Rothaarsteig

The toughest day comes first, and it opens like a statement. Out of Brilon, the woody town that calls itself the forest capital of Germany, the trail climbs the Borberg with its first wide views, finds the Möhne spring on the Poppenberg and walks the Bürgerwald, replanted tree by tree after hurricane Kyrill flattened it. Then the Ginsterköpfe, a steep, airy stretch of rock and broom with the Bruchhauser Steine in sight: four volcanic towers floating above the forest, growing bigger with every step. Past the Feuereiche artwork the trail reaches their feet, crosses the Richtplatz where medieval courts once sat, and drops via the yellow access path into Willingen.

The roof of North Rhine-Westphalia, and then the sky opens up. From the Richtplatz the trail crosses the Langenberg, at 843 metres the highest point of the whole state, and walks straight into the open Niedersfelder Hochheide: kilometres of rolling heath where the wind is the only sound and the bloom turns purple in late summer. Past the source of the Ruhr, the unassuming stream that gave the Ruhrgebiet its name, the route follows the medieval Heidenstraße into Winterberg, the ski town in the valley whose church tower suddenly feels like a big city after days of forest.

A day of two famous faces. The trail points straight at the St. Georg ski jump, Winterberg's winter cathedral, then climbs through forest and heath to the Kahler Asten, the best-known mountain of the Rothaarsteig: bare, wind-combed and offering a full 360-degree view that weather nerds love, the summit station measuring the Sauerland's rain for the whole country. Down through the hamlets of Lenneplätze and Langewiese, and behind the Heidenstock the route leaves the ridge for the valley variant into Schanze, at the foot of the slopes.

The day of the two variants, and both are worth the detour. The Kamm route swings onto the WaldSkulpturenWeg, where large artworks stand in the trees and a swaying suspension bridge crosses a forest gully; the Tal route descends through the gorge-like Grubental to Latrop, quiet and green. They rejoin at the Millionenbank and climb over the Heidkopf to Jagdhaus, then follow the open ridge to the Rhein-Weser-Turm, where you can sleep at the foot of the tower and stand with one foot in the Rhine basin and one in the Weser.

A short, open day with one big theme: water. Right after the tower the trail drops into the Schwarzbachtal, a wide, quiet valley where the stream still winds naturally through alder and meadow, rare plants hold the banks and the only schedule is the river's. The path follows the water for kilometres before climbing gently out to the Ginsberger Heide, a high plateau with heath views, a hotel terrace and the evening sun to yourself.

The source day, and it feels like collecting rivers. First the Ginsburg tower above Hilchenbach, then the Giller plateau with its observation tower, and then the spring country: moorland along the young Eder, the old Kohlenstraße trade road to Benfe, and the neatly framed Siegquelle. Three kilometres more and the Lahn source appears with its stone fountain, the day's endpoint at the Forsthaus, where game dishes and quiet rooms wait. Three rivers started here today, and you drank from their beginnings.

A quiet forest day along the water stories. Past a small forest cemetery the trail reaches the Ilsequelle, a healing spring known since the Middle Ages, then climbs the Jagdberg. The Haincher Höhe follows the historic Eisenstraße, the old iron trade road whose medieval stone paving still surfaces in places, and after the Dill spring the trail arrives at the Nase-im-Wind platform, a dramatic viewpoint literally facing into the wind, before dropping into Wilgersdorf for the night.

The finale starts with the Wilgersdorfer Haubergspfad, an open-air lesson in the traditional coppice forest management that shaped these woods for centuries. The trail splits into a Westerwald and a Dill variant; the Dill route passes the Lucaseiche, an oak with a 3.85 metre trunk, and the Forsthaus Steinbach before descending to the Dill valley. One last climb to the Westerwaldblick, over the Galgenberg, and the Bismarcktempel appears above Dillenburg: from there the trail drops through the old town to the finish portal at the Hofgarten, with the Wilhelmsturm, tower of the House of Orange, watching over the end of the week.