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Best Mountain Hikes near Dortmund

107 routes near Dortmund qualify, ranked below by how much walkers rate them. They average 76.2 km and 1,670 m (5,479 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 263 km.

That is 61 percent of the 175 routes we map near Dortmund. They run noticeably longer than average for the area, 76.2 km against 51.4 km, so budget more daylight than a typical outing here. The climbing is steeper too: 1,670 m (5,479 ft) on average versus 1,128 m (3,701 ft) across the wider area.

Mountain routes trade effort for scale. Expect sustained climbing, quick weather changes and views that make the numbers worth it. The mix is broad: 6 are rated easy and 96 are hard or harder, so there is something here whether you have two hours or a full day.

Trails

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

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

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 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 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

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

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

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
Expert

X6 Recklinghausen <=> Maria-Veen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
37.7 km
/ 23.4 mi
Elevation gain
830 m
Typical duration
9 hr 47 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Duisburg - Raesfeld X11

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
62.9 km
/ 39.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,384 m
Typical duration
16 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Hohe Mark Steig (Wesel - Olfen)

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
135 km
/ 83.7 mi
Elevation gain
2,964 m
Typical duration
36 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Homertweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
64.1 km
/ 39.8 mi
Elevation gain
1,411 m
Typical duration
16 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Pilgerweg Meinerzhagen-E

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
106 km
/ 65.8 mi
Elevation gain
2,328 m
Typical duration
28 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Rhein-Ruhr-Emscherweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
90.3 km
/ 56.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,986 m
Typical duration
24 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Rund um Dortmund D

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
102 km
/ 63.4 mi
Elevation gain
2,246 m
Typical duration
27 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Wupperweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
126 km
/ 78.3 mi
Elevation gain
2,772 m
Typical duration
33 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X1 Plackweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
143 km
/ 89.0 mi
Elevation gain
3,153 m
Typical duration
38 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X13 Sterkrade - Rees

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
68.7 km
/ 42.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,511 m
Typical duration
18 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X14 Hermann-Kusch-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
75.9 km
/ 47.2 mi
Elevation gain
1,670 m
Typical duration
20 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X15 Brünen - Dülmen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
61.5 km
/ 38.2 mi
Elevation gain
1,353 m
Typical duration
16 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X15 Osnabrück - Hamm

Lower Saxony · Germany

Distance
120 km
/ 74.7 mi
Elevation gain
2,643 m
Typical duration
32 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X17 Bad Iburg - Hamm

Lower Saxony · Germany

Distance
83.2 km
/ 51.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,831 m
Typical duration
22 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X17 Harkortweg [Velbert-Werdohl]

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
109 km
/ 67.7 mi
Elevation gain
2,397 m
Typical duration
29 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X18 Christine-Koch-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
82.5 km
/ 51.3 mi
Elevation gain
1,815 m
Typical duration
21 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X2 Wesel - Gütersloh-Isselhorst

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
203 km
/ 126 mi
Elevation gain
4,471 m
Typical duration
54 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X20 Volme-Höhen-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
99.3 km
/ 61.7 mi
Elevation gain
2,184 m
Typical duration
26 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X22 Münster - Lippstadt

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
91.9 km
/ 57.1 mi
Elevation gain
2,022 m
Typical duration
24 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X23 Bad Laer - Lippborg

Lower Saxony · Germany

Distance
76.8 km
/ 47.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,689 m
Typical duration
20 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X24 Möhne-Westerwald-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
133 km
/ 82.7 mi
Elevation gain
2,927 m
Typical duration
35 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X28 Graf-Engelbert-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
71.5 km
/ 44.4 mi
Elevation gain
1,573 m
Typical duration
18 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X3 Bocholt - Rheda-Wiedenbrück

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
180 km
/ 112 mi
Elevation gain
3,958 m
Typical duration
48 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X3 Talsperrenweg

Hesse · Germany

Distance
166 km
/ 103 mi
Elevation gain
3,654 m
Typical duration
44 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X4 Anholt - Halle (Westf)

Lower Saxony · Germany

Distance
205 km
/ 127 mi
Elevation gain
4,499 m
Typical duration
55 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X4 Höhlenweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
76.4 km
/ 47.5 mi
Elevation gain
1,681 m
Typical duration
20 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path

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
X1 Arnheim - LippstadtNorth Rhine-Westphalia257 km5,651 m69 hrExpertApril to October
Bergischer WegNorth Rhine-Westphalia263 km5,794 m71 hrExpertApril to October
Emscherparkweg XENorth Rhine-Westphalia131 km2,884 m35 hrExpertApril to October
GeoRoute RuhrNorth Rhine-Westphalia131 km2,889 m35 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Bielefeld-WeselNorth Rhine-Westphalia195 km4,289 m52 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Essen - DüsseldorfNorth Rhine-Westphalia61.5 km1,352 m16 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Osnabrück-BeyenburgLower Saxony207 km4,548 m55 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Paderborn-KölnNorth Rhine-Westphalia240 km5,288 m64 hrExpertApril to October
Ruhrhöhenweg (Duisburg-Essen)North Rhine-Westphalia63.5 km1,397 m16 hrExpertApril to October
Ruhrhöhenweg (Hattingen - Menden)North Rhine-Westphalia70.3 km1,548 m18 hrExpertApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with X1 Arnheim - Lippstadt, Jakobs-Pilgerweg Osnabrück-Beyenburg, Bergischer 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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