Canoeing on the Wakenitz is a very special experience: You can get into the boat directly in the city of Lübeck and start paddling. Immediately you find yourself in an idyllic river landscape. This experience of nature is also appreciated by Tatonka employee Maik Behrendt. To escape the stress of everyday life, he regularly undertakes canoe trips on the “Amazon of the North”.

Who doesn’t know this? Completely exhausted from the stress of everyday life, you long for a little break. Just get out there and rearrange your thoughts. In this case, I’m drawn to the water. I only need a few minutes to be able to sail the Wakenitz in Lübeck with my boat.

The Wakenitz is the natural outlet of Lake Ratzeburg. During the construction of the Elbe-Lübeck Canal, the small river was dammed and now offers perfect opportunities for water sports. The Wakenitz is 14 kilometres long, very wide in the city of Lübeck and surrounded by beautiful parks and houses.

Paddling on the Wakenitz - Maik Behrendt paddles with his canoe on the Wakenitz.
Tatonka employee Maik Behrendt likes to explore the paddling areas of his northern German homeland. He uses the Wakenitz, which flows through the old Hanseatic city of Lübeck, for small escapes from everyday life. Due to the connection to Lake Ratzeburg, the river can also be navigated as part of a multi-day paddling tour.

The Wakenitz: “Amazon of the North”

Behind Lübeck, the river narrows and flows through old alluvial forests. This also gave the Wakenitz the name “Amazon of the North”. Before the reunification of Germany, the eastern bank was the state border with the former GDR. Therefore, there is no settlement here. A natural fauna and flora was able to develop.

In addition to rare trees, you can also spot kingfishers, otters and ospreys. Sometimes you can even spot a swimming grass snake from the canoe, which is meandering through the water.

Canoe fun for beginners and children

The Wakenitz is closed to motorboats and has a very low flow velocity. This makes it the ideal river for beginners or for tours with children. The river is navigable in both directions and due to the proximity to Lübeck there are many places to stop for refreshments.

If you are planning a canoe trip on the Wakenitz, you don’t have to worry about the food. There are always cafes and restaurants on the riverbank, inviting you to take a break from paddling.

Untouched nature around the Wakenitz near Lübeck.
If you look around from the canoe, it is not surprising that the Wakenitz is also known as the “Amazon of the North”.

Canoe rental in Lübeck and along the course of the river Wakenitz

If you start in Lübeck, you can choose Falkendamm as your entry point, for example. Renting a canoe is also no problem. Directly in Lübeck you will find, for example, the boat rental Hübner. In the south of Lübeck, at the mouth of Lake Ratzeburg, is the Canoe Center. You can also rent a boat here.

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Multi-day canoe tours on the Wakenitz

If you have paddled 14 kilometers from Lübeck to the south, there is also the possibility to get to the Schaalsee via Lake Ratzeburg. There are a few campsites along the way. So you can also divide the tour into several days.

In the north of Lake Ratzeburg, the Wakenitzhaus invites you to spend the night. In addition to a campsite for canoeists, there are also tents with fixed beds for those looking for a little more comfort. For groups, the Wakenitzhaus also offers six permanent rooms with a total of 26 beds.

On the other side of Lake Ratzeburg, canoeists will find the campsite “Zur schönen Aussicht”. The course is located on a peninsula opposite the Ratzeburg Cathedral in the middle of the “Lauenburg Lakes” Nature Park. Again, you’ll find everything you need after a busy day on the water.

The right equipment for paddling on the Wakenitz:

On my tours in recent years, a few pieces of equipment have proven themselves very well.

  • Depending on the weather, I ride with shoftshell pants. The Pants are very comfortable due to their elasticity and water-repellent enough to keep out a short shower.
  • A functional shirt offers me sun protection and dries ultra-quickly.
  • For rain protection, I use a waterproof jacket. For example, a three-layer jacket with a breathable membrane is extremely elastic, and I am not restricted in movement, which is of course very important when paddling.
  • In warm weather, I wear zip-off pants.
  • The best tip I can give is waterproof sandals.
  • To be able to store the things waterproof, I use the dunnage bag by Tatonka. This is compressible and therefore also very suitable for the small hatches on the kayak.

This article was published in July 2013 and revised in July 2024.