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Best Castle Hikes in North Rhine-Westphalia

There are 41 hikes in North Rhine-Westphalia in our database that fit. They average 8.0 km and 155 m (509 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 29.4 km.

That is 1 percent of the 3,418 routes we map in North Rhine-Westphalia. They are shorter than the local average, 8.0 km against 12.5 km, which is what makes this a practical shortlist for a half day. They also climb less than the area average, 155 m (509 ft) against 273 m (896 ft), so they suit a recovery day or a group with mixed fitness.

Castle and ruin routes give the walking a destination with a story attached, which makes them a good pick for a group with mixed enthusiasm for hills. The mix is broad: 18 are rated easy and 4 are hard or harder, so there is something here whether you have two hours or a full day. A good share of them are loops, so you can park once and finish where you started.

Trails

Moderate

Von Burg zu Berg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
7.2 km
/ 4.5 mi
Elevation gain
159 m
Typical duration
1 hr 45 min
  • Mountain
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Rundwanderweg Schloss Benkhausen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
1.9 km
/ 1.2 mi
Elevation gain
42 m
Typical duration
28 min
  • Forest
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Tour Burg Zievel

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
8.3 km
/ 5.2 mi
Elevation gain
202 m
Typical duration
2 hr 2 min
  • Forest
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Hard

(B) Brezelweg (Rund um Burg)

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
18.9 km
/ 11.8 mi
Elevation gain
416 m
Typical duration
4 hr 41 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Billerbeck Rundweg B9

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
14.8 km
/ 9.2 mi
Elevation gain
325 m
Typical duration
3 hr 34 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Burg Blankenstein Rundweg A2

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
6.8 km
/ 4.2 mi
Elevation gain
149 m
Typical duration
1 hr 38 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Burg Ravensberg Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
7.0 km
/ 4.3 mi
Elevation gain
153 m
Typical duration
1 hr 41 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Burg Rundweg A1

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
4.6 km
/ 2.9 mi
Elevation gain
102 m
Typical duration
1 hr 7 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Burg Rundweg A1 - Schloss Burg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
2.8 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
62 m
Typical duration
41 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Burg Rundweg A18

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
9.1 km
/ 5.7 mi
Elevation gain
201 m
Typical duration
2 hr 12 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Burg Rundweg A2

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
6.8 km
/ 4.2 mi
Elevation gain
149 m
Typical duration
1 hr 38 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Burg Rundweg A2 Eschbachstraße

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
5.5 km
/ 3.4 mi
Elevation gain
121 m
Typical duration
1 hr 20 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Burg Rundweg A3 Jagenberg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
5.3 km
/ 3.3 mi
Elevation gain
118 m
Typical duration
1 hr 17 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Burg Rundweg A4 Hasenclever

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
6.8 km
/ 4.2 mi
Elevation gain
149 m
Typical duration
1 hr 38 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Burg Rundweg A5 Angerscheid

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
3.3 km
/ 2.0 mi
Elevation gain
72 m
Typical duration
47 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Burg Rundweg A6 - In der Planke

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
3.5 km
/ 2.2 mi
Elevation gain
78 m
Typical duration
51 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Burg Rundweg A7 Sportplatz

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
7.2 km
/ 4.5 mi
Elevation gain
158 m
Typical duration
1 hr 44 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Burg Rundweg A8 Oberburg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
4.9 km
/ 3.1 mi
Elevation gain
108 m
Typical duration
1 hr 11 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Burg Uda-Pfad

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
4.3 km
/ 2.6 mi
Elevation gain
94 m
Typical duration
1 hr 2 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

EifelSchleife Burg Satzvey

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
7.3 km
/ 4.5 mi
Elevation gain
82 m
Typical duration
1 hr 39 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

EifelSchleife Kloster Maria Frieden

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
10.0 km
/ 6.2 mi
Elevation gain
56 m
Typical duration
2 hr 10 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

EifelSchleife Kloster Schweinheim

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
4.5 km
/ 2.8 mi
Elevation gain
89 m
Typical duration
1 hr 4 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Heimbacher Burgen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
12.4 km
/ 7.7 mi
Elevation gain
274 m
Typical duration
3 hr
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Innenstadt - Schloss Wittringen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
0.9 km
/ 0.6 mi
Elevation gain
20 m
Typical duration
13 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Kleiner Sternberger Rundweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
4.2 km
/ 2.6 mi
Elevation gain
93 m
Typical duration
1 hr 1 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Prälatenweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
30.0 km
/ 18.7 mi
Elevation gain
660 m
Typical duration
7 hr 42 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Rund um Burg Wilhelmstein - A2

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
2.4 km
/ 1.5 mi
Elevation gain
52 m
Typical duration
34 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Runde Burg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
6.8 km
/ 4.2 mi
Elevation gain
149 m
Typical duration
1 hr 38 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Rundweg A2 Burg Uda

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
6.3 km
/ 3.9 mi
Elevation gain
139 m
Typical duration
1 hr 32 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Rundweg A5 Kloster Gräfenthal

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
8.6 km
/ 5.4 mi
Elevation gain
190 m
Typical duration
2 hr 5 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Schloss Brincke Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
6.8 km
/ 4.2 mi
Elevation gain
150 m
Typical duration
1 hr 39 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

T Menden - Kloster Oelinghausen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
8.1 km
/ 5.0 mi
Elevation gain
178 m
Typical duration
1 hr 57 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Von Schloss zu Schloss

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
9.9 km
/ 6.2 mi
Elevation gain
218 m
Typical duration
2 hr 24 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Von den Mühlen zur Burg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
6.7 km
/ 4.2 mi
Elevation gain
147 m
Typical duration
1 hr 37 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Wenholthausen - Kloster Brunnen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
10.9 km
/ 6.8 mi
Elevation gain
241 m
Typical duration
2 hr 38 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Zugangsweg - Burg Ravensberg Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
0.4 km
/ 0.2 mi
Elevation gain
9 m
Typical duration
6 min
  • Castle and ruins
  • Waymarked route

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
Von Burg zu BergNorth Rhine-Westphalia7.2 km159 m1 hr 45 minModerateApril to October
KlimaErlebnisRoute 5: Kloster DalheimNorth Rhine-Westphalia10.7 km235 m2 hr 35 minModerateApril to October
Rundwanderweg Schloss BenkhausenNorth Rhine-Westphalia1.9 km42 m28 minEasyApril to October
Tour Burg ZievelNorth Rhine-Westphalia8.3 km202 m2 hr 2 minModerateApril to October
(B) Brezelweg (Rund um Burg)North Rhine-Westphalia18.9 km416 m4 hr 41 minHardApril to October
2 Oberdollendorf und seine WeinbergeNorth Rhine-Westphalia9.5 km210 m2 hr 18 minModerateApril to October
A3 Preußisch Oldendorf-EininghausenNorth Rhine-Westphalia1.4 km45 m21 minEasyApril to October
Alter Pilgerweg - Querverbindung Schloss HambornNorth Rhine-Westphalia2.9 km64 m42 minEasyApril to October
Billerbeck Rundweg B9North Rhine-Westphalia14.8 km325 m3 hr 34 minModerateApril to October
Burg Blankenstein Rundweg A2North Rhine-Westphalia6.8 km149 m1 hr 38 minModerateApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with [Raute5] Landrat-Lucas-Weg, Burg Rundweg A4 Hasenclever, (B) Brezelweg (Rund um Burg). Those are the routes people come back to. Every route on this page links through to a full guide with the map, elevation profile, seasonal advice and what to bring.

Frequently asked questions

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