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Hard Hiking Trails near Leverkusen

67 routes near Leverkusen qualify, ranked below by how much walkers rate them. They average 66.1 km and 1,459 m (4,787 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 414 km.

That is 44 percent of the 151 routes we map near Leverkusen. They run noticeably longer than average for the area, 66.1 km against 33.5 km, so budget more daylight than a typical outing here. The climbing is steeper too: 1,459 m (4,787 ft) on average versus 739 m (2,425 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

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 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

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

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

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

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

Römerkanal-Wanderweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
120 km
/ 74.3 mi
Elevation gain
2,632 m
Typical duration
32 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

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

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

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

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
Hard

[XS] Sieghöhenweg [Windeck]

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
31.1 km
/ 19.3 mi
Elevation gain
684 m
Typical duration
7 hr 59 min
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Natursteig Sieg Etappen 01-03

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
36.3 km
/ 22.5 mi
Elevation gain
798 m
Typical duration
9 hr 23 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
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

Raute10 Hugo-Kracht-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
51.5 km
/ 32.0 mi
Elevation gain
1,133 m
Typical duration
13 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

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
Nord Süd Trail, Abschnitt Herchen - SiegburgNorth Rhine-Westphalia65.3 km1,436 m17 hrExpertApril to October
North South Trail, Section Siegburg - Bad HonnefNorth Rhine-Westphalia44.7 km984 m11 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
GeoRoute RuhrNorth Rhine-Westphalia131 km2,889 m35 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

If you only have time for one, start with Nord Süd Trail, Abschnitt Herchen - Siegburg, European long distance path E8, North Rhine-Westphalia, North South Trail, Section Siegburg - Bad Honnef. 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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