# Brick, storks and Elbe ferries – through the Altmark by camper from Tangermünde to the Arendsee

> Around 285 kilometres in seven short stages: from the brick gates of Tangermünde and Stendal across the Wische, over the ferry at Räbel and through the…

Source: https://camping-spirit.com/guides/rf-561-altmark-elbe-arendsee/

**At a glance:** 7-day round trip of about 268 km (167 mi) with 13 stops, starting and ending in Tangermünde. About 3 h 42 min of driving in total. Best time to go: June–September. No motorway tolls or vignettes expected for a car. Around 285 kilometres in seven short stages: from the brick gates of Tangermünde and Stendal across the Wische, over the ferry at Räbel and through the small Elbe towns of Werben and Seehausen to the Arendsee, on to Salzwedel and back through the Letzlinger Heide to the Elbe.

| | |
|---|---|
| Distance | approx. 268 km (167 mi) |
| Driving | 3 h 42 min |
| Suggested days | 7 |
| Stops | 13 |
| Route | Tangermünde → Tangermünde |
| Countries | Germany |
| Best time to go | June–September |
| Tolls and vignettes | None expected |
| Updated | October 1, 2026 |

[Download GPX file](https://camping-spirit.com/gpx/rf-561-altmark-elbe-arendsee.gpx)

Practical guides for this route: [Germany by motorhome: low-emission zones, no car toll, speed limits and where to sleep](https://camping-spirit.com/magazine/eu-germany-by-motorhome/)

*Around 285 kilometres in seven short stages: from the brick gates of Tangermünde and Stendal across the Wische, over the ferry at Räbel and through the small Elbe towns of Werben and Seehausen to the Arendsee, on to Salzwedel and back through the Letzlinger Heide to the Elbe.*

## The spirit of the route

The Altmark is flat, quiet and red. Red are the gates and churches of brick, red the roofs on which the storks clatter in summer, and red glows the Elbe in the evening when the sun sinks behind the dykes. Nobody drives fast here: avenues, cobblestones and cows on the dyke crest set the pace, and sometimes the road simply ends at the water, where a reaction ferry waits. From the sliding door you look out over floodplain meadows with pollard willows, great egrets in the flood channels, the tower of a village church behind a field of grain. At the Arendsee it smells of pine and clear water, in Salzwedel of Baumkuchen from the open embers. The distances are small, the days long – enough time for the bike on the Elbe Cycle Route, a swim in the lake and an evening by the river where nothing happens except light.

## Stage-by-stage plan

### Stage 1: Tangermünde to Stendal (approx. 15 km)

- **The drive:** A short opening stage: after a day in Tangermünde, west on the B188 to Stendal, dead straight through fields, around 20 minutes. In Tangermünde itself the old town is narrow, cobbled and enclosed by gates – do not drive in with the motorhome.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Tangermünde: the town hall with its openwork show gable, a major work of North German Brick Gothic, the church of St. Stephan and the Neustädter Tor with its round tower.
  - Burg Tangermünde high above the bank of the Elbe, once the residence of Emperor Charles IV; from the castle garden and from the Elbe promenade at the harbour, wide views over the river.
  - Stendal: the Uenglinger Tor, one of the finest late-Gothic town gates in northern Germany, plus the cathedral of St. Nikolaus with its medieval stained glass and the Winckelmann Museum.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** In Tangermünde the Wohnmobilstellplatz am Klosterberg lies on the Tanger south of the old town, a few minutes’ walk from the Elbe promenade and the castle, with electricity and fresh-water and waste disposal. In Stendal the Schützenplatz am Nordwall serves as a simple pitch on the edge of the old town, free of charge according to pitch guides – no electricity, water for a fee and a disposal station; check the current situation in a pitch app beforehand.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** The bank of the Elbe at Tangermünde belongs to the biosphere reserve; meadows, groynes and dykes are not places to spend the night. In public car parks in Stendal a single night without camping behaviour is usually tolerated as long as there is no prohibition sign – but given the available pitches this is unnecessary.
- **Insider tip for campers:** The pitch lies close to the Tanger and the Elbe; at high water, riverbank areas, access roads and car parks on the Elbe may be closed. Check the Tangermünde gauge before arriving (Pegelonline, Hochwasservorhersagezentrale Sachsen-Anhalt). In Stendal the best way into the old town is on foot from the edge – the centre is partly pedestrianised.

### Stage 2: Stendal to Werben (Elbe) (approx. 45 km)

- **The drive:** Along country roads north-east to Arneburg on the Elbe, then through the Wische, a flat marsh dyked by Dutch settlers in the Middle Ages, on narrow district roads through the villages to Werben. Hardly any gradients, but avenues, cobblestones in the village centres and farm machinery. Pure driving time a good hour.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Arneburg: the castle hill on the high bank, one of the few points with a distant view over the Elbe floodplain.
  - The Wische: ditches, pollard willows and village churches of fieldstone and brick; from April to August white storks nest on many roofs and masts.
  - Werben, the smallest Hanseatic town: the Elbtor, the large Johanniskirche and the remains of the Knights Hospitaller commandery – here too, storks’ nests in the middle of the village.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Campingplatz am Elberadweg in Werben, a small site on the edge of the village with sanitary facilities and electric hook-ups, heavily used by cyclists; ask the Verbandsgemeinde Arneburg-Goldbeck beforehand about the season and pitch length.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** The Elbe floodplain between Arneburg and Werben is part of the Biosphärenreservat Mittelelbe, the Saxony-Anhalt section of the UNESCO Elbe River Landscape, with several nature reserves. Dyke crests, dyke defence tracks and farm tracks are closed to motor vehicles; staying overnight outside designated sites is not allowed there.
- **Insider tip for campers:** The Wische has hardly any filling stations or shops: fill up and shop in Stendal. In wet weather the verges of the narrow district roads are soft – with oncoming traffic, better to stop than to swerve. Watch the storks from the vehicle or the pavement, not from farmyard entrances.

### Stage 3: Werben (Elbe) to Seehausen (Altmark) with a detour to Havelberg (approx. 35 km)

- **The drive:** From Werben a few kilometres to Räbel and across the Elbe on the reaction ferry, then on the east side to Havelberg; back again by ferry and via Werben on country roads to Seehausen. Flat, narrow roads; the time depends above all on the ferry service, a good hour of pure driving.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Crossing on the Räbel–Havelberg Elbe ferry: a reaction ferry that lets the current carry it across the river on a guide cable; the landing on the east side lies around 3 km before Havelberg’s island old town.
  - Havelberg with its cathedral and island old town – described in detail in the CampingSpirit guide “Pine sand, palaces and pear tree – through Fontane’s Mark by camper from Neuruppin to the Havelland”.
  - Seehausen: the brick church of St. Petri with its Romanesque west front and the Beustertor, a surviving town gate of the old Hanseatic town.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Caravan-Stellplatz Seehausen, run by the town, with electricity and water within walking distance of the old town; check fees and disposal facilities beforehand on the town’s website.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** Overnight stays are not permitted on the ferry landings and ramps – they lie in the dyke foreland and are flooded at high water. Around Havelberg the rule is: parking yes, camping only on designated sites.
- **Insider tip for campers:** The Räbel–Havelberg ferry is run by the Hanseatic town of Werben and operates under engine power at higher water levels; at extreme high or low water and when there is drifting ice, the service is nevertheless suspended. Weight and length limits apply to each ferry individually – with a large motorhome or an outfit, ask the ferry operator beforehand. If the ferry is out of service, the detour via the Elbe bridge at Wittenberge is considerable; then skip Havelberg or visit it from the Brandenburg side.

### Stage 4: Seehausen (Altmark) to Arendsee (approx. 45 km)

- **The drive:** North-west through the Aland-Elbe lowland to Wahrenberg on the Elbe dyke, then via Aulosen and villages of the northern Altmark south-west to Arendsee. Narrow country roads between meadows and pine forest, little traffic, around an hour’s drive.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Wahrenberg and the Aland-Elbe lowland: wet meadows with storks, lapwings and, in autumn, resting geese; watch on foot from the dyke path.
  - Arendsee: at a good 5 km² the largest natural lake in the Altmark, formed by sinkholes above a salt dome – bathing spots and a shore path of around 10 km around the lake.
  - Klosterruine Arendsee: the surviving Romanesque brick abbey church and the remains of the walls of the Benedictine convent on the lakeshore.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Campingplatz “Am See” of the climatic spa town of Arendsee directly on the shore with a bathing spot, sanitary facilities and electricity, or the Campingplatz “Im Kleinen Elsebusch” in the pine forest on the south shore west of the town. In addition, several private motorhome pitches in the town offer places; book ahead in the summer holidays.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** Around the Arendsee the shore, forest and beach car parks are not places to spend the night; the shore zones are protected and checks are common in the bathing season. Use the sites in the town.
- **Insider tip for campers:** The lake is clear, but in hot summers blue-green algae can occur – take note of the signs at the bathing spots. Around the lakeshore you are better off by bike anyway: the path around the lake is used by walkers and cyclists, the motorhome stays on the site.

### Stage 5: Arendsee to Salzwedel (approx. 30 km)

- **The drive:** On the country road west through pine forest and fields to Salzwedel, around half an hour. Well surfaced, with cobblestones and 30 km/h limits in the villages.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Salzwedel old town: half-timbered houses, the Marienkirche and Katharinenkirche, the Neuperver Tor and the Steintor as remains of the town fortifications.
  - Baumkuchen: Salzwedel is regarded as the Baumkuchen town; several confectioners bake it layer by layer over an open flame, some with public baking demonstrations.
  - The Danneil-Museum on the history of the Altmark and the birthplace of Jenny Marx (née von Westphalen).
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Motorhome pitches at the Freibad Salzwedel on the edge of the town centre, with electricity and fresh-water and waste disposal; the old town is within walking distance. Check seasonal operation and fees beforehand.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** In the surrounding area lie the Green Belt along the former inner-German border and protected areas of the Jeetze lowland – there you must keep to the paths, and overnight stays are only allowed on pitches and campsites.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Baumkuchen keeps for several weeks when wrapped and survives warm days in the vehicle – a useful souvenir. The old town is narrow and in places traffic-calmed; park outside and walk.

### Stage 6: Salzwedel to Gardelegen (approx. 50 km)

- **The drive:** On the B71 south through the western Altmark, via Beetzendorf to Gardelegen. A wide federal road with avenue sections, around an hour’s drive. A detour to Burg Beetzendorf is possible.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Gardelegen: the Salzwedeler Tor with its outwork, one of the most impressive town gates in the Altmark, and the Marienkirche.
  - Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Isenschnibber Feldscheune on the edge of town: a memorial to the massacre of more than 1,000 concentration-camp prisoners in April 1945.
  - The ramparts around the old town as a walk.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Reisemobilstellplatz in Gardelegen near the town centre with fresh-water and waste disposal; quieter is the Caravanstellplatz in the district of Dannefeld around 20 km west of the main town, with electricity and water. Check facilities and fees beforehand on the website of the Hansestadt Gardelegen.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** The forests around Gardelegen are state forest: driving and parking on forest tracks is prohibited under the Saxony-Anhalt state forest act. At a high forest-fire warning level, no open fire and no barbecue.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Gardelegen is an old hop and brewing town: the historic Garley brewery closed in 2013; since 2021 a new brewing company on the edge of town has been brewing Garley beer again in small quantities. There are several filling stations on the B71; diesel is usually cheaper in Gardelegen than in the villages.

### Stage 7: Gardelegen to Tangermünde via Letzlingen (approx. 65 km)

- **The drive:** South to Letzlingen on the edge of the Letzlinger Heide, then east on country roads via Uchtspringe or Lüderitz through pine forest and fields back to the Elbe at Tangermünde. Well surfaced, long straight forest sections, around 1.25 hours.
- **Highlights & must-sees:**
  - Jagdschloss Letzlingen: built 1559–1562 as a hunting seat of the Electors of Brandenburg, called the “Hirschburg” because of its abundance of game, rebuilt in neo-Gothic style from 1843 to plans by Friedrich August Stüler, with a moat and a neo-Gothic palace church; today a hotel with restaurant and a museum on the hunting history of the Letzlinger Heide (check opening times beforehand).
  - Letzlinger Heide: one of the largest contiguous areas of heath and forest in central Germany, with hiking trails and heathland on its edges.
  - Finish in the evening on the Elbe promenade in Tangermünde with a view of the castle.
- **Official campsite or RV park:** Back on the pitch at the Klosterberg in Tangermünde, or – if it is closed because of high water – on one of the campsites to the south on the bank of the Elbe between Tangerhütte and Bertingen.
- **Free camping or nature tip (where legal):** The core of the Letzlinger Heide is the Truppenübungsplatz Altmark with the army’s combat training centre – a restricted military area. Observe barriers and warning signs without fail; entering and driving in are prohibited, and there is danger from munitions and exercises. Use only the designated paths on the edge.
- **Insider tip for campers:** Letzlingen has no designated pitch; for the palace a short stop on the edge of the village is enough. For the last kilometres to Tangermünde, check the Elbe gauge beforehand: if the pitch is closed because of high water, switch to a campsite in good time rather than searching the narrow old town late in the evening.

## Camping practice & local rules

### Wild camping & overnight parking

- In Germany there is no right to wild camp. What is usually tolerated is a single night in public car parks to restore fitness to drive, provided there is no prohibition sign and nothing looks like camping – no awning, no chairs, no extended steadies.
- Saxony-Anhalt: forest and farm tracks are closed to motor vehicles, and parking in the forest is prohibited under the state forest act. Dykes, dyke defence tracks and groynes on the Elbe may not be driven on.
- Protected areas on the route: the Biosphärenreservat Mittelelbe (the Saxony-Anhalt part of the UNESCO Elbe River Landscape) with numerous nature reserves in the Elbe floodplain, the Aland-Elbe lowland, the Green Belt along the former border. In nature reserves you must keep to the paths; camping and overnight stays outside designated sites are prohibited.
- Large parts of the Letzlinger Heide are a military training area and restricted zone – neither park nor stay overnight there.
- Useful tools: park4night, Campercontact, the motorhome pitch overview of the Landkreis Stendal, and the websites of the towns and of Altmark tourism.

### Waste disposal & supplies

- Fresh-water and waste disposal is available on the pitches in Tangermünde, Stendal, Seehausen, Salzwedel and Gardelegen; in the Wische and along the Elbe between Arneburg and Wahrenberg stations are rare – empty and fill up with water beforehand.
- Empty the cassette and grey water only at stations; the ditches and oxbows of the Elbe floodplain are sensitive waters.
- Tap water in Germany is drinking water; at taps on campsites, look out for signs.
- Gas: German exchange cylinders are available at filling stations, DIY stores and gas dealers; LPG filling stations for refillable cylinders mainly in Stendal, Salzwedel and Gardelegen. Check locations beforehand in an app.

### Vehicle size & traffic rules

- Speed limits: motorhomes up to 3.5 t 100 km/h outside built-up areas, advisory limit of 130 km/h on motorways; over 3.5 to 7.5 t 80 km/h outside built-up areas and 100 km/h on motorways; over 7.5 t 60 km/h outside built-up areas and 80 km/h on motorways. Outfits 80 km/h, with 100 km/h approval 100 km/h on motorways.
- Avenues: trees often stand right beside the carriageway; reduced speed limits apply on some avenues. Keep your distance from the right-hand edge, keep an eye on mirrors and overcab, and allow for farm machinery.
- Elbe ferries: fares depend on the vehicle, weight and size limits vary by ferry; they operate only at a suitable water level. High water on the Elbe occurs mainly in winter and spring, but can also come in summer after heavy rain – heed the warnings of the Landesbetrieb für Hochwasserschutz.
- Low-emission zones: there are none on the route. Tolls: motorhomes pay no toll in Germany. Expect changing roadworks and diversions on the continued construction of the A14 between Magdeburg and Wittenberge (towards Schwerin).
- Winter equipment is situational: in icy conditions, winter or all-season tyres with the Alpine symbol are compulsory. Alcohol: 0.5 per mille, 0.0 for novice drivers in the probationary period and under 21. Mobile phone at the wheel only with a hands-free system.

## CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist

- Mosquito protection in quantity: fly screens on all windows and roof vents, repellent and long, light-coloured clothing – in the Elbe floodplain mosquitoes are a real plague from May to August, especially after high water.
- Bikes on a rear carrier with a warning board: the Elbe Cycle Route and the Arendsee shore path open up the route better than the motorhome.
- Binoculars for storks, white-tailed eagles, cranes and geese on the Elbe meadows – the birds usually stand far out.
- Levelling ramps and a long fresh-water hose: several pitches are meadows with a slight slope, and taps are sometimes far away.
- A river-gauge app or bookmarks for Pegelonline and the Hochwasservorhersagezentrale Sachsen-Anhalt, to assess ferries and pitches by the river.
- A cool box for Baumkuchen, Altmark asparagus in spring and smoked Elbe fish.

_As of 2026-10. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go._

## Sources

- [promobil – Stellplatz auf dem Schützenplatz, Stendal](https://www.promobil.de/stellplatz/stellplatz-auf-dem-schuetzenplatz-588f1ff5721d54a528161934.html)
- [promobil – Wohnmobilstellplatz Tangermünde](https://www.promobil.de/stellplatz/wohnmobilstellplatz-tangermuende-588f1ff5721d54a52816193c.html)
- [Altmärkischer Regionalmarketing- und Tourismusverband (Outdooractive) – Elbfähre Werben/Räbel: Verbindung nach Havelberg](https://www.outdooractive.com/en/poi/altmark/elbe-ferry-werben-raebel-connection-to-havelberg/55153431/)
- [Volksstimme – Eisgang legt letzte Elbfähren Sandau und Räbel im Kreis Stendal lahm](https://www.volksstimme.de/lokal/havelberg/eisgang-legt-letzte-elbfahren-sandau-und-rabel-im-kreis-stendal-lahm-4176996)
- [Volksstimme – Hochwasser: Alle Elbfähren im Kreis Stendal sind außer Betrieb](https://www.volksstimme.de/lokal/stendal/alle-elbfahren-im-kreis-stendal-sind-ausser-betrieb-3918982)
- [Museumsverband Sachsen-Anhalt – Museum Jagdschloss Letzlingen](https://www.mv-sachsen-anhalt.de/museen/suche-nach-museen/museum-jagdschloss-letzlingen)
- [Wikipedia – Jagdschloss Letzlingen](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagdschloss_Letzlingen)
- [Hansestadt Gardelegen – Ortsteil Letzlingen](https://www.gardelegen.de/Stadtleben/Die-Stadt/Ortsteile/Letzlingen/index.php?object=tx,3524.12404.1&NavID=3524.236&La=1)
- [Wikipedia – Garley (Bier)](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garley)

## Which stops are on the round trip from Tangermünde?

1. **Tangermünde** (Germany)
2. **Stendal** (Germany)
3. **Arneburg** (Germany)
4. **Werben (Elbe)** (Germany)
5. **Räbel** (Germany)
6. **Havelberg** (Germany)
7. **Seehausen (Altmark)** (Germany)
8. **Wahrenberg** (Germany)
9. **Arendsee (Altmark)** (Germany)
10. **Salzwedel** (Germany)
11. **Gardelegen** (Germany)
12. **Letzlingen** (Germany)
13. **Tangermünde** (Germany)

## When is the best time for the round trip from Tangermünde?

The most pleasant months are usually June–September. Still fine, with some compromises, in May. Cold, short days in December–February. July and August are the busiest months: book campsites early. (Estimate from long-term temperature averages, terrain and pass seasons)

## What should you know before driving the round trip from Tangermünde?

No motorway tolls or vignettes expected for a car.

- **Germany: No motorway tolls for cars.** No general motorway speed limit (130 km/h advised) and no tolls for cars.

## FAQs

**How long is Brick, storks and Elbe ferries – through the Altmark by camper from Tangermünde to the Arendsee?**
7-day round trip of about 268 km (167 mi) with 13 stops, starting and ending in Tangermünde. About 3 h 42 min of driving in total.

**How many days do you need for Brick, storks and Elbe ferries – through the Altmark by camper from Tangermünde to the Arendsee?**
We suggest 7 days: about 3 h 42 min of driving, which leaves time for the stops.

**Where does Brick, storks and Elbe ferries – through the Altmark by camper from Tangermünde to the Arendsee start and end?**
It is a round trip that starts and ends in Tangermünde.

**Which countries does Brick, storks and Elbe ferries – through the Altmark by camper from Tangermünde to the Arendsee pass through?**
Germany.

**Where can you camp along Brick, storks and Elbe ferries – through the Altmark by camper from Tangermünde to the Arendsee?**
OpenStreetMap lists 71 campsites and motorhome stopovers within 20 km of the stops on this route. For example: Wohnmobilstellplatz Tangermünde, Radfahrer-Zeltplatz and Waldbad-Campingplatz-Wischer.