The Ebbe Mountains around Meinerzhagen combine extensive forests with meadow valleys, nine reservoirs and small streams flowing from springs. If you want to hike here, you can choose from trails of varying lengths and difficulty levels: some routes loop around reservoirs, while others require a longer itinerary.
Choose hiking trails by length and difficulty
More than 300 kilometers of marked trails around Meinerzhagen offer opportunities for extended hikes. The trails vary in length and difficulty, so it makes more sense to look at the tour you have in mind than to decide based on the number of kilometers alone. Circular trails around reservoirs are another way to enjoy the water and scenery while hiking.
The Sauerland-Höhenflug trail starts in Meinerzhagen. This long-distance hiking trail is marked throughout with a white H on a yellow background. Check the trail markers before setting out if you plan to follow them. The Valbert Circular Trail offers a different focus: it follows the historic boundaries of the former municipality of Valbert, is 44.2 kilometers long and can be split into stages. When planning, you can choose between a clearly marked long-distance trail and a route that follows historic boundaries.
The municipal tourism service provides more than 20 free hiking suggestions for Meinerzhagen and excursions in the surrounding area. Check which brochures are available before your trip. The suggestions can help you narrow down the right length and character for a hike; for the hike itself, your route choice and personal assessment of its difficulty remain decisive.
Reservoirs and local culture
The reservoirs are not the only features that shape the landscape of the Ebbe Mountains: trails around several reservoirs in the area let you plan a walk by the water. Together with the meadow valleys and small streams flowing from springs, they offer a different kind of hiking day from the long Sauerland-Höhenflug trail or the Valbert Circular Trail, which can be divided into stages.
The KnochenmĂĽhle is also a place to visit in Meinerzhagen. As a cultural monument, it adds a cultural element to the hiking options. This gives you a range of interests to consider when planning your trip: trails and scenery, a route with historic connections, or a visit to a cultural monument.
More places to explore in the Märkischer Kreis
If you broaden your focus to the Märkischer Kreis as a travel destination, you’ll find additional cultural and nature-related attractions. Altena Castle is a monument of national importance and was the site of the world’s first—and therefore oldest—permanent youth hostel. The German Wire Museum explores the technological history of wire as well as its social, economic and cultural history. This interactive museum combines the history of wire production in the past and present; its hands-on stations invite visitors to take part.
The Luisenhütte is also an experience museum, where you can see how iron was produced and then processed into cast products. The Balve Cave is one of Europe’s most significant archaeological sites for cultures of the Middle Paleolithic, thanks to its archaeological finds. The Felsenmeer in Hemer, meanwhile, combines impressive rock formations created over centuries by wind, water and people with one of Westphalia’s oldest iron ore mining areas. The Felsenmeer can only be visited on designated paths; the panoramic trail leads to the viewpoints.
Find the right accommodation for your trip
Your hiking plans may help determine which hotel to choose in Meinerzhagen: would you like to pick several individual hikes, or plan your stay around a route that can be divided into stages? Also consider whether you’d like to visit the Knochenmühle as well as the trails, or plan excursions to places in the Märkischer Kreis. These priorities can help you search more specifically for suitable accommodation.
Discover more destinations: Windebruch, Herscheid, LĂĽdenscheid, SchalksmĂĽhle, Kierspe, Neuenrade, Iserlohn, Menden.
See the regional travel overview: Märkischer Kreis.
