Discover Øerne: Hiking Landscape, Harbour and Bird Migration

Øerne combines a distinctive maritime feature with a landscape where the history of raw-material extraction is still visible today. If you would like to shape your stay around hiking, the harbour, nature observation and prehistoric traces, the surrounding area offers various starting points for planning your trip.

Hiking through former extraction areas

The Øer Stien runs through a former raw-material extraction area where sand, gravel, ral and stone were extracted from 1935 to 1974. Along the Øer Stien, old extraction pits are visible as elongated, parallel-running lakes separated from one another by narrow strips of land. The route also passes through varied landscapes with marshland, birch forest, beach and heathland. Those looking for variety while hiking will therefore find more than just one type of landscape there: open, wet, wooded and coastal sections follow one another along this route.

Øer Maritime Havn is another starting point for hikes. From here, hiking routes lead through a distinctive landscape with heathland, sandy soil and small woods. This means that Øerne’s landscape cannot be reduced to beach or harbour: the Øer Stien connects several clearly different landscapes.

Harbour and lock as maritime landmarks

Øer Maritime Havn is the only harbour in Denmark that is accessed through a lock. The lock chamber measures 7 × 30 metres and is filled or emptied within a few minutes. Øer Havn was established in an artificial lake where raw-material extraction was previously carried out. The combination of an artificial body of water, the area’s former extraction history and its present-day harbour function defines the uniqueness of this place.

Coastal waters and bird migration

The shallow coastal waters near Øer Maritime Ferieby and the lock are used by seabirds, waders and migratory birds. Øer is considered a good place for observing bird migration. For nature enthusiasts, this creates another focal point alongside hiking: the coastal landscape is notable not only for its forms and bodies of water, but also for its importance as a resting area for various groups of birds.

Architecture and prehistoric traces

Øer Maritime Ferieby dates from 1988 and was designed by the architectural firm Friis & Moltke. At the Gåsehage stage, there is a stopping point at Øreflak ved Øer. Svarthøje’s protected status provides a link reaching far back in time: in addition to the previously protected Svarthøje, it includes the remains of five ploughed-over burial mounds. Together, they are considered an important prehistoric monument from the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age.

Other places in the same area

For further orientation within the same geographical area, you can also include Ebeltoft, Lyngsbæk, Mørke, Dråby, Begtrup, Fuglslev, Dejret and Vrinners. If you are looking for accommodation in Øerne, you can make your choice based on your preferred focus: the landscape of the Øer Stien, the maritime character, the coastal waters or the historical traces.

For the overarching travel overview: Syddjurs Municipality.