The route starts at the parking lot of the De Meinweg National Park, and you follow it clockwise.
This means that it soon goes over the 3 terraces that were previously blocked off by the Maas to the higher village of Meinweg.
At this village, you drive into Germany and cycle as much as possible on quiet country roads and farmland paths towards Erkelenz (Doverhahn), crossing the valley of the Swalm over slightly hilly terrain. Busier roads and bike paths along the main roads are avoided as much as possible. After crossing the Swalm Valley, you enter farmland at an altitude of 70 to 100 meters.

From Doverhahn, there is a hilly area with several climbs of 30 to 50 meters in elevation, such as the climb from Doveren towards Houverath, the Sieberberg (steep climb from Altmyhl), the ascent from Myhl towards Altmyhl via the K9, the Klosterstraße to Myhl, some climbs at Wassenberg, and finally the climb from Birgelen towards Wildenrath (partly on a road through the forest that is closed to motor traffic). The hilly area between Myhl and Altmyhl is called Myhler Switzerland, and the hilly area around Wassenberg is called Wassenberger Riedelland. In Wassenberg itself, you will cycle a few times on busier streets.

You leave Germany on an unpaved road 200 meters long between Dalheim and Vlodrop-Station. The road was renovated in 2018 and now has a kind of waterproof pavement that is easily passable with a racing bike.

Most roads are of good quality; sometimes, you will find less good road surfaces, such as when leaving Oberkrüchten (in an uphill direction) and when crossing the Swalm Valley between Lüttelforst and Merbeck.