The Rothaarsteig over the Rothaar mountains, from Brilon in the Sauerland to Dillenburg, in the Rothaarsteigverein's eight original stages: Willingen, the Langenberg and Winterberg, the ridge to the Rhein-Weser-Turm, then by the sources of the Eder, Sieg and Lahn.
Best season: All year. The Rothaarsteigverein says the trail can be walked in any season, every section in winter too, and its tour data marks all twelve months. In winter the trail is not cleared all the way: expect snow drifts and trees broken by snow, and some stretches are groomed as cross-country ski tracks, which walkers should not step in. Fire, gas stoves included, and smoking are banned in the forest from 1 March to 31 October. The packaged walks with luggage transfer run from April to October. Before you go
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Eight stages, the association's original division, of 14 to 26 km by its figures. Three of them end off the main trail, in Willingen, Schanze and Wilgersdorf: our line stops where the walk down leaves the trail, and the official times include that walk. Trains reach Brilon, Willingen, Winterberg, Lützel and Dillenburg; in between, the demand buses must be booked ahead. Choose a plan, or pick your own start, finish and nights below.
Changing where you stay suggests a new number of days: the fewest that keep each day under 8 h of walking and in daylight, where a place to stay allows.
Days end where the route has a stay, a camp or a village.
Stage 1: From the market square in Brilon by Bruchhausen to the Richtplatz above Willingen: 25.8 km, 7 h 55, 801 m up and 672 m down by the association's list. Those figures include the 2.9 km access path down into Willingen (waymarked in yellow and black); our line stops at the fork, 22.2 km. The stage page says you can end the day at Bruchhausen instead, an end of the 12-stage division.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Stage 1 ends in Willingen, off the main trail. Here at the Richtplatz the access path (Zuweg, waymarked in yellow and black) leaves the trail and runs 2.9 km down into the town; stage 2 starts back up it. The official stage figures include that walk; our line stops here. Willingen station has trains from Kassel, Frankfurt and Dortmund.
Stage 2: Back up the access path to the Richtplatz, then over the Langenberg (843 m) and the Clemensberg, past the source of the Ruhr and down the Helletal into Winterberg: 25.3 km, 7 h 19, 589 m up, 501 m down, the climb from Willingen included. At the edge of Winterberg (Dumel and Helletal) the association has moved the trail for good: follow the waymarks there, even where our line differs.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hostel or bunkhouse
Pick a date to check the season.
A town on the trail, with the RE57 to Dortmund from its station and hosts close to the trail.
Or a room in the village. Find your own accommodation; TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage 3: From Winterberg to Schanze: 18.7 km, 5 h 10, 387 m up, 356 m down. Just past the Heidenstock the main trail carries on along the ridge to Kühhude; for Schanze, follow the valley variant (Talvariante) 2.5 km down to the hamlet. Our line stops at that fork, 16.1 km; the official figures include the walk down.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Stage 3 ends in Schanze, off the main trail. Here, just past the Heidenstock, the valley variant (Talvariante) leaves the ridge and reaches the hamlet after 2.5 km; stage 4 climbs back to the ridge at Kühhude. The official figures include those walks; our line stops here. Little public transport: the ISMO 466 demand bus, booked at least 30 minutes ahead.
Stage 4: The ridge variant (Kammvariante): from Schanze back up to Kühhude, over the suspension bridge and by the Millionenbank and Jagdhaus to the Rhein-Weser-Turm: 24.1 km, 6 h 35, 341 m up, 383 m down, the climb from Schanze included. The valley variant by Latrop is the official alternative: 23.2 km, 6 h 25, 396 m up, 441 m down; the two meet again at the Millionenbank. Jagdhaus, 12.9 km along our line, has a hotel.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A lookout tower with a mountain inn beside it, and no village. The R36 demand bus (Rufbus) comes up here; the association lists it among the stage ends with little or no public transport.
Stage 5: By the Schwarzbach valley, the Dreiherrnstein and the source of the Ferndorf to the Ginsberger Heide: 14.4 km, 3 h 40, 244 m up, 290 m down. The Rucksackherberge am Rothaarsteig, a group hostel with 26 beds in Heinsberg, is 2.5 km off the trail on this stage.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
A hotel on the heath above Hilchenbach-Lützel; Hilchenbach-Lützel station is 1.5 km away. If the hotel is full, the stage 5 page suggests walking about 5 km on to Lützel station and taking the train to a host further away.
Stage 6: By the Ginsburg, the Giller tower, Lützel, the source of the Eder, Benfe, Großenbach and the source of the Sieg to the source of the Lahn: 19.1 km, 5 h 05, 342 m up, 330 m down. Lützel station is on the trail early in the stage, and the Landgasthof zur Siegquelle in Großenbach, 4.4 km before the end, has rooms. The Lahnquelle has no listed host and no public transport.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
The source of the Lahn. The association lists no host here and no public transport; the stage 7 page suggests a taxi to Rudersdorf station. The nearest hosts on its map are the Landgasthof zur Siegquelle in Großenbach, 4.4 km back along the trail, and the Gasthof Jokebes in Irmgarteichen, about 2 km below the trail on stage 7.
Stage 7: From the Lahnquelle to Wilgersdorf: 18.8 km, 4 h 45, 217 m up, 439 m down. At the Hubertusbuche you leave the main trail and take the access path down to Wilgersdorf, about 1.6 km on foot; our line stops at the fork, 17.1 km. There are few places to eat on this stage and the next, the association warns: carry enough to drink.
Overnight
Hotel
Pick a date to check the season.
Stage 7 ends in Wilgersdorf, off the main trail. Here at the Hubertusbuche the access path leads down to the village, about 1.6 km on foot, and stage 8 starts back up it. The official figures include those walks; our line stops here.
Stage 8: Back up the access path to the Hubertusbuche, then on the main trail to Dillenburg: 22.3 km, 6 h 10, 475 m up, 645 m down, the climb from Wilgersdorf included. At the Kalteiche keep to the main trail, straight on to Dillenburg; the other branch is the Westerwald variant by the Fuchskaute. The trail ends through the Hofgarten at the station.
Longest day: day 1, 7 h 55.
Days end at a stage end with a refuge or a village, or in a village the route passes through. Walking times are the times published by rothaarsteig.de where a stage has one, with the time measured on the mapped line beside it; a day that walks part of a stage gets a share of the stage's time by distance and climb.Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Running times use 7.5 km/h plus one hour per 700 m of climb: a steady reference, not a prediction. Daylight is sunrise to sunset where the day starts; the time left is for breaks, meals and delays.Refuge dates come from the operator's own pages; when they are not published, we say so. For villages we count the places to stay OpenStreetMap lists; we have not checked which are open. A plan is not a booking: reserve every night before you commit to these day lengths.
Where each stage ends, the 2026 and 2027 seasons the operator publishes, and how to book. Read from the operators' pages on 13 October 2026; each stage page shows the sources and the grade profile.
| Stage | Night at | 2026 | 2027 | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Brilon to Willingen | Landkomfort Hotel Elsenmann | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 2. Willingen to Winterberg | Hotel Hessenhof | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 3. Winterberg to Schanze | Landschaftsgasthaus Schanze | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 4. Schanze to the Rhein-Weser-Turm | Der Rhein-Weser-Turm | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 5. Rhein-Weser-Turm to the Ginsberger Heide | Hotel Ginsberger Heide | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 6. Ginsberger Heide to the Lahnquelle | Landgasthof zur Siegquelle | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 7. Lahnquelle to Wilgersdorf | Gästehaus Wilgersdorf | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
| 8. Wilgersdorf to Dillenburg | Hotel Bartmanns Haus | 2026 dates not published | not published | Booking method not published |
Loading the forecast for low point (228 m) and high point (846 m)…
Typical weather on this trail: at the lowest point (228 m) and the highest point (846 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Poor | Poor | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Poor |
| Stages rated good on typical weather | 0/8 | 0/8 | 0/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 8/8 | 0/8 | 0/8 |
| High point, day / night | 1°/-4° | 2°/-4° | 5°/-2° | 10°/1° | 14°/5° | 17°/8° | 19°/10° | 19°/10° | 14°/7° | 10°/4° | 5°/0° | 2°/-3° |
| Low point, day / night | 5°/-1° | 6°/-1° | 10°/1° | 15°/4° | 20°/8° | 23°/11° | 25°/13° | 24°/12° | 19°/9° | 14°/6° | 8°/3° | 5°/0° |
| Rain, mm | 152 | 113 | 117 | 80 | 80 | 83 | 118 | 96 | 106 | 116 | 126 | 151 |
| Snow at high point | Possible | Possible | Possible | Frost | – | – | – | – | – | – | Possible | Possible |
| Daylight | 8 h 23 | 9 h 59 | 11 h 47 | 13 h 46 | 15 h 29 | 16 h 30 | 16 h 08 | 14 h 38 | 12 h 44 | 10 h 49 | 9 h | 7 h 58 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
Book every night ahead, the association advises, above all to sleep on or close to the trail; its partner hosts usually expect you between 14:00 and 18:00. Its website lists the hosts by stage, and its free service phone helps find rooms. Packages with a daily change of hotel and luggage transfer, such as "Das Original" in 6, 8 or 12 stages, are requested through the association's website and run by a tour operator; "Das Original" runs from April to October. The association also publishes a sporty 6-stage division (Brilon, Willingen, Winterberg, Jagdhaus, Giller, Haincher Höhe, Dillenburg: 25 to 29 km a day) and a gentle 12-stage one (by Bruchhausen, Willingen, Küstelberg, the Kahler Asten, Schanze, Jagdhaus, Oberhundem, the Ginsberger Heide, the Lahnquelle, Irmgarteichen and Rodenbach: 8 to 24 km a day). Tents go only on campsites; sleeping out in the open or in a shelter hut is tolerated.
The association lists its notices on one page. On 13 October 2026: the trail has been moved for good at the edge of Winterberg (Dumel and Helletal), so follow the waymarks there; timber harvesting after bark-beetle damage can close paths at short notice, and entering a closed path is forbidden and dangerous; the Westerwald variant near Dillenburg has a diversion over the A45 for bridge works until the end of 2026, which does not touch the main trail.
Rothaarsteigverein: current restrictionsWillingen (stage 1), Schanze (stage 3) and Wilgersdorf (stage 7) lie off the main trail, 2.9 km, 2.5 km and about 1.6 km away. Each official stage includes the walk down, and the next one starts by walking back up; our line, our km and our times stop at the fork.
Rothaarsteigverein: the 8 stagesAfrican swine fever has been found in the Olpe and Siegen-Wittgenstein districts, and fences cross the trail. Gates let you through: close them behind you. Stay on the marked paths, and keep dogs on a lead in the infected zone; groups of at most 15 are recommended.
Rothaarsteigverein: African swine feverThere are few places to eat on the way, the association warns, especially on the last two stages: carry enough to drink. Fire, gas stoves included, and smoking are banned in the forest from 1 March to 31 October. Tents go only on campsites; the association publishes a list of tent and trekking sites.
Rothaarsteigverein: frequently asked questionsEvery section can be walked in winter, the association says, but the trail is not cleared all the way: expect snow drifts and trees broken by snow. Some stretches are groomed as cross-country ski tracks; walk beside them, not in them.
Rothaarsteigverein: winter walkingHLB, which runs the trains at Dillenburg, has evening and night closures on the RB40 and RE99 between Frankfurt and Dillenburg or Siegen from 11 to 15 October 2026, and some RE99 trains between Siegen and Gießen are cancelled until 9 December 2026. Check the day before you travel.
HLB: passenger noticesClosures and notices last checked 13 October 2026: HLB: passenger notices, Dillenburg · Rothaarsteigverein: current restrictions · Rothaarsteigverein: African swine fever. Check them again before you set out.
Getting there
Choose a stage or journey above to narrow the travel searches.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Trains run to Brilon Stadt station, about 0.6 km from the market square where the trail starts; bus S30 stops at Brilon-Markt. Between Brilon Stadt and Willingen, the RB42 train or bus 382 runs, the stage 1 page says.
Rothaarsteigverein: the trail, arrival and parkingWillingen has a station with trains from Kassel, Frankfurt and Dortmund, and Winterberg the RE57 straight from Dortmund. In the middle, transport is thin: the ISMO 466 demand bus to Schanze and Jagdhaus must be booked at least 30 minutes ahead, the R36 demand bus serves the Rhein-Weser-Turm, and the Lahnquelle has none (the association suggests a taxi to Rudersdorf station). Hilchenbach-Lützel station is 1.5 km from the Ginsberger Heide, and Rudersdorf, Dillbrecht and Rodenbach near the last two stages have HLB trains (RE99, RB95).
Rothaarsteigverein: by bus and trainThe trail ends at Dillenburg station. HLB runs the RE99 and RB40 towards Gießen and Frankfurt, the RE99 and RB95 to Siegen, and the RB96 to Haiger and Betzdorf. Back to Brilon by train takes about four hours.
HLB: timetablesTake your trip with you
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection: on the forested ridge between the villages the signal can be weak.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
The Rothaarsteigverein gives 154 km for the main trail (157.7 km in its tour data); its eight original stages add up to 168.5 km and about 46 h 40 of walking, because three stage ends lie off the main trail, in 8 sections on our map. The guide's day planner offers an 8-day plan on the overnight stops, and you can choose your own nights.
All year. The Rothaarsteigverein says the trail can be walked in any season, every section in winter too, and its tour data marks all twelve months.
Trains run to Brilon Stadt station, about 0.6 km from the market square where the trail starts; bus S30 stops at Brilon-Markt. The "Connect your journey" section has the travel details, with 2 more travel notes.
Book every night ahead, the association advises, above all to sleep on or close to the trail; its partner hosts usually expect you between 14:00 and 18:00.
Yes: the whole route and every section, free, for a GPS watch or a phone. The guide also saves your plan for offline use in the app.
Closures we know of are shown on the days and sections they affect, in the day planner and on the stage pages. We watch 3 official notice pages (HLB: passenger notices, Dillenburg; Rothaarsteigverein: current restrictions; Rothaarsteigverein: African swine fever); the date we last read them is shown with the notices on this page. Check them again before you set off.
Route & sources
The Rothaarsteigverein, the association that looks after the trail, publishes the Rothaarsteig as eight original stages from the market square in Brilon to the station in Dillenburg, with an official stage time for each, shown beside ours on every stage. It also publishes a 6-stage and a 12-stage division. Stage 4 here is the ridge variant (Kammvariante); the valley variant (Talvariante) by Latrop is the official alternative. The eight stages add up to 168.5 km and about 46 h 40, because three stage ends lie off the main trail: Willingen, 2.9 km down an access path (Zuweg) from the Richtplatz; Schanze, 2.5 km down the valley variant from just past the Heidenstock; and Wilgersdorf, about 1.6 km on foot from the Hubertusbuche. The official stage figures include these walks, and the next stage starts by walking back up. The line here is the main trail on OpenStreetMap (relation 2018275, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 151.8 km, cut where each walk leaves it, so stages 1 to 4, 7 and 8 are 1.6 to 4 km shorter here than on the association's list. The association gives 157.7 km for the main trail in its tour data and 154 km in its text. At the edge of Winterberg (Dumel and Helletal) the association has moved the trail for good; the map may still show the old line there, so follow the waymarks. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep steps are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Rothaarsteigverein: the stagesMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation