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Best Mountain Hikes in North Rhine-Westphalia

38 routes in North Rhine-Westphalia qualify, ranked below by how much walkers rate them. They average 9.2 km and 208 m (682 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 101 km.

That is 1 percent of the 3,418 routes we map in North Rhine-Westphalia. They are shorter than the local average, 9.2 km against 12.5 km, which is what makes this a practical shortlist for a half day.

Mountain routes trade effort for scale. Expect sustained climbing, quick weather changes and views that make the numbers worth it. The mix is broad: 21 are rated easy and 3 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

Wildnis-Trail

Nationalpark Eifel · North Rhine-Westphalia

Distance
83.9 km
/ 52.2 mi
Elevation gain
1,846 m
Typical duration
22 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Rur-Olef-Route

Nationalpark Eifel · North Rhine-Westphalia

Distance
58.4 km
/ 36.3 mi
Elevation gain
1,296 m
Typical duration
15 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Via Mosana

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
146 km
/ 90.4 mi
Elevation gain
3,202 m
Typical duration
39 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X1 Arnheim - Lippstadt

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
257 km
/ 160 mi
Elevation gain
5,651 m
Typical duration
69 hr
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Jakobs-Pilgerweg Köln - Aachen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
99.1 km
/ 61.6 mi
Elevation gain
2,180 m
Typical duration
26 hr
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Linksrheinischer Jakobsweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
240 km
/ 149 mi
Elevation gain
5,281 m
Typical duration
64 hr
  • Mountain
  • Pilgrimage route
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Ardennen-Eifel-Rundweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
264 km
/ 164 mi
Elevation gain
5,805 m
Typical duration
71 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Bergischer Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
263 km
/ 164 mi
Elevation gain
5,794 m
Typical duration
71 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Eifelsteig

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
315 km
/ 196 mi
Elevation gain
6,939 m
Typical duration
85 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Emscherparkweg XE

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
131 km
/ 81.5 mi
Elevation gain
2,884 m
Typical duration
35 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

GeoRoute Ruhr

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
131 km
/ 81.6 mi
Elevation gain
2,889 m
Typical duration
35 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Jakobs-Pilgerweg Bielefeld-Wesel

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
195 km
/ 121 mi
Elevation gain
4,289 m
Typical duration
52 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Jakobs-Pilgerweg Corvey-Dortmund

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
181 km
/ 112 mi
Elevation gain
3,975 m
Typical duration
48 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Jakobs-Pilgerweg Dortmund - Aachen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
186 km
/ 116 mi
Elevation gain
4,097 m
Typical duration
50 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Jakobs-Pilgerweg Essen - Düsseldorf

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
61.5 km
/ 38.2 mi
Elevation gain
1,352 m
Typical duration
16 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Jakobs-Pilgerweg Minden-Soest

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
146 km
/ 90.6 mi
Elevation gain
3,206 m
Typical duration
39 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Jakobs-Pilgerweg Nijmegen-Köln

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
243 km
/ 151 mi
Elevation gain
5,337 m
Typical duration
65 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Jakobs-Pilgerweg Paderborn-Köln

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
240 km
/ 149 mi
Elevation gain
5,288 m
Typical duration
64 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Klompenweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
142 km
/ 88.3 mi
Elevation gain
3,125 m
Typical duration
38 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Ruhrhöhenweg (Duisburg-Essen)

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
63.5 km
/ 39.5 mi
Elevation gain
1,397 m
Typical duration
16 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Ruhrhöhenweg (Hattingen - Menden)

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
70.3 km
/ 43.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,548 m
Typical duration
18 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

WestfalenWanderWeg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
216 km
/ 134 mi
Elevation gain
4,753 m
Typical duration
58 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Jakobs-Pilgerweg Beyenburg-Köln

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
58.8 km
/ 36.6 mi
Elevation gain
1,294 m
Typical duration
15 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Jakobs-Pilgerweg Hagen - Lennep

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
38.2 km
/ 23.7 mi
Elevation gain
841 m
Typical duration
9 hr 55 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
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

Nordic Walking Land schafft

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
46.9 km
/ 29.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,031 m
Typical duration
12 hr
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • 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

X17 Dorsten-Deuten - Dülmen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
33.2 km
/ 20.6 mi
Elevation gain
730 m
Typical duration
8 hr 33 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • 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
Wildnis-TrailNationalpark Eifel83.9 km1,846 m22 hrExpertApril to October
Rur-Olef-RouteNationalpark Eifel58.4 km1,296 m15 hrExpertApril to October
Markiertes Wanderwegenetz Nationalpark EifelNationalpark Eifel241 km5,311 m65 hrExpertApril to October
European Long distance path E1 - part Germany, Reinland-Pfalz (North)North Rhine-Westphalia79.7 km1,753 m21 hrExpertApril to October
European long distance path E8, North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia414 km9,116 m111 hrExpertApril to October
Nord Süd Trail, Abschnitt Herchen - SiegburgNorth Rhine-Westphalia65.3 km1,436 m17 hrExpertApril to October
North South Trail, Section Hachenburg - HerchenNorth Rhine-Westphalia62.4 km1,372 m16 hrExpertApril to October
Via MosanaNorth Rhine-Westphalia146 km3,202 m39 hrExpertApril to October
X1 Arnheim - LippstadtNorth Rhine-Westphalia257 km5,651 m69 hrExpertApril to October
North South Trail, Section Bad Honnef - LeutesdorfNorth Rhine-Westphalia47.8 km1,051 m12 hrExpertApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with Dutch Mountain Trail, EifelSchleife Berg und Tal, A1 Preußisch Oldendorf-Holzhauser Berg. 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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