Rothaarsteig

The Rothaarsteig is a 154.80 km long hiking trail along the crest of the Rothaargebirge mountain range in Germany in the border region between the states of North Rhine-Westphalia (NW) and Hesse (HE). It was opened in 2001.

The main route of the Rothaarsteig trail runs from Brilon (NW), mainly in a southerly direction over the Kahler Asten (NW) to Dillenburg (HE).

Most of the Rothaarsteig is located in the Rothaargebirge Nature Park. It runs mainly along the watershed between the rivers Rhine and Weser over the heavily forested mountains of the Rothaargebirge and through its valleys and uses the existing network of metalled and unmetalled forest tracks. In an extremely sparsely populated region it links hills and places of interest such as the Bruchhauser Steine, the Langenberg, the Kahler Asten, the Rhine-Weser Tower, the Ginsburg and several sources of major rivers like the Ruhr, Eder, Sieg and Lahn. Between Schmallenberg and Bad Berleburg the Rothaarsteig meets the Waldskulpturenweg.

Despite its route inside a range of high hills, the Rothaarsteig generally easy to walk. It passes several towns including Winterberg, through which it runs.

The signpost symbol for the Rothaarsteig is a white "R" on its side on a red background. The paths leading to the trail from the valleys along the way have the same sign but in black on a yellow background.

The 154.80 kilometre long main trail of the Rothaarsteig runs over mountains, past springs and natural and cultural monuments and through nature reserves. These include, from north to south (with heights above Normalnull; NN):

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