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Hard Hiking Trails near Mönchengladbach

77 routes near Mönchengladbach qualify, ranked below by how much walkers rate them. They average 60.7 km and 1,336 m (4,383 ft) of ascent, with the longest running to 414 km.

That is 59 percent of the 130 routes we map near Mönchengladbach. They run noticeably longer than average for the area, 60.7 km against 38.5 km, so budget more daylight than a typical outing here. The climbing is steeper too: 1,336 m (4,383 ft) on average versus 847 m (2,779 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

Hard

Dwars door Brabant - 15

De Groote Peel · Limburg

Distance
22.6 km
/ 14.0 mi
Elevation gain
497 m
Typical duration
5 hr 41 min
  • 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

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 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

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

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

Niederrheinweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
134 km
/ 83.2 mi
Elevation gain
2,945 m
Typical duration
35 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

Rheinauenweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
99.7 km
/ 61.9 mi
Elevation gain
2,193 m
Typical duration
26 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X1 Grenzlandweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
202 km
/ 126 mi
Elevation gain
4,447 m
Typical duration
54 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X12 Steinkohleweg Orsoy-Hinsbeck

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
73.6 km
/ 45.7 mi
Elevation gain
1,619 m
Typical duration
19 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

X13 Nord-Niederrhein-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
171 km
/ 107 mi
Elevation gain
3,772 m
Typical duration
46 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

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

X5 Rhein-Niers-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
74.8 km
/ 46.5 mi
Elevation gain
1,645 m
Typical duration
19 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

Dwars door Brabant - 14

Limburg · Netherlands

Distance
16.2 km
/ 10.0 mi
Elevation gain
356 m
Typical duration
3 hr 56 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Dwars door Brabant - 16

Limburg · Netherlands

Distance
21.3 km
/ 13.2 mi
Elevation gain
468 m
Typical duration
5 hr 19 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Grenslandpad - 19

Flanders · Belgium

Distance
17.4 km
/ 10.8 mi
Elevation gain
382 m
Typical duration
4 hr 15 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Pelgrimspad 2 - 07

Limburg · Netherlands

Distance
17.0 km
/ 10.5 mi
Elevation gain
373 m
Typical duration
4 hr 9 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Pelgrimspad 2 - 08

Flanders · Belgium

Distance
22.8 km
/ 14.2 mi
Elevation gain
501 m
Typical duration
5 hr 44 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Pelgrimspad 2 - 09

Limburg · Netherlands

Distance
17.6 km
/ 10.9 mi
Elevation gain
387 m
Typical duration
4 hr 19 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Pelgrimspad 2 - 10

Limburg · Netherlands

Distance
17.2 km
/ 10.7 mi
Elevation gain
379 m
Typical duration
4 hr 14 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Pieterpad deel 2 - 07

Limburg · Netherlands

Distance
23.6 km
/ 14.7 mi
Elevation gain
520 m
Typical duration
5 hr 58 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Pieterpad deel 2 - 08

Limburg · Netherlands

Distance
20.9 km
/ 13.0 mi
Elevation gain
459 m
Typical duration
5 hr 13 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Pieterpad deel 2 - 09

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
22.8 km
/ 14.2 mi
Elevation gain
501 m
Typical duration
5 hr 44 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Pieterpad deel 2 - 10

Limburg · Netherlands

Distance
22.4 km
/ 13.9 mi
Elevation gain
493 m
Typical duration
5 hr 38 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Pieterpad deel 2 - 11

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
23.8 km
/ 14.8 mi
Elevation gain
524 m
Typical duration
6 hr 1 min
  • Waymarked route
Hard

Pieterpad deel 2 - 12

Limburg · Netherlands

Distance
22.2 km
/ 13.8 mi
Elevation gain
489 m
Typical duration
5 hr 35 min
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Bergbauweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
49.5 km
/ 30.8 mi
Elevation gain
1,090 m
Typical duration
13 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Fossa-Eugeniana-Wanderweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
42.9 km
/ 26.6 mi
Elevation gain
943 m
Typical duration
11 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Hüttenweg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
40.5 km
/ 25.2 mi
Elevation gain
891 m
Typical duration
10 hr
  • 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

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

X9 Rhein-Maas-Weg

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany

Distance
34.3 km
/ 21.3 mi
Elevation gain
754 m
Typical duration
8 hr 51 min
  • 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

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
Dwars door Brabant - 15De Groote Peel22.6 km497 m5 hr 41 minHardApril to October
European long distance path E8, North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia414 km9,116 m111 hrExpertApril to October
Maas-Niederrheinpad etappe 02De Maasduinen17.4 km384 m4 hr 17 minHardApril to October
Maas-Niederrheinpad etappe 03De Maasduinen17.3 km380 m4 hr 14 minHardApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Köln - AachenNorth Rhine-Westphalia99.1 km2,180 m26 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
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Nijmegen-KölnNorth Rhine-Westphalia243 km5,337 m65 hrExpertApril to October
Jakobs-Pilgerweg Nijmegen-Maastricht-LüttichNorth Rhine-Westphalia246 km5,415 m66 hrExpertApril to October
Ruhrhöhenweg (Duisburg-Essen)North Rhine-Westphalia63.5 km1,397 m16 hrExpertApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with Dwars door Brabant - 15, European long distance path E8, North Rhine-Westphalia, Maas-Niederrheinpad etappe 03. 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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