- Distance
- 175km
- Suggested days
- 7–10days
- Route
- Point-to-point
Gudenåstien stage by stage, with somewhere to sleep each night
The official stages are short, 6 to 14 km, so on most days you will want to join two or three. Set your daily distance and ThWay finds stays you can reach near that point, then starts the next day where you slept. The line from the spring to Randers is about 175 km, or 7 to 10 walking days.
One decision at a time
- 01
Set your walking day
Choose the distance you want to cover and the longest day you will accept.
- 02
Compare reachable stays
ThWay sorts the available candidates by how closely the routed distance matches your target.
- 03
Pick a stay and continue
The walking route finishes at your selected stay. The next day starts there.
No separate search for a hotel, hostel, campsite or shelter at the end of every stage.
- Tørring, Rask Mølle and Klostermølle on the upper river
- Ry, Svejbæk and Silkeborg in the lake country
- Svostrup, Kongensbro, Bjerringbro, Ulstrup, Langå and Randers along Trækstien
- Inns, hotels and B&Bs in the river towns
- Campsites and canoe camps by the water
- Shelters, several of them near the spring
The official Gudenåstien is 175 km from the spring to Randers, or about 200 km with both routes round the lakes between Ry and Silkeborg. ThWay has 198 km mapped: Nørre Tinnet to Ry (75 km), two ways from Ry to Silkeborg (25 and 23 km) and Silkeborg to Randers (75 km). This page plans the line with the 25 km variant, about 175 km. You can switch to the other one in the planner.
ThWay finds and routes to candidate stays. It does not show live room or shelter availability, so confirm and book with the provider.
- Oplev Gudenå: Gudenåstien length, shelters and flooding
- Oplev Gudenå: the 18 official stages and transport back
- Oplev Gudenå: Klostermølle to Silkeborg and Gl. Rye
- Oplev Gudenå: Trækstien from Silkeborg to Randers
- Kystlandet: stage 1, getting to the spring and shelters nearby
- VisitDenmark: the source of the Gudenå
Questions about overnight stops
How long is Gudenåstien?
175 km from the spring to Randers, or about 200 km if you count both routes round the lakes between Ry and Silkeborg. The official route has 18 stages of 6 to 14 km. ThWay has 198 km mapped, both lake routes included.
Where does Gudenåstien start, and how do I get there?
At the spring of the Gudenå in Tinnet Krat, about 10 km from Tørring. There is no public transport to the spring itself. Take a regional bus from Horsens or Vejle to Tørring and book Flextrafik for the last part through Rejseplanen.
How many days do I need?
About 175 km at 18 to 25 km a day is 7 to 10 days. The stages are short, so you will usually join two or three a day. Trains stop at Ry, Silkeborg, Bjerringbro, Ulstrup, Langå and Randers, which makes it easy to walk in parts.
Where can I sleep along the river?
There are several shelters near the spring, shelter sites at Sminge and Kongensbro, a canoe camp at Bamsebo and campsites such as Gudenå Camping at Brestenbro. The river towns have inns and hotels. On the first stage the path crosses private land where you may not stop or stay.
Can the path be flooded?
Yes. When the water is high, parts of the path can be under water, most often at Uldum Kær and on Trækstien. Check the trail's own site before you go.
Follow the river from the spring to Randers, one night at a time
The planner opens with the line from Nørre Tinnet to Randers selected. Set your daily distance, compare the stays you can reach, and swap in the other way round the lakes if you prefer it.
Read how other walkers did it →
The Gudenå rises in Tinnet Krat, Denmark's largest oak scrub, on the ridge of Jutland, a few hundred metres from the source of Skjern Å. One river runs east and the other west, and Hærvejen passes between the two springs. The Gudenåstien starts at the spring and follows Denmark's longest river down to Randers.
The official route is 175 km, or about 200 km if you walk both ways round the lakes between Ry and Silkeborg, split into 18 stages of 6 to 14 km. Up top the river is a small stream through meadow and fen. The middle runs through the lake country around Ry and Silkeborg, and from Silkeborg to Randers you walk Trækstien, the old towpath where barges were once hauled upriver.
What you'll walk through
- The spring in Tinnet Krat, where Gudenå and Skjern Å rise side by side
- Meadows and the wet fen of Uldum Kær on the upper river
- Sct. Søren Kirke in Gl. Rye, a late-medieval pilgrim church, and the lakes around Ry
- Trækstien from Silkeborg to Randers, past the old barge haulers' inns at Svostrup, Kongensbro and Ans
Along the way
The best-known places within a kilometre of the trail.
Nature · 352 m from the trailHimmelbjerget
Himmelbjerget is a 147-metre-high hill between Ry and Silkeborg. Geologically it is a so-called false hill, as the slope was formed when the ice during the Ice Age removed soil in the tunnel valley that later became Julsø.
Read more →Translated from Danish Wikipedia. Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo: Lars Helbo (da:Bruger:Lars_Helbo), Public domain
Parks and attractions · 56 m from the trailRanders Regnskov
Randers Regnskov is a state-recognised tropical zoo on the banks of the Gudenå in Kronjylland near the centre of Randers. The rainforest has a board of six members, a number of sponsors and its patron, Countess Alexandra of Frederiksborg. The rainforest opened on 13 June 1996 with two of the domes.
Read more →Translated from Danish Wikipedia. Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo: user:Nico-dk / Nils Jepsen, CC BY 2.5
Nature · 708 m from the trailTange Sø
Tange Sø is an artificial lake between Ans and Bjerringbro in Region Midtjylland. The lake is owned by Gudenaacentralen a.m.b.a., and it was created in December 1920 as a hydropower reservoir for Gudenaacentralen, unofficially called Tangeværket. With an area of about 540 hectares it is the largest artificial lake in Denmark.
Read more →Translated from Danish Wikipedia. Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo: MrDee at Danish Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Historic buildings · 248 m from the trailUlstrup Slot
Ulstrup Slot is an old manor just north of Ulstrup Station, east of Bjerringbro.
Read more →Translated from Danish Wikipedia. Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo: Hubertus45, CC BY 3.0
Best season
May to September. The Modstrømsbussen between Tørring and Ry runs only in summer, and after a wet spell high water can flood parts of the path, most often at Uldum Kær and on Trækstien.
Getting there
The spring can't be reached by public transport. Take a regional bus to Tørring from Horsens or Vejle, then book Flextrafik (a shared taxi) through Rejseplanen for the last 10 km or so. Further down there are stations at Ry, Laven, Svejbæk and Silkeborg, and at Bjerringbro, Ulstrup, Langå and Randers, so the walk is easy to split.
The marked route for your GPS app or watch, free. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Want it split into days with a bed every night, and the bus where there is none? Plan it in ThWay.