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.

Ols­berg Kneipp Hik­ing Trail

Cool your feet in clear streams

En­joy both the beau­ti­ful land­scape of Sauer­land and health be­ne­fits on the Ols­berg Kneipp hik­ing trail.

Level of difficulty: hard

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Rothaar Trail

For nature lov­ers and ad­ven­ture hikers

One of Europe’s most beau­ti­ful high-alti­tude trails scores highly with its 154 kilo­metres, the Kyrill-Pfad (Kyrill Trail) and the an­nu­al mara­thon.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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Her­mann Heights Trail

Hik­ing in the land of the Cherusci chief­tain

Battles have now been re­placed with peace­ful re­lax­a­tion on the Her­mannshöhen (Her­mann Heights) trail. The ridge of the Teuto­burg Forest of­fers amaz­ing views.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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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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Düd­ing­hausen Geo­lo­gic­al Trail

A jour­ney through the his­tory of the Earth on foot in Sauer­land

Sauer­land was a trop­ic­al swim­ming para­dise mil­lions of years ago? Find traces of this along the themed route!

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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Sauer­land High-Fly­er

A hik­ing trail for peak climbers

The Sauer­land Höhen­flug (Sauer­land High-Fly­er) crosses the sum­mits of Sauer­land and of­fers bird’s eye views of the val­leys.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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Way of St. James

On his­tor­ic pil­grim­age routes through Mün­ster­land

Even hun­dreds of years ago pil­grims were cross­ing what is now NRW on the way to San­ti­ago de Com­postela. One of these his­tor­ic­al routes passes through Mün­ster­land.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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Ro­man Canal Hik­ing Trail

Fol­low­ing the foot­steps of the Ro­mans from the Eifel to Co­logne

Where the Ro­mans once dir­ec­ted fresh wa­ter from the Eifel moun­tains to Co­logne, tour­ists and walk­ers can now mar­vel at an­cient rel­ics on the Ro­man Canal hik­ing trail.

Level of difficulty: easy

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Via Ad­rina – The “Pan­or­amic Path”

Through pas­tures, mead­ows and forests – al­ways over­look­ing the River Eder

The cir­cu­lar hik­ing trail leads through the Rothaar moun­tains, of­fer­ing fant­ast­ic views of the River Eder­'s flood­plains along its 21-kilo­metre route.

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