Update 9 December 2025:
300 objections have already contributed to the fact that the first draft of the new landscape conservation area regulations in Miesbach had to be revised and thus a general 1.5 metre regulation was removed from the text.
However, the second draft of the regulations is now available and a zoning concept is being pursued. This means that by the end of 2026, the district of Miesbach wants to define zones within the landscape conservation areas in which cycling on paths less than 1.5 metres wide will be prohibited. So closures are still not off the table. On the contrary.
The district council now wants to decide that the administration - together with REO, municipalities, agriculture and forestry - will propose zones in which cycling should continue to be prohibited on paths less than 1.5 metres wide. If the district council does not make a decision, a ban on mountain bikers on paths less than 1.5 metres wide will automatically come into force from 1 April 2027 in five of the six protected landscape areas.
The DIMB AG Bayerische Voralpen complains above all that cycling associations and clubs are not allowed to participate in the definition of the planned zones. Only representatives of agriculture, alpine farming, forestry and hunting are involved. According to the DIMB, this could lead to an "offside trap" with route closures for which there is no justification:
"Unless the district council can agree on defined zones, a blanket ban on all paths under 1.5 metres for cycling will come into force. In our opinion, the right approach would be to put the cart before the horse. If the district council is unable to reach an agreement, the provisions of the Nature Conservation Act should continue to apply and there will therefore be no blanket restriction on cycling. In addition, in the event of a complete closure, areas that would not be affected by the zoning would also be closed. In our opinion, this lacks any proportionality, effectiveness and comprehensibility."
Apart from that, a road width regulation clearly contradicts the Bavarian constitution.
Should such a regulation actually be enacted, the DIMB is prepared to have it legally reviewed and to take legal action to defend the legitimate interests of cyclists." - Roland Albrecht, member of the DIMB board
The DIMB is therefore urgently asking mountain bikers for support:
"We will once again be making our request for participation from the DIMB, DAV and also the Bavarian Cycling Association to the district administration," emphasises Nicolas Gareis (DAV). The associations are also calling on all members and mountain bikers who feel personally affected by the planned regulations to once again submit their objections in writing during the second round of interpretation. "We are hoping for even greater participation this time than in the first round of interpretation," says Thomas Holz
Here is the template for your personal objections, which you can conveniently send by e-mail to
umweltrecht@lra-mb.bayern.de can set up:
Subject: Concerns and suggestions regarding the announcement pursuant to Art. 52. 2 Bavarian Nature Conservation Act on the procedures for the designation of the landscape protection areas "Oberes Leitzachtal und Umgebung bei Bayrischzell", "Schliersee und Umgebung", "Spitzingsee und Umgebung", "Tegernsee und Umgebung" and "Weißachtal und Umgebung im westlichen Mangfallgebirge"
Ladies and Gentlemen,
With this letter, I am taking the opportunity to comment on the above-mentioned procedure during the public exhibition period and to submit my concerns and suggestions to the District Office.
In particular, I would like to object to the blanket ban pursuant to Section 4 (2) No. 6 on cycling on paths less than 1.5 metres wide and the zoning by means of a supplementary ordinance that is still pending.
My concerns in detail:
ENTER HERE - What bothers you about the regulation? Where does the regulation affect you personally?
I would ask you to carefully examine and take into account any further concerns expressed by affected persons and, at the same time, advocate that relevant associations and organisations (e.g. B. DAV, DIMB and BRV) should be actively involved in the further process. Thank you very much.
Yours sincerely
[Signature (handwritten if sent by post)]
[First and last name]
<<<<<
1.5 metre rule in Bavaria?: DIMB considers legal action in Miesbach
New landscape protection ordinance in the district of Miesbach - that sounds like a small, regional disaster for bikers on Lake Tegernsee. But there are good reasons why the DIMB is so intensively involved here: There is a threat of a 1.5 metre regulation in Bavaria!
The tussle over possible trail closures for mountain bikers in the Bavarian district of Miesbach is coming to a head. Since spring 2025, the local bike community south-east of Munich has been fighting against the threat of a trail width law, which is otherwise only known from Baden-Württemberg (BIKE reported).
Despite 300 petitions from mountain bikers and representatives from the hospitality industry, tourism, business and industry and a published position paper from the DIMB, the second interpretation of the new Miesbach ordinance is even set to remove the 35 exceptional trails for mountain bikers that were originally promised. This would mean that biking on trails less than 1.5 metres wide in these five of six landscape conservation areas in the district of Miesbach would be generally prohibited in future:
- Schliersee and surroundings
- Tegernsee and surroundings
- Spitzingsee and surroundings
- Upper Leitzach Valley and its surroundings near Bayrischzell
- Weißachtal in the district of Miesbach
- Garden landscape around Miesbach (exception)
Particularly annoying: Despite repeated offers of dialogue and cooperation, the DIMB and other cycling associations were not seriously involved in the drafting of the new regulation. The legal experts therefore decided to publish a position paper and a press release themselves. In it, Thomas Holz (DIMB) and Nicolas Gareis (DAV) emphasise: "In principle, we are firmly opposed to a blanket road width regulation, but are open to other control options that are considered on a case-by-case basis."
The two mountain biker organisations base this on the current Bavarian Nature Conservation Act, which states that "the inclusion of a specific trail width in the implementation notice must be rejected".
In fact, the DIMB and DAV have been working in the district of Miesbach since 2021 to develop a mountain bike concept on behalf of the Tegernsee Schliersee Alpine Region (ATS). However, independently of this, an administrative court had criticised the landscape protection ordinance from the 1950s that was still in force in Miesbach as outdated in a completely different case and demanded a legally secure, practicable new version. And a working group with representatives from the district council, agriculture and forestry, the district office and the lower nature conservation authority has now been working on this revision for three years. Only the organisations representing the interests of mountain bikers were not involved.
The DIMB and DAV were allowed to put forward their position at the beginning - namely: no blanket regulation of trail widths, but targeted guidance through an attractive offer (as has been practised successfully in other regions for years). Unfortunately, however, this had no effect and did not result in a compromise proposal.
Due to loud protests on site and various media reports (including on TV and radio), the topic of mountain biking was taken up again by the working group last week. This was stated in a press release from the district administration on 24 October:
"With the support of Thorsten Schär (REO, editor's note: Oberland regional development and MTB steering group project manager), the topic of mountain biking was discussed in depth. The district council's mandate to the administration and the environmental committee's wish is to regulate the MTB issue directly in the LSG regulations. The REO is concerned that blanket closures could result in the few existing legal routes being overused, which would make it more difficult to continue operating them with significantly higher maintenance costs and that a "patchwork" of closures would be difficult to communicate and monitor.
Various approaches were therefore examined: One possibility would be the blanket closure of all trails under 1.5 m, with exceptions for already legalised trails and signposted MTB routes. It is also possible to regulate the issue in a separate concept based on Art. 31 of the Bavarian Nature Conservation Act instead of in the LSG regulations. The only question is whether the implementation of such a regulation could be managed administratively by the administration.
The discussion will be continued at the next meeting before the district council makes a final decision."
What are the next steps?
The German Mountain Bike Initiative (DIMB) doubts that a generalised trail width regulation is constitutional and reserves the right to take legal action. They are now awaiting the outcome of the next working group meeting, in which, according to the district administration office, all submissions made so far will be reviewed. The district council will then react to the second interpretation of the regulation.
But things are not looking good: At its last meeting, the Environment Committee reaffirmed its intention to stick to the 1.5 metre rule. The nature conservation administration apparently sees "a regulation to control recreational traffic as necessary". The DIMB counters this with the argument that it is precisely such blanket bans that cause conflicts on trails where there are currently none. "To date, we have not been able to come up with any specific nature conservation reasons that would justify the large-scale restriction for cyclists in the district of Miesbach," says Nicolas Gareis from the DAV
According to the district administration, three options for a second interpretation will now be presented to the district council after the final working group meeting: "zoning", no closure at all or the general closure of all paths less than 1.5 metres wide.
We will stay tuned and report back after the next meeting.
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
