NRW – North Rhine Westphalia

NRW has around 17.9 million inhabitants, making it the federal state with the most inhabitants. Düsseldorf is the state capital and Cologne is the city with the most inhabitants. The country has an area of ​​34.100 square kilometers, making it the fourth largest German country. There are a total of 81 major cities in Germany and 30 of them are located in its highly urbanized area.

The British occupying forces and the Prussian province of Westphalia built it in 1946 and expanded it to Lippe after 9 years. From 1949 it became a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. The city of Bonn in North Rhine-Westphalia was the seat of government of the Federal Republic until 1999.

North Rhine-Westphalia is not culturally uniform. On the one hand, this can be described by the Rhineland, Westphalia and Lippe regions and, on the other hand, the striking aspects can be seen, particularly in traditional customs. NRW is a state that has many educational and research institutions.

Top hiking trails in NRW:

In NRW you have the option of almost 50.000km. to go on hiking trips on various routes. It is, of course, impossible for us to explain all of these routes in one article. We have therefore created a list of the 10 best hiking routes for our readers and mountain fans. Below you can browse through these routes and perhaps choose one for yourself.

1-    From Warendorf to Marienfeld

This hiking trail has an approx. 80 km long and leads from Münster in Münsterland to Bielefeld in East Westphalia-Lippe. On this route you go through Münsterland and East Westphalia park landscapes from Warendorf to Marienfeld.

The start of the route is the train station in Warendorf. In Warendorf you walk approx. 1km. Head north through the city until you reach the Ems Bridge. Then we follow the path east along Emssee and Ems. After approx. 2km. we leave the Ems and walk on asphalt parallel to the B64 federal highway. At the waterworks we leave the noise of the B64 and go straight to the Ems through quiet forests near Emsauen. Some of these paths lead past forests and fields. For about. 1km. we follow the road K14 and go north in front of the herd. At the kart track we leave the road to the east and cross the Boomberge nature reserve. Before Marienfeld we cross the street and approx. 1.5km. we hike on Adenauerstrasse in Marienfeld. Here we are now at the Marienfeld Bahnhof bus stop at the railway crossing on Bielefelder Str. is reached and we are at the end of the hiking route.

2-    From Bielefeld to Oerlinghausen

This long-distance hiking trail called Hermannsweg is 156km long. The Münsterland Rheine is the starting point and takes us over the ridge in the Teutoburg Forest to Horn-Bad Meinberg. It is a route that follows the Hermannsweg from Bielefeld to Oerlinghausen.

We start our hiking trip at the Ratsgymnasium in Bielefeld. Then we continue to Kreuzstrasse and cross it. Then we go up to Sparrenburg, the landmark of the city of Bielefeld. The impressive panoramic views that can be seen from the castle grounds must be seen. We continue our hike further south of the promenade and continue to have a view of the city. After crossing Bodelschwinghstrasse, we go up to the Kammweg. We follow the ridge path to Osningstrasse and cross the street. Now we continue to Ebberg, to the Eiserner Anton observation tower. We continue to follow the ridge path to the inn and also cross the motorway. The Hermannsweg divides here into two different parts. Once to the north and once to the south. If you turn north, the walk is a little shorter, but you can almost only see the road surface. That's why we turn south and turn right and continue on the high path until we join the road from the north again. Here we turn right and follow southeast, on the field paths to Oerlinghausen. After crossing under the bypass and hiking up to the Alexander Church, we are at the end of the hike.

3-    From Neuss to Grevenbroich

Our route starts at Obertor, the southern city gate in Neuss. The main train station is approx. 1.5km. Distance to Obertor. Here we cross the street "Am Obertor" and walk through the park behind the hotel to the North Canal. From here we follow the X2 route marker.

We walk along the Obererft and cross the railway tracks. We then walk through a piece of forest and cross under Autobahn 57. After we soon reach the park at Reuschenberg Castle, we walk past the castle, the Cornelius Chapel, the farm and after approx. 150m. In the park we turn left.

We continue through the park to the Erft and then further along. Here we reach the Erprather mill and the Eppinghoven house. Now we go southwest parallel to the Erft and hike through Helpenstein. Approx. 1 km. We follow a path on a railway line and continue through Münchrath to Hülchrath. Here you can treat yourself to a visit to Hülchrath Castle.

At Langwaden Monastery we continue on the X2 to Wevelinghoven. Now we reach the Erft again and continue along the Erft. In Grevenbroich we leave the Erft and go straight to the train station to the city center.

4-    Water route Unverdhünnt

The hiking route in the Dhünntal hiking area begins at Altenberg Cathedral in the municipality of Odenthal. The Altenberg Cathedral is one of the most famous sights in this area. That's why you should definitely organize a hike to the largest Gothic church area in Germany.

We start our route at Altenberg Cathedral and continue along the unDhünnt water route. We hike clockwise to the Altenberg fairytale forest, which is considered the first fairytale forest in Germany and is still the largest fairytale forest in existence today. We walk parallel to the Dhünn to the confluence of the Eifgenbach.

After a short walk we pass the Eifgenbach and hike back to the Dhünn via Schöllerhof. This is the site of several mills that produced black powder. Today they are protected as an archaeological monument in the Helenental. After a while we pass the Hotel Maria, also known as Haniel Castle, upstream. We then come to the confluence of the Linnefe and the Dhünn. We continue through the small hamlet to the Dhünntalsperre dam. Here we have a magnificent view of the drinking water dam from the top of the dam.

Now we follow the water route to the Kochshof, a farm that is said to be almost 1000 years old and was founded by the Counts of Berg. We now go back through the town of Oberodenthal on the water route to Altenberg.

5-    The Eiffel National Park and the Three Lakes

Between Nideggen and Schleiden we start the route at the Kermeter hiking car park on the country road L 15. We continue through the forest area of ​​the Kermeter, one of the zones of the national park. Here, in a national park, you should definitely pay attention to information about using the paths, because here is a deciduous forest with many plants and animals that feel at home here. We continue to hike down to Lake Urft. Here you can enjoy the unique view of Lake Urft and Lake Obersee from the dam wall. Water sports are prohibited on Obersee, but you can travel across the lake with Rursee-Schifffahrt boats. After we arrive at Paulushofdamm, we see that the Obersee is closed off and the Rursee begins directly on the other side. Here we hike further up to the Kermeter. We continue over the Honigberg to the Paulushof rest area.

We then continue up to Hirschley and enjoy the view of Lake Rursee. We slowly hike from Kermeter back to the starting point. On the way back we visit the Wilder Kermeter adventure area. Here we take a short circular route in the Eifel National Park and then hike to the end point.

• The Copper Route

You could actually say that the name Copper Route is a little misleading. Because copper was never actually processed here around Stolberg in the Eifel. The brass was actually supposed to make the Stolberg famous. The brass was then used by contemporaries in the 17th century. and 18. The people who lived in the 19th century were called “yellow copper” and they turned Stolberg into the “copper town of Stolberg”.

The approx. 16km.long hiking route takes us to the copper mills or to the copper yards. We start the tour at the medieval castle. Here you can already see the first traces of brass production at the Rose copper farm. 500 years earlier, this copper farm complex was built by a family of copper masters and is now a craft farm for art. We now continue through forest paths where we have numerous views of the panorama of Stolberg's old town with its castle. We continue past many earlier ore mines from Roman times. Golden yellow calamine violets bloom here in summer, which you can only find in these ore fields.

A very old open quarry also inspires us here, because here you can witness how nature has reclaimed its place and transformed itself into a species-rich biotope. Many types of orchids also grow here. We arrive after 16km. in Aachen, but if you still feel like running, you can switch to the Eifelsteig. This path is known as one of the top trails of Germany and takes you on approx. 300km. from Aachen to Trier.

7-    From Kleve to Kalkar

The start of our hiking route is at the train station in Kleve. We first go approx. 400m. Head west on unmarked paths and continue to the pedestrian zone in downtown Kleve. The Arnold-Mock-Weg, which marks this hiking route, begins at Koekkoekplatz. Now we follow the X2 marker and continue south, leave the city center and continue along the lower part of the Schwanenburg to Kermisdahl. Now we continue walking along the Kermisdahl on the Prinz-Moritz-Weg, where we reach numerous information boards that tell us about the history of Kleve and the park. We walk past the tomb of Johann Moritz and reach the viewpoint on Papenberg and see the wonderful panorama of Kleve and the surrounding area.

For approx. 250m. We walk north past Hauer Straße and turn right. We pass the Loosenhof and continue on the Voltaire path. Our route continues through the Rosenwald-Schneppenbaum and we continue hiking in the Moyländer Forest. Here you can see Moyland Castle on the left. We go right approx. 400m. continue and then turn left. We walk through the forest past a quarry pond and follow the Alte Bahn road on the left side. Here we continue on asphalted paths, past Haus Horst until we reach the foothills of Kalkar. The end of the hike is the market in Kalkar.

8-    Old Rhine and the Hees near Xanten

Xanten is located in the northwest of North Rhine-Westphalia on the Lower Rhine. Our route begins in the center of Xanten at the market square. We leave the center here to the southeast on Marsstrasse and Viktorstrasse and then turn right onto Holzweg.

We continue in a southwesterly direction through a residential area. Immediately afterwards we turn left into Kiebitzweg and cross Augustusring. Here we follow the Heeser Weg and turn right and continue hiking over the Heesberg through the Hees forest area. We continue past Wolfsberg and then cross Veener Weg. We then hike through the Birtensche Heide, where we reach the old Roman amphitheater. It was once part of the Roman legionary camp Castra Vetera.

It continues north, along the upper part of the Bislicher Insel nature reserve past the Fürstenberg chapel. Then we go back to the center of Xanten to the market square. You can treat yourself to a visit to the Archaeological Park in Xanten or plan a detour to the Bislicher Insel nature reserve before the end point.

9-    From Dortmund to Hagen-Hohenlimburg

This hiking route, the Rhein-Ruhr-Weg, was a path with approx. 160km. length He went from Dortmund to Königswinter-Bonn on the Rhine. After the Sauerland Mountain Association gave it up, it was no longer marked. This route goes from Dortmund to Hagen-Hohenlimburg in the Sauerland.

The start of our route is the entrance to Westfalenpark in Dortmund. First we circle around it and continue south through Rombergpark. After walking past the Dortmund Zoo and crossing the Lücklemberg district of Dortmund, we continue through the Wannebach valley to Hohensyburg. We walk past the Kaiser Wilhelm monument and the Syburg and down to the Ruhr to the mouth of the Ruhr and the Lenne. We continue along the Lenne, past the wildlife park and then to the Vincke hereditary burial site and the Hagen Open University. Now we continue through the Hagen Eppenhausen district and along the audible A45. We now leave the highway behind us and walk through a nature reserve. Our hike then continues over the heights to Hohenlimburg Castle. Here we leave the former X9. We continue on this path for 800m. Downhill to the train station, where the route ends.

10- At Drachenfels

We start our hike at the train station in Königswinter. Here we go on an unpaved footpath into a small valley that was cut by Mennesbach. There is a dense population of trees in this nightingale valley and it is therefore pleasantly cool on these steep slopes even in summer. You therefore have the opportunity to plan a climb to the Drachenfels even in midsummer. Now we arrive at the Ostermann monument in front of a small cave, which reminds us of the Cologne songwriter Willi Ostermann. When we arrive at the end of the Nachtigallental we go down the tree-lined avenue towards the Milchhäuschen, which is a traditional inn.

We continue past the southern slope of the Remscheid and the Siebengebirge tour takes us further to Petersberg, which was once visited by Queen Elisabeth II. and Mikhail Gorbachev visited. After the rest, we continue through the beautiful view from Petersberg of the Rhine Valley. We go back down to Königswinter via the Petersberger Bittweg.

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