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.

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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Trails of art in Nean­der­land

Sculp­tures paths and art trails in the Mettmann dis­trict

Wheth­er Neander­th­al sil­hou­ettes or mutant an­im­als, the Mettmann dis­trict of­fers plenty of art in pub­lic spaces.

Level of difficulty: easy

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Bri­lon Ridge Trail

A fant­ast­ic, chal­len­ging hik­ing trail

They say that you can meet forest fair­ies on the Bri­lon Ridge Trail. This ap­prox­im­ately 50 km cir­cu­lar route will leave you be­liev­ing in the mys­tic­al and su­per­nat­ur­al.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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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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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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Nean­der­land Steig Trail

The most scen­ic way to ex­plore the Mettmann dis­trict

The Nean­der­land Steig trail is the most scen­ic way to ex­plore the Mettmann dis­trict – with idyll­ic coun­tryside and pic­tur­esque old towns along the way.

Level of difficulty: intermediate

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Wit­tgen­stein Slate Trail

Re­trace his­tory in an ex­hib­i­tion mine and former quarry

Slate was ex­tens­ively mined in the Wit­tgen­stein re­gion for centu-ries. Hikers can get close to nature and dis­cov­er rem­nants of the past on the his­tor­ic slate trail.

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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Ahr­steig Trail

A hik­ing trail that links the Eifel with the Rhine

At 100 kilo­metres, the Ahr­steig is one of the short­er long-dis­tance hik­ing trails in Ger­many. But when it comes to vari­ety it can more than hold its own.

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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