Tourismus NRW e.V.
Hiking in the Bergisches Land, © Tourismus NRW e.V.

Hik­ing trails in NRW

NRW is a para­dise for walk­ers

Hik­ing of­fers a slower but no less re­ward­ing way to dis­cov­er the de­lights of North Rhine-West­phalia. A well-de­veloped net­work of trails criss-crosses the state from east to west and north to south, tak­ing in a wide vari­ety of nat­ur­al land­scapes and dis­tinct­ive re­gions.

Seven trails in North Rhine-Westphalia, including the Rothaarsteig (Rothaar Trail), the Eifelsteig (Eifel Trail), the Rheinsteig Trail and the Via Adriana Trail, have been certified as “premium hiking trails”. Along the way, accommodation providers with a seal of quality from the German Hiking Association offer walkers a welcome chance to rest and refuel – and take care of muddy boots. And for those interested in following the footsteps of pilgrims, North Rhine-Westphalia even takes in sections of the Way of St. James – a truly unmissable experience.

Rothaarsteig-tracks

Away from the well-known trails

The Rothaarsteig is re­garded as be­ing one of the most beau­ti­ful up­land hik­ing trails in Europe. How­ever, it’s also worth leav­ing the well-trod­den paths be­hind and turn­ing off onto one of the oth­er tracks on either side.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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Ber­gisch Wan­der­ings

One-day ex­ped­i­tions

Forest myths, half-timbered houses and Hein­rich Böll: the Ber­gis­che Streifzüge (Ber­gisch Wan­der­ings) trails of­fer 25 half- and full-day themed tours.

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Teuto-Cir­cuits

Ex­cur­sions on the Her­mannsweg (Her­mann Trail)

Half-timbered vil­lages and rugged rock faces, steep climbs and in-cred­ible views – the Teuto­schleifen (Teuto-Cir­cuits) hik­ing trails have no short­age of in­ter­est­ing sights.

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Up­land Trail

Hik­ing to Europe’s highest up­land heath

Strength and stam­ina are re­quired to hike the Up­land­steig (Up­land Trail) in Sauer­land, but the ef­fort is re­war­ded with im­press­ive views and tasty ber­ries in sea­son.

Level of difficulty: hard

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Win­ter­berg High-Alti­tude Trail

Hik­ing the highest moun­tains in Sauer­land, NRW

Hikers who wish to ex­plore the area around Win­ter­berg need to be in good con­di­tion to tackle the highest peaks in Sauer­land.

Level of difficulty: hard

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Kindels­berg Trail

A cir­cuit of­fer­ing ex­cep­tion­al views and his­tor­ic­al in­sights

The Kindels­ber­g­p­fad (Kindels­berg Trail) in Sieger­land-Wit­tgen­stein com­bines idyll­ic nature with in­form­a­tion on the re­gion’s min­ing his­tory.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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Ehm­sen Trail

On foot from the Ruhr Val­ley to Bigge­see

What more could hikers want? Wide green val­leys, idyll­ic moun­tain land­scapes and charm­ing old towns. The Ehm­sen­weg (Ehm­sen Trail) has all this plus cow­boys and pyr­am­ids.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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Ber­gisch Trail

Hik­ing from the Ruhr Area to the Drachen­fels on the Rhine

The Ber­gis­cher Weg (Ber­gisch Trail) is a chal­len­ging hike through Ber­gisches Land, but vari­ety is the hiker’s re­ward.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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Veischede Sun Trail

A trail with im­press­ive views and hearty cold-cut plat­ters

A chance to switch off and en­joy the great out­doors. Half-timbered vil­lages, open coun­tryside and ex­pans­ive forests provide an idyll­ic back­drop to this hik­ing trail.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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Rhein­steig hik­ing trail

Rhine ro­man­ti­cism in the Siebenge­birge

The Rhine has cap­tiv­ated vis­it­ors, in­clud­ing many artists, for cen­tur­ies. Hikers who ex­plore the Rhein­steig trail will dis­cov­er why.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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