Sauerland

The Sauerland region is a region in the low mountain range and is located in Westphalia, partly also in Hesse. It is a region that cannot be precisely demarcated and includes the northeastern site of the Rhenish Slate Mountains and various sub-mountains. Its highest mountains are in the Rothaargebirge, where the Ruhr and Lenne also originate.

The Sauerland is sparsely populated compared to the country's average and has many forest areas and reservoirs. The area's economy is characterized by agriculture, forestry, ore mining and the iron and metal industry. At the moment there is more of a medium-sized industry. Tourism is particularly important in the higher eastern part, in Hochsauerland.

Location and boundaries

The Sauerland region is located in the southern part of Westphalia. The borders in the southern, western and eastern parts are mostly historical and the northern part has a changing landscape. In the western part it can also be said that the watershed between Ennepe and Volme forms a border. To the south there is also a watershed from Agger to Bigge as a border.

Sauerland belongs naturally and geographically to the “Süderbergland” and is also referred to as the “Bergisch-Sauerland Mountains”. Iserlohn is 91.With 815 inhabitants, it is the most populated city in the region. Arnsberg at 73.487 inhabitants and Lüdenscheid with 71.911 inhabitants are the second and third largest cities. Calculated in terms of area, the largest cities are Schmallenberg with 303.07 km², Brilon with 229.01 km² and Meschede with 218.40 km².

Hiking in the Sauerland

The Sauerland is a paradise, especially for hiking fans. Very well signposted paths and paths and particularly hospitable hosts lead you to an experience as a “hiking gourmet” in the “Sauerland hiking villages” as a quality region of “Wanderbares Deutschland”.

The best of all hiking trails is the “flagship” Rothaarsteig and is one of the best high-altitude trails in Europe. The path is approx.154Km. and connects Brilon from the Sauerland with Dillenburg from Hesse. On the Sauerland trails there are adventurous half-day and day routes that can be experienced as nature or themed tours. The delightful views over the forests and idyllic valleys also tell us exciting stories from the Sauerland.

10 top hiking routes in the Sauerland

1-    On the Rothaarsteig (Rhine-Weser watershed)

The route starts in the center of town in the parking lot below the Catholic Church of St. Lambertus. From there we walk along the main street in the direction of Rhein-Weser-Turm, where we are already on hiking trail X 18. On the left side of the street "An der Hardt" we pass the kindergarten, the school and the gym. We continue hiking to the right through a settlement until we touch hiking trail X 18 again and shortly afterwards the main road again. In the area of ​​the right-hand bend, past the water wheel in the direction of Rhein-Weser-Turm, we leave the main street. After hiking for about 1 hour, we reach the height. From the cell phone tower it is only approx.5min. to the Rhein-Weser Tower.

Right next to the transmission mast, we pass to the right in a north-easterly direction on the Kirchhundemer circular hiking trail. After we reach the Wegspider at Bömenkamp, ​​we continue on the back side of the hut along the Kirchhundemer Rundweg to Brie. According to the signs and the route sign K, we follow to the left. On the right side we have a beautiful view of the upper Lennetal and the highest mountain in the Olpe district. Before we hike past the Alpenhaus guesthouse on the right, we come back to the main hiking corner X 18 and follow it in a southerly direction to Oberhundem. We walk along the pit path back onto the main road to the parking lot, the starting point of our hike.

2-    The valley path

We start at the end of the development in the lower Hoppecketal. From the village center you can reach the Hoppecketal car park by car, along the small industrial center on the street “Zur Hoppecke” and then turn into “Hoppecketalstraße”.

Through the Hoppecketal high past meadows and trees on the left side we go uphill to the “Keller” at 700m. Height Shortly afterwards we come to a red and white bar that blocks our path. This is the state border from Hesse to North Rhine-Westphalia. We continue past this beam and continue straight ahead. Another 1.3km. We continue hiking and reach the Rothaarsteig, the award-winning quality path, at the top of the ridge. On this path we turn left and see the open area on the left, the so-called “Suggeheide”, also called Sau-Heide.

Here we soon arrive at the “Niedersfelder Hochheidehütte”, which is at 800m. altitude. After the break at the hut we arrive at Clemensberg, where the hard diabase stone is quarried. Here we also enjoy the distant view down into the Ruhr Valley. Below the quarry we continue to the Hoppecke source at 774 m. Height Shortly afterwards we reach boundary stone 8 and enter the Hessian terrain.

After half the descent we arrive at a history board “Steffens Hütte”.Then we go further down to the right fork to the Hoppecketal circuit. On a flat path we reach the Ruthenar valley in the upcoming big curve. On the other side of the valley we take another bend and, turning sharply to the left, enter the path in front of us. On this we cross a bridge and first go up again, then downhill again in a right direction.

We continue on the path where on the other side there is a meadow on the right and bushes on the left. Immediately afterwards we come back to Hoppecketalstrasse. We continue on the left side and arrive at a nice restaurant where we have another place to stop for refreshments. Then we continue until we come to the gravel path and the parking lot and our route comes to an end.

3-    Around the Diemelsee

The start of our route is the Florenbicke hiking car park, which is located after the northern exit of Heringhausen. Here we go left at the white PW marking uphill along the Heringhausen panoramic path. After a not too long hike at almost the same level, we arrive at an intermediate summit. At the boundary stone from 1769 we take the path in the right direction to the viewpoint St. Muffert. We then follow the same markings to the left and arrive at the summit of the Eisenberg.

We leave the Diemelsteig to the right out of the forest with a wonderful view to the east. Here we stay on the panoramic path until we come back to the Diemelsteig, where we go in the direction of Adorf. When we arrive at the edge of the forest, we leave the Diemelsteig and continue along the edge of the forest. On the next path around the small forest bulge we go right to the asphalt path and then right again. We continue on the asphalt path to the end of the edge of the forest. At the H2 hiking trail and the Nordic Walking 69 intersection, we turn left and leave the asphalt path. After crossing the flat valley, we hike over the Klus on Nordic Walking 68 or the panoramic path

When we arrive at the refuge, we go back over the Klus and arrive at a meadow path. At the junction of the H2 we walk back to the village on the right side across the meadow. At the Diemelsee Golf Park we walk past the Diemelsteig hut and the children's playground to the main street. We go to the right and shortly afterwards we come back to the parking lot.

4-    On the Veischeder Sonnenpfad (Nordschleife)

Our route starts at Amthausplatz Bilstein and goes uphill until we meet the Hohe Bracht on the flank. On this section we have great views up to the L715. Here we cross the street, climb over to the path, then we walk uphill on the wide path to the Bonschlade intersection. Now we follow the steep climb up to the pennant and then we go over the top and go downhill with a good view.

At the next intersection we walk up and down through the coniferous forest. Now we reach the crossing Maumke-Bonzlerhammer road. Once at the top of the cliff, we enjoy the great panorama of Meggen and Lennetal. The Kreuzberg with the small chapel is the next stopover. Here we pass the refuge and turn sharp left onto the unmarked dirt road, which descends through lush meadows and leads past a very nice rest area. It then leads down to the Veischedetal and into the forest. Here we have to be careful not to miss the change to the left onto the path. This path ends at the parking lot on the B55 and we cross the main road. Here we keep left and continue right to the sports field.

Then we cross the rushing Veischede over the coming bridge and walk steeply uphill to the top. After enjoying the view of Bonzel, we continue and reach the excellent path through the mixed oak forest. The path then becomes flatter and we come to the beautiful view from the edge of the forest. Here it gets steep again up to the Rosenberg. After crossing the summit, we come to the refuge where we have the opportunity to take a break. We always walk downhill on the wide forest paths through the beautiful beech hall forest. Here we arrive at Bilstein Castle, which offers a beautiful view of the town of Bilstein. From here we go down the stairs to the town and walk back to Amthausplatz.

5-    On the Grönebach village path

Our route begins at the hiking board at Lambertusplatz and we walk to the right, climbing the path uphill to the country road. Approx.100m. We go left past the road and then uphill to the “Schlade” leisure facility. Here is the old Königsstrasse, which we walk along. This crosses the Heidenstraße in Winterberg and leads via Grönebach up to the new Hagen. Now let's go further north. This is now known as the Alte Landstraße or Sauerländer Weg. We walk about 200m on the following hollow road-like terraces. further

After we arrive here at a bench with a beautiful view of the Westernau valley, we walk along the edge of the forest, continue to the right and then straight ahead with a magnificent view of the "valley landscape" Hildfeld-Grönebach-Küstelberg. Now we hike through the picturesque Hachmecketal along the stream. We follow this path into the Hilletal to the former knitting mill and pass the tree nursery. Here we reach the Grönebach-Niedersfeld road and we keep going for approx.50m. on the left Afterwards we meet the embankment of the former Steinhelle-Medebach small railway at Sander Haus.

We follow the small railway tracks along the old railway embankment to the right. We walk past the sports field to the Hillebrücke and first turn right, then left, steeply uphill and reach the tracks of the “Iäselpoad”. Now we hike to the right, along the Iäselpoad, cross the upcoming asphalted field path and arrive at the beautiful grass path to the Grönebacher Steinacker. We continue uphill through the old ravine and continue to the right, past the slope of the Mosenberg, to the Antoniusstein.

Following the signposts we turn right downhill into the Springetal to the country road and then up to the viewing point on the Egge. Now we reach the highest point of the Grönebach village path. On the other side of the mountain we then go downhill into the Westernau valley and continue to the left to the “Ruipes Ropes Hut” with its large rest area at the duck meadow. Afterwards, a beautiful path takes us back to Grönebach along the football field and village fountain.

6-    Around the Altenilpe (winter hike)

We start at the hiking car park in Altenilpe and follow the black marking Sauerland-Höhenflug access path, which continues parallel to the hiking trails S6, S8 and which leads us through the meadows and forests up to the small Hengsiepen farm. Now we meet on the hiking trail to the Sauerland-Höhenflug, which we follow to the right in the direction of Forsthaus.

The Sauerland-Höhenflug runs for a short while through the snow-covered forests, leads out of the forest and continues on a wonderful panoramic path. Now we walk along the meadows and the small Christmas tree crops over the back of the mountain. If you are strong enough to withstand the cold, you can take a break at the rest area, on the tables and benches and enjoy the panorama at the same time.

The high flight now circles the Gelsterhagen mountain before we have a wonderful view of the Ilpequelle in front of us again. We continue hiking through spruce forests to the old forester's house and leave the high altitude here. We go downhill along the road and come to the Al5 and Al4 hiking trail markings. At the intersection we turn right and continue on the Al4, which takes us along the meadows and then through the forests back towards Altenilpe. At the upper edge of the Altenilpe we come back to the black marking Sauerland-Höhenflug-Zuweg, on which we go back to the parking lot.

7-    The Netphen Celtic Trail

The route starts at the Leimbachtal hiking car park and goes straight across the fields in front of us. We walk through the Mühlenbachtal along the banks of the stream to the source to the forest. After 3km. We continue our hike uphill on the slightly ascending path through the steep spruce stands on the Homerich. After changing a few directions on the well-marked paths, we turn right from the gravel path onto a forest path.

We keep left, walk approx.150m. along the B62 and cross it as soon as we arrive in Afholderbach. Now we start the climb to the high peak of the “Old Castle”! Here we hike further uphill through the open valley of the Afferbach in front of the high forest. After walking along a few crossroads and after walking on the last steep path, we cross the outer ring wall. The next ring wall follows after 200m. and then the inner ring wall and we arrive at the summit of the former Celtic complex. Now the path takes us steeply downhill, accompanied by views of the Obernautalsperre and we come downhill through the Hauberg to Eschenbach. Here we cross the B62 and follow a tarred path steeply uphill to the sports field. We turn left on the uphill path and walk along the Weidekämpen downhill on the path to the starting point.

8-    On the Briloner Kammweg

Our route starts at the Brilon market square in front of the town hall. We pass this left onto Derkere Straße and turn after approx.200m. At the Tourist Information, turn left onto Niedere Straße. Here we cross Gartenstrasse at the pedestrian lights and turn onto Heinrich-Jansen-Weg. We then keep right and go into the Drübel nature reserve, pass this area and begin the circular tour of the Briloner Kammweg.

Here we keep left towards the farmer's shop, walk past the youth hostel and along the golf course to the Landgasthof Gruss, where we go in the direction of the forest fairy path. The path leads us in the direction of Bremecketal, past the Jick Jack Mühle hiking car park and on to Teufelsgrund. Here we continue to Huckeshohl, above the town of Bontkirchen and further across the NRW/Hesse state border to the Hoher Eimberg, which at 805.5m. Height, the highest mountain in the Brilon urban area. After we arrive, we go downhill again to Willingen and through the town past the Ritzhagen ski lift and up to the execution site. Now the path takes us parallel to the Rothaarsteig in the direction of Bruchhausen, past the Bruchhauser Steinen to the Feuereiche, where we cross the L743 shortly before.

Afterwards we go up to the Ginsterkopf and the Habberg for magnificent views. From here we go approx.3km. and meet again the Briloner Kammweg, on which we see the wayside shrine of St. Pass Antonius and reach the Borberg. We walk downhill past the chapel and the excavations towards the Hiebammen Hut. The path now takes us further to Petersborn and to the Briloner Bürgerwald through the Kyrill Gate. After we have walked past the Möhnequelle and the hospital and across Hoppecker Straße, the circular tour ends here. From there we take the familiar path back to the starting point.

9-    The World Cup ski jump in Willingen

The route starts on the street “Am Hagen”, which we reach at the Lagunenbad via the parking lot on the left. Here we turn right at the railway cutting towards the viaduct and go down very steeply. From the viaduct below, along the adventure golf course, we cross a street and continue straight to the Stryck district.

Now we walk past the water treading pool and Stryckteich and enjoy the babbling of the Itter. We continue past the “Gutshof Itterbach” in Stryck and the “Stryckmühle” to the largest ski jump in the world. We walk through the romantic Strycktal, past the “Grebensteine” nature reserve, to Waschkump. The path now leads about 1.5km.uphill in the Hermecke valley. Before the ridge height in approx.780m. we turn right to return through the spruce and mixed forest.

It's almost 3km until we reach the Mühlenkopfschanze again. but this time at the top of the inrun tower. The path leads us further down the valley and, after the upcoming sharp right-hand bend, turns left to the narrow forest nature trail. Past the “Kohlenmeiler” with the accompaniment of interesting insights into the local nature, we go below the wildlife park to Willingen. In the valley we reach another beautiful mountain panorama around us.

10- On the Linsenbergweg Dreislar

The hiking route begins in the middle of the village, goes to St. Pass the Franziskus Church and turn right at the “Zum Burghof” inn onto the “Am Scheidt” street. Now on the right side is the Barite Museum, which you should definitely visit. Immediately after the cemetery we arrive at the so-called Love Trail, where we reach the “Im Schwinkel” parking lot. There are many reasons to stay longer here, such as:b: the stepping pool, the lawn, the shelter, the fireplace and the benches.

Now the D1 takes us in a westerly direction, always uphill, through the “Lieberke” to the K56. Here we cross it and walk on the slightly steep path to the saddle between the “Linsenberg” and the “Rüdenscheidt”. After this walk we reach the height and thus the “Bollerberg” with the observation tower.

On the “Am Stemmberg”, the tarred farm road, we now turn sharply left and reach the wonderful close-up and distant views at almost the same height. After enjoying these views we arrive at “Vorm Steine” and can already see Dreislar. Here the further path can no longer be missed.

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