Greune Stee Nature Reserve
The name means 'Green Place' in Low German, and Greune Stee delivers exactly that — a surprisingly lush pocket of dune forest, heath and grassland that feels like a secret garden tucked between Borkum's windswept beaches. It is the largest forest on the island and unlike anywhere else in the East Frisian archipelago.
A landscape unlike any other on the East Frisian Islands
Greune Stee is a transitional zone where shifting sand dunes give way to birch, pine and oak woodland, interspersed with heath and grassland — one of the very few places in the East Frisian Islands where a natural dune forest has developed.
The reserve sits within the broader UNESCO World Heritage Wadden Sea landscape, and its protected habitats shelter numerous bird species, insects and, in the damp hollows between dunes, native orchids that bloom in early summer.
Walking and birdwatching
Paved paths wind through the forest, making it accessible on foot or by bike from the town centre. The best viewpoint in the area is Herrmannshöhe, at the corner of Greune Stee Weg and Jakob van Dyken Weg, where the canopy opens and the dune landscape stretches out before you.
Birdwatchers should bring binoculars: the reserve and the adjacent Tüskendörsee freshwater lake — a magnet for migratory birds — together form one of the finest avian observation spots on the North Sea coast.
How to reach it
An idyllic path leads from the town through Greune Stee all the way to the Kugelbake marker on the south beach, where the sea and open sky await at the end of the walk — roughly 3–4 km one way.
The paths are shared with slow walkers and cyclists, so take it easy and enjoy the contrast between the sheltered forest interior and the vast coastal horizon that greets you at the other end.
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