stones from the waterfall on their carts, hoping to make a similarly nice water feature at home. Fortunately, the majority of visitors enjoy the park's nature with their eyes, nose, and ears. Picnic guests are also welcome. Whole groups, not just Dutch people, use the long tables for a snack under the open sky. Willy Dohmen is particularly proud of his rhododendrons. Thousands bloom in the park starting in May. Source: https://franzscharf.de.tl/Der-Willy_Dohmen_Park.htm

In the 1980s, Willy Dohmen designed the park named after him in a disused gravel pit in the Übach-Palenberg district of Windhausen and opened it to the public. Numerous walking paths lead through the grounds, which are lined with groups of trees and bushes, colorful meadows, and water features. A variety of plant species offer visitors new, colorful views throughout the year. Among other things, around 7,000 rhododendrons bloom here.

Now a residential building in the former watermill