🛶 Trip details

Length: ~15.7 km
Type: One-way
Time: 4-5 hours moving time
Plan for: 5–7 hours if you want photo stops, a Citadel visit, and a proper meal at the end
Level: Intermediate
Start: LZ near Schlossbrücke, Charlottenburg Palace. Finish: LZ at Mühlengraben, Spandau Old Town

This is a perfect winter-time trip, when you definitely don’t want to touch the water with anything other than your SUP paddle. This route has it all: scenic views of Charlottenburg Palace from the water, two locks, including one you actually have to overcome, Berlin’s industrial harbor Westhafen (yes, we actually have one…), some of the city’s roughest stretches with homeless tents and truly depressing amounts of garbage, and then, almost unexpectedly, some of Berlin’s nicest canal-side neighbourhoods and hidden gems. The Citadel and Spandau Old Town make for a perfect ending, with food and beer finally within reach, and plenty of time to process the strange, very Berlin mix of scenes you’ve passed through during the day.

🧭 Route Directions

• Launch from the easy grassy bank near Schlossbrücke by Charlottenburg Palace. This is one of the more convenient city LZs in Berlin.
• Head north toward Schleuse Charlottenburg. It looks impressive from a distance and is worth seeing as a piece of infrastructure. For SUP purposes, treat it as a look-and-move-on landmark rather than part of a clean through-route – unfortunately, it’s not accessible for SUP.
• Continue east on the Westhafenkanal toward Westhafen Harbor. This stretch is, frankly, one of the dullest sections of water in Berlin. Not ugly enough to be interesting, not scenic enough to be pleasant, just a long reminder that sometimes a canal is simply a canal. Passing Westhafen is the payoff. Berlin’s largest inland port is a genuinely cool industrial sight in the middle of the city, with tanks, heavy brick buildings, cranes, and full “working harbor in a capital city” energy. Here you enter the Berlin-Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal itself, which is a 12 km federal waterway linking the Spree and Havel, and Westhafen is one of its major industrial landmarks.
• Head west toward Plötzensee Lock. This is one of the roughest-looking places on the route. Under the bridges and along the banks, you’ll pass plenty of litter, tired graffiti, and some very hard-edged urban reality. No point romanticising it. The Plötzensee Lock grounds are not accessible for SUP, but walking around it is manageable – a roughly 150 m portage on the south-west bank.
• The next stretch west toward General-Ganeval-Brücke stays fairly grim. There’s still plenty of rubbish on the banks, and this part feels more like a transport corridor than a paddle destination.
• Things improve once you reach City Camping Nord Hettler & Lange. Here, take the narrower branch on the left through the old part of the canal. This is the better line: calmer, greener, and simply more pleasant than the main channel. The campsite really does sit on a narrow strip between the Hohenzollernkanal and the old Berlin-Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal, which matches exactly what you see on the water.
• Exit back to the main canal near Saatwinkler Steg and head north-west toward the Havel. At the Havel, turn south toward Citadel Spandau. This is where the route starts paying you back. The Citadel is one of the best-preserved Renaissance fortresses in Germany and works very well as a quick sightseeing stop. From the water, use the western side if you want to go inside; the eastern side is strictly forbidden.
• Continue south past the Citadel toward Schleuse Spandau. Pass the lock on the right and enter the Mühlengraben canal, right in the heart of Spandau’s old town.
• Finish your trip in the Mühlengraben between the two pedestrian bridges. The get-out is straightforward, though you may need to lift your board over a low fence. Then go eat something good. Altstadt Spandau is exactly what you want after this route: a lively historic centre with plenty of places to sit down and repair the damage.

⚠️ Safety & Conditions

• The number one issue on this route is water quality. You are paddling through urban and industrial waterways, not clean swimming lakes. Falling in is something to avoid. For that reason alone, this route makes most sense for paddlers who are comfortable staying dry, handling traffic, and dealing with a few awkward urban sections.
• That also makes this a good winter trip in a very specific sense: much of the route is sheltered from open-lake wind, so you can paddle on cold days without big exposed crossings. The catch is obvious: if something goes wrong, you really do not want to end up in the water here. In winter, a drysuit is the preferred option.
• Other than the water quality issue, the route is not technically difficult in a classic wilderness sense. The real friction comes from commercial traffic, narrow canals that reflect waves, and one portage around Plötzensee Lock. The main things to watch for are barges and workboats near Westhafen and Spandau Lock, and switching off mentally on the long ugly middle section.
• The good news: once you’ve done the Plötzensee carry, the route becomes simpler. The best part comes late, so save some energy for the Havel / Citadel / Mühlengraben finish.

🚗 Logistics: Launch & Access

Launch zone:
The start near Schlossbrücke is genuinely convenient. For SUP, this works well as a practical start area.

Exit:
The finish right after Möllentorsteg Spandau foot bridge in Spandau Old Town is easy to reach and easy to enjoy. Expect a simple urban get-out rather than a polished paddling beach. On our run, the only mild annoyance was the fence at the end.

Public transport to the start:
The palace area is well connected. The closest useful stops are Schloss Charlottenburg, Luisenplatz/Schloss Charlottenburg, and Schlossbrücke. According to Berlin.de and BVG, buses 109, 309, and M45 serve this area.

Public transport from the finish:
For the end point, U Altstadt Spandau is the most obvious nearby station. S+U Rathaus Spandau is also close and gives you U7 plus a large bus hub; Berlin-Spandau station adds S-Bahn, regional, and long-distance rail connections. In other words: this route works very well as a one-way paddle because the finish is much better connected than most Berlin water exits.

📍 Notable post-paddle food spots:

Brauhaus Spandau for classic Berlin-West beer-and-hearty-food energy, Beyzade for very solid Turkish grill on a waterside terrace, and Teloneio for a quieter Greek taverna finish in the old Kolk quarter.