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Best Forest Hikes in North Rhine-Westphalia

51 routes in North Rhine-Westphalia qualify, ranked below by how much walkers rate them. They average 10.6 km and 230 m (755 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 131 km.

That is 1 percent of the 3,418 routes we map in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Forest trails are the dependable choice: shade when it is hot, shelter when it is not, and a completely different character once the leaves turn. The mix is broad: 26 are rated easy and 5 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

Expert

Bezirksrundweg Möhne

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
131 km
/ 81.3 mi
Elevation gain
2,879 m
Typical duration
35 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Pilgern in Lippe (Westschleife)

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
115 km
/ 71.7 mi
Elevation gain
2,538 m
Typical duration
30 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Tecklenburger-Land-Rundweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
70.0 km
/ 43.5 mi
Elevation gain
1,541 m
Typical duration
18 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

X3 Cheruskerweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
69.1 km
/ 42.9 mi
Elevation gain
1,520 m
Typical duration
18 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Pilgern in Lippe (Westroute)

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
38.9 km
/ 24.2 mi
Elevation gain
856 m
Typical duration
10 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Residenzweg [Detmold]

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
59.1 km
/ 36.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,300 m
Typical duration
15 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Stiftsweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
54.3 km
/ 33.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,194 m
Typical duration
14 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Wald-Wasser-Wildnis-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
56.0 km
/ 34.8 mi
Elevation gain
1,233 m
Typical duration
14 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

X10 Lönspfad

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
45.4 km
/ 28.2 mi
Elevation gain
1,000 m
Typical duration
11 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

TeutoSchleifchen Canyon Tour

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
5.3 km
/ 3.3 mi
Elevation gain
117 m
Typical duration
1 hr 17 min
  • Lake
  • Canyon and gorge
  • Forest
Easy

Naturlehrpfad Meroder Wald

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
2.8 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
62 m
Typical duration
41 min
  • Lake
  • Forest
  • Wildlife watching
Moderate

Wappenweg - Etappe 1

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
15.4 km
/ 9.6 mi
Elevation gain
339 m
Typical duration
3 hr 44 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Wappenweg - Etappe 2

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
14.0 km
/ 8.7 mi
Elevation gain
309 m
Typical duration
3 hr 23 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Wappenweg - Etappe 3

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
13.5 km
/ 8.4 mi
Elevation gain
297 m
Typical duration
3 hr 16 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Wappenweg - Etappe 4

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
16.7 km
/ 10.4 mi
Elevation gain
367 m
Typical duration
4 hr 4 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Wappenweg - Etappe 5

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
16.4 km
/ 10.2 mi
Elevation gain
360 m
Typical duration
3 hr 59 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Wappenweg - Etappe 6

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
13.8 km
/ 8.6 mi
Elevation gain
305 m
Typical duration
3 hr 21 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

Baum-des-Jahres-Pfad Odenthal

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
1.4 km
/ 0.9 mi
Elevation gain
31 m
Typical duration
20 min
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Fuhrmannsweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
45.7 km
/ 28.4 mi
Elevation gain
1,005 m
Typical duration
11 hr
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Landwehrweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
36.4 km
/ 22.6 mi
Elevation gain
490 m
Typical duration
8 hr 57 min
  • Mountain
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Teutoschleife Heiliges Meer

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
9.2 km
/ 5.7 mi
Elevation gain
202 m
Typical duration
2 hr 13 min
  • Lake
  • Forest
  • 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

(W) Rund um Wald

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
15.8 km
/ 9.8 mi
Elevation gain
347 m
Typical duration
3 hr 50 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A1 - Wildgehege Willebadessen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
2.7 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
60 m
Typical duration
39 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A1 Brochterbeck

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
2.6 km
/ 1.6 mi
Elevation gain
58 m
Typical duration
38 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A1 Buchholzer Wald

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
4.4 km
/ 2.7 mi
Elevation gain
97 m
Typical duration
1 hr 4 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A1 Linnenbeeke

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
2.5 km
/ 1.5 mi
Elevation gain
54 m
Typical duration
36 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A1 Tecklenburg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
3.5 km
/ 2.2 mi
Elevation gain
78 m
Typical duration
51 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A1 Wandergebiet Rödinghausen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
3.6 km
/ 2.2 mi
Elevation gain
79 m
Typical duration
52 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A1 [Alte Eisenbahn]

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
4.4 km
/ 2.8 mi
Elevation gain
97 m
Typical duration
1 hr 4 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A10 Lienen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
4.3 km
/ 2.7 mi
Elevation gain
95 m
Typical duration
1 hr 3 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

A2 - Wildgehege Willebadessen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
7.9 km
/ 4.9 mi
Elevation gain
173 m
Typical duration
1 hr 54 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A2 Brochterbeck

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
4.8 km
/ 3.0 mi
Elevation gain
106 m
Typical duration
1 hr 10 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

A2 Königsdorfer Forst

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
7.3 km
/ 4.5 mi
Elevation gain
160 m
Typical duration
1 hr 45 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A2 Wandergebiet Schwenningdorf

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
4.1 km
/ 2.5 mi
Elevation gain
89 m
Typical duration
59 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A2 [Alte Eisenbahn]

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
5.0 km
/ 3.1 mi
Elevation gain
110 m
Typical duration
1 hr 13 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A3 Brochterbeck

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
4.3 km
/ 2.7 mi
Elevation gain
94 m
Typical duration
1 hr 2 min
  • Forest
  • Waymarked route
Easy

A3 Linnenbeeke

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
5.8 km
/ 3.6 mi
Elevation gain
128 m
Typical duration
1 hr 24 min
  • Forest
  • 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
Bezirksrundweg MöhneNorth Rhine-Westphalia131 km2,879 m35 hrExpertApril to October
Pilgern in Lippe (Westschleife)North Rhine-Westphalia115 km2,538 m30 hrExpertApril to October
Tecklenburger-Land-RundwegNorth Rhine-Westphalia70.0 km1,541 m18 hrExpertApril to October
X3 CheruskerwegNorth Rhine-Westphalia69.1 km1,520 m18 hrExpertApril to October
Pilgern in Lippe (Westroute)North Rhine-Westphalia38.9 km856 m10 hrExpertApril to October
Residenzweg [Detmold]North Rhine-Westphalia59.1 km1,300 m15 hrExpertApril to October
StiftswegNorth Rhine-Westphalia54.3 km1,194 m14 hrExpertApril to October
Wald-Wasser-Wildnis-WegNorth Rhine-Westphalia56.0 km1,233 m14 hrExpertApril to October
X10 LönspfadNorth Rhine-Westphalia45.4 km1,000 m11 hrExpertApril to October
TeutoSchleifchen Canyon TourNorth Rhine-Westphalia5.3 km117 m1 hr 17 minEasyApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with Bezirksrundweg Möhne, Natursteig Sieg Zugang Bf Au (Sieg), Wald-Wasser-Wildnis-Weg. 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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