North · Loop

CarCamel

Hof HaCarmel, Haifa · Loop

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Recent rain? Check the mud forecast before you go. Download the route’s GPX and upload it to ‘HaSingletor’ – you’ll get the chance of mud from the nearest rain station and the soil type.

Mud forecast Built by Boaz Yoffe · mtb.yoffe.net

Distance 85 km

Total climbing 1,473 m

Highest point 472 m

Lowest point 0 m

Days 2 days

Difficulty Hard

Recommended months Oct–May

A loop from Hof HaCarmel in Haifa, along the coast to Atlit and then up onto the Carmel ridge and back: 85 km and 1,473 m of climbing through the forests, wadis and dirt roads of the Carmel. Short on distance, big on climbing.

How to load the file to your device → Download GPX

Elevation profile

472 m 1 m

0 km 17 km 34 km 51 km 68 km 85 km

Route story · CarCamel

From the shore to the Carmel ridge, and back

85 km in a loop from Haifa, by Hof HaCarmel station. South along the coast to Atlit, through Nahal Me'arot and the Ofer forest, then up from Ein Hod onto the Carmel ridge, Har Shokef and Beit Oren, and down Nahal Kelah and Nahal Galim back to Haifa. Short in distance, with almost 1,500 m of climbing.

Loop · Hof HaCarmel, Haifa2 daysOct–MayHard

85km

1,473m climbing

45.9km, longest stretch without fuel

4fuel stations within 200 m

15water taps along the way

21night campsites near the route

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The route at a glance

Fuel stationGrocery or supermarketWater tapNight campsite

01km ⁦0–18⁩

Along the coast to Atlit

You set off by Dado beach and ride south, almost at sea level: the Hof Galim reserve, the old HaHotrim railway station and Nahal Sfunim. By the Atlit camp you pass the Limor lookout and the Crusader fort of Le Destroit, right on the route, and ride into Atlit.

Along the way

km 2Water by Dado beach
km 4.5Hof Galim nature reserve
km 6.6The old HaHotrim railway station
km 12.9The Atlit camp
km 13.8Le Destroit fort
km 16.5Atlit station, if you need to bail out

Resupply · km 12.9
Sonol, a grocery and restaurants by the Atlit camp. Kimat Hinam in Atlit, km 16.8

02km ⁦18–40⁩

Ofer forest and Nahal Me'arot

From Atlit you pass the Atlit reserve and Sheikh Bureik, and climb into the Ofer forest on the Carmel's western slopes, with its lookout tower, the Ofer forest campsite and the Shvilei Ron park, which has a tap. Then down along Nahal Me'arot to the Nahal Me'arot caves, right at the mouth of the valley.

Along the way

km 22.8Atlit nature reserve
km 30.2The Ofer forest lookout tower
km 30.9Ofer forest night campsite
km 32.7Shvilei Ron park, water tap
km 38.2The Nahal Me'arot caves, water at the entrance

Resupply · km 39.1
Dor Alon, 170 m off the route

03km ⁦40–56⁩

Ein Hod and the climb to the ridge

The artists' village of Ein Hod has a grocery, cafés and water, next to the Janco Dada and Nisco museums. Then the big climb begins, more than 300 m, along Nahal Bustan and past farming terraces exposed by the Carmel fire, to the Rakit campsite.

Along the way

km 44.1The Nisco museum of mechanical music
km 44.5The Janco Dada museum
km 48.6Nahal Bustan
km 49.9The Carmel terraces
km 55.2Rakit night campsite, water and toilets

Resupply · km 44.5
Ein Hod: a grocery, Cafe California and Donna Rosa, and water

04km ⁦56–68⁩

Har Shokef and Beit Oren

On the ridge you pass Har Shokef, the route's highest point at about 470 m, and ride through the Har Shokef national park to Nahal Oren and Ein Alon, a wide, shallow pool. Beit Oren has a grocery and water, and right after it comes the Pitulim campsite, with water and toilets, right on the route.

Along the way

km 57.7Har Shokef
km 60.9Nahal Oren
km 63Ein Alon, 160 m off the route
km 65.7The Wounded Bird monument
km 67.1Pitulim night campsite, water and toilets

Resupply · km 65.7
Beit Oren grocery, and water. Cat Ballou at km 66.6

05km ⁦68–85⁩

Nahal Kelah and Nahal Galim

The finale is a descent of about 400 m. The cliff lookout and Kelah cave, then the Little Switzerland, Final Fortress, Kalaniyot and Tlalim campsites, all with water close by, and on along Nahal Galim for almost 11 km, past Ein Kedem and Ovadia cave, back to Haifa.

Along the way

km 68.8The cliff lookout and the Carmel cliffs
km 69Kelah cave
km 69.6Little Switzerland night campsite, with water
km 74.1Tlalim night campsite, water and toilets
km 79Ein Kedem, a spring with two tunnels
km 82.4Ovadia cave

Resupply · km 84.5
Stopmarket, with restaurants along km 84–85

Where to sleep

To split it over two days, Rakit (km 55) or Pitulim (km 67), both with water and toilets. The Ofer forest (km 31) suits an afternoon start.

Straight-line distanceDistances from the route are straight-line distances, not riding distances. Before you set out, check on a map that a trail or road actually reaches the place.

km 30.9Free

חניון לילה יער עופר 60 m off the route

km 55.2Water and toilets

חניון לילה רקית 90 m off the route

km 67.1Water and toilets

חניון לילה פיתולים 0 m off the route

km 69.6Free

חניון לילה שוויצריה הקטנה 20 m off the route

km 70.5Free

חניון לילה הצוק 100 m off the route

km 70.7Free

חניון לילה המבצר האחרון 20 m off the route

km 71.2Free

חניון לילה נוף המפרץ 310 m off the route

km 71.8Water and toilets

חניון לילה חורשת הארבעים 220 m off the route

km 72.8Water and toilets

חניון לילה כלניות 100 m off the route

km 73.2Free

חניון לילה אורנים 140 m off the route

km 74.1Water and toilets

חניון לילה טללים 0 m off the route

km 74.3Free

חניון לילה אורנים 2 30 m off the route

+9 more on the map

Where to refuel

Fuel stations, groceries and food within 200 m of the route. Fuel stations usually have water, toilets and a convenience store.

Straight-line distanceDistances from the route are straight-line distances, not riding distances. Before you set out, check on a map that a trail or road actually reaches the place.

km ⁦0.1–0.8⁩

Paz, Dor Alon, Yellow 6 cafés and restaurants

km ⁦1.3–1.7⁩24/7

Grocery 4 cafés and restaurants

km ⁦12.9–13⁩

Sonol, Grocery, Mid Way 6 cafés and restaurants

km ⁦16.7–16.8⁩

kimat hinam A café or restaurant

km 39.1

Dor Alon

km ⁦43.6–44.5⁩

Grocery 4 cafés and restaurants

km ⁦65.7–66.6⁩

Grocery Store Beit Oren A café or restaurant

km ⁦84.4–84.9⁩

Stopmarket 3 cafés and restaurants

Distances along the route are calculated from the GPX file; the distance of each place from the route is a straight-line distance. Night campsites come from the site's campsite map, other places from OpenStreetMap. Not checked on the ground: confirm before you go.

Distance, climbing and recommended months come from the routes table. Highest and lowest points are calculated from the GPX file, and difficulty is an estimate based on climbing per kilometre.