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Hard Hiking Trails near Dormagen

64 routes near Dormagen qualify, ranked below by how much walkers rate them. They average 60.0 km and 1,319 m (4,327 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 414 km.

That is 40 percent of the 162 routes we map near Dormagen. They run noticeably longer than average for the area, 60.0 km against 28.1 km, so budget more daylight than a typical outing here. The climbing is steeper too: 1,319 m (4,327 ft) on average versus 619 m (2,031 ft) across the wider area.

Hard routes mean sustained ascent, long descents and a real need to watch the clock and the forecast. These lean toward the demanding end, so plan for a full day and check the forecast before you commit.

Trails

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

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

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

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

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

Kölnpfad

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
159 km
/ 99.0 mi
Elevation gain
3,504 m
Typical duration
42 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Mein Grüngürtel Rundweg G1

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
64.0 km
/ 39.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,407 m
Typical duration
16 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

Rhein-Schwalm-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
60.9 km
/ 37.8 mi
Elevation gain
1,340 m
Typical duration
16 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

X2 Arnold-Mock-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
219 km
/ 136 mi
Elevation gain
4,808 m
Typical duration
58 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 Rhein-Netteseen-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
111 km
/ 69.1 mi
Elevation gain
2,447 m
Typical duration
29 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

neanderland STEIG

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
242 km
/ 150 mi
Elevation gain
5,319 m
Typical duration
65 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Pingenweg Raute 8

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
33.4 km
/ 20.7 mi
Elevation gain
734 m
Typical duration
8 hr 36 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

X10 Naturparkweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
40.5 km
/ 25.2 mi
Elevation gain
892 m
Typical duration
10 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

X8 Rurtalweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
51.6 km
/ 32.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,136 m
Typical duration
13 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

[Raute3] Niederberg Nord

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
41.8 km
/ 26.0 mi
Elevation gain
920 m
Typical duration
10 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

[Raute4] Eggenweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
44.1 km
/ 27.4 mi
Elevation gain
971 m
Typical duration
11 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

[Raute7] Hardenberger Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
36.2 km
/ 22.5 mi
Elevation gain
796 m
Typical duration
9 hr 22 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

[Raute8] Köln - Radevormwald

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
51.7 km
/ 32.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,137 m
Typical duration
13 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

(H) Rund um Hattingen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
62.2 km
/ 38.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,369 m
Typical duration
16 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

(K) Rund um Kürten

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
65.7 km
/ 40.8 mi
Elevation gain
1,445 m
Typical duration
17 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

[D] Düsseldorfer Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
70.7 km
/ 43.9 mi
Elevation gain
1,555 m
Typical duration
18 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

(L) Rundweg um Langenberg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
34.3 km
/ 21.3 mi
Elevation gain
755 m
Typical duration
8 hr 52 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

(M) Rund um Mülheim

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
57.8 km
/ 35.9 mi
Elevation gain
1,272 m
Typical duration
15 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

(R) Rund um Ratingen

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
53.6 km
/ 33.3 mi
Elevation gain
1,180 m
Typical duration
14 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

DeilbachSteig

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
33.0 km
/ 20.5 mi
Elevation gain
726 m
Typical duration
8 hr 30 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Höhenroute

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
41.9 km
/ 26.0 mi
Elevation gain
921 m
Typical duration
10 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Kettwiger Panoramasteig

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
34.4 km
/ 21.4 mi
Elevation gain
757 m
Typical duration
8 hr 53 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Abteiweg Raute5

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
25.6 km
/ 15.9 mi
Elevation gain
563 m
Typical duration
6 hr 30 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

X11a Rheinischer Weg [Lindlar]

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
21.6 km
/ 13.4 mi
Elevation gain
475 m
Typical duration
5 hr 25 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

X22 Kurkölner Weg [Rösrath]

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
16.3 km
/ 10.1 mi
Elevation gain
359 m
Typical duration
3 hr 59 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

X29 Bergischer Weg [Wuppertal]

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
21.5 km
/ 13.4 mi
Elevation gain
473 m
Typical duration
5 hr 23 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

X30 Neandertalweg [Mettmann]

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
15.6 km
/ 9.7 mi
Elevation gain
344 m
Typical duration
3 hr 47 min
  • 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
European long distance path E8, North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia414 km9,116 m111 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Köln - AachenNorth Rhine-Westphalia99.1 km2,180 m26 hrExpertApril to October
Bergischer WegNorth Rhine-Westphalia263 km5,794 m71 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Dortmund - AachenNorth Rhine-Westphalia186 km4,097 m50 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Essen - DüsseldorfNorth Rhine-Westphalia61.5 km1,352 m16 hrExpertApril to October
Ruhrhöhenweg (Duisburg-Essen)North Rhine-Westphalia63.5 km1,397 m16 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Beyenburg-KölnNorth Rhine-Westphalia58.8 km1,294 m15 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Heidenstraße (Teilstück Lindlar - Köln)North Rhine-Westphalia40.4 km888 m10 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Köln - Bad MünstereifelNorth Rhine-Westphalia58.4 km1,285 m15 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Marburg - Siegen - Köln (Teilstrecke Drabenderhöhe - Köln)North Rhine-Westphalia42.4 km932 m11 hrExpertApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with European long distance path E8, North Rhine-Westphalia, Jakobs-Pilgerweg Köln - Aachen, Ruhrhöhenweg (Duisburg-Essen). 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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