Hiking – by foot and bike – mostly is not considered an end in itself, but rather is a means to an end.
We are offering attractive hiking routes for anybody and any occasion in the national park region Rur-Eifel, where majestic beech forests and knobbed oak trees, steep rock formations, natural brook valleys and blue shimmering, glassy surfaces of the River Rur reservoirs with Mount Kermeter form the heart of the latest national park of Germany.
Rureifel-Tourism e. V. gladly helps you in your search for appropriate hiking tours. In the following we offer you our hiking routes as PDF-download.
 "Popup Zoom: Four valleys")
The way leads through the valleys of the brooks Richelsbach, Kall, Tiefenbach and Bosselbach. The streams with their valley soil (flood plains) are a typical and ecologically valuable part of the Rur-Eifel region with an extensive animal and plant richness. This variety is owed to the farmers who have mowed their meadows over centuries.
Length: 10 km
 "Popup Zoom: Gorge of Wehe")
The deeply grooved valley of the small river White Wehe, which has its source in the swamp Todtenbruch in Raffelsbrand, a reactivated upland moor, has given the name to this hiking trail. The starting point of the hike is the "Brandenburg Gate", which owes its name to its exceptional size.
Length: 13,9 km
 "Popup Zoom: Rock passage")
The hiking trail leads below the red sandstone rocks along the Rur valley. The red sandstone was formed about 220 million years ago, when the rivers flowing from the mountains into the basins deposited gravel, sand and clay. Now the water power of River Rur shapes the relief of the rock formations.
Length: 13 km
 "Popup Zoom: Smuggler’s path")
The name of the way reminds of the time, when coffee smuggling from Belgium was one of the most important sources of income for the people of Schmidt. The village of Schmidt was destroyed to more than 90% at the end of World War II; also the parish church of St. Hubertus. The people of Schmidt supported their families with the profits from smuggling coffee and rebuilt their destroyed houses.
This of course could not be kept a secret towards the former parish priest Josef Beyer. At first, the reconstruction of the church took a long time. So he said in a sermon: "I know that you will suffer from headaches because of lots of money. For me, it is the other way around, because I don’t know from where I can get the money for the reconstruction of the church." From now on, the smugglers donated part of their profit from the coffee business for the reconstruction of the church. Thus, in the vernacular, it is called St Mocha.
Length: 16,8 km
 "Popup Zoom: Around the deer park")
The way leads once around the deer park of Schmidt.
The Eifel as a sparsely populated area with vast forests has been and still is the habitat of most different species. Thus, red deer, roe deer and wild boars exist to a large number. As small predators there are fox, stone marten and pine marten, polecat and weasel. A growing population of beavers can also be seen. Badgers and wild cats are less frequent.
Length: 10,3 km
 "Popup Zoom: Eifel cliff line")
The way leads along the banks of Lake Rursee, then up to the village of Schmidt and back through the state forest of Hürtgenwald with a view to Lake Rursee. With an irrigation area of almost 2,000 acres and a volume of 203 million m³, it belongs to the largest reservoirs in Germany. A steep shale slope can be seen at low water, which caused the way to be named "cliff line".
Length: 11 km
 "Popup Zoom: Castles of Nideggen")
The way leads from Nideggen over Abenden to Blens and over the Klemenzstock hill back to Nideggen. The ancient castle of Nideggen, built in 1177 by Earl Wilhelm II. of Jülich, is an impressive mountain castle, which played an important part in the left Rhineland. In the Geldrian war of succession 1542 the castle was occupied and destroyed to a large extent. The reconstruction was started in the 20th century. Today there is a restaurant and the Rhenish museum of castles located in the castle.
Length: 28,4 km
 "Popup Zoom: Abbey tour")
The hiking path leads from the Heimbach reservoir up to the Trappist abbey Mariawald. The foundation of the abbey dates back to the pilgrimage to "Our Lady in the woods". Cistercian monks built an abbey here instead of the chapel. However, its days were numbered, when the revolution army occupied the territory of the Empire left of the Rhine in 1794.
Length: 9 km
 "Popup Zoom: Hunter’s path")
The way leads through an area with lots of game and many traces of hunters and those being hunted. For millenniums, the people provided for themselves as hunters-gatherers. The introduction of agriculture and stock farming not only changed the lifestyle, but also the original landscape. A man-made environment was created, which growingly limited the habitat of the deer.
Length: 9 km
