Discover Bestwig
Accommodation in Bestwig
Bestwig offers nature experiences, hiking trails and insights into mining history. There are also family-friendly attractions. A special natural landmark is the Plästerlegge near Bestwig-Wasserfall: it is the only natural waterfall in North Rhine-Westphalia. The water plunges almost vertically about 20 m over a rocky outcrop and then continues for about 500 m as a torrent.
Die Plästerlegge im Naturschutzgebiet Plästerlegge bei Wasserfall, einem Gemeindeteil von Bestwig.
Photo: Matthias Böhm via Source, CC BY-SA 3.0
Waterfall and hiking trails
You can reach the Plästerlegge on foot in about 20 minutes from the car park in the centre of the village on Aurorastraße. This makes it easy to plan the waterfall as a destination in its own right. For longer hikes, the Bestwig Panorama Trail covers a different scale: the route is around 60 km long and follows the ridgelines of the municipality of Bestwig. You can start from any district. The trail has been awarded the German Hiking Association’s “Quality Trail – Hiking Germany” seal four times in a row.
If you are looking for a shorter hike instead of a long route, consider the Bestwiger BestWege. These circular trails run around Andreasberg, Heringhausen, Nuttlar, Ostwig, Ramsbeck and Velmede-Bestwig. They take two to four hours to walk, making them suitable for half-day excursions. The mining trail in Ramsbeck focuses on local history: over about 10 km, it passes mining relics and former mine sites. It starts at the Sauerland Visitor Mine on Glück-Auf-Straße and is signposted.
Mining history and milling traditions
At the Sauerland Visitor Mine, an electric mine train travels about 1.5 km through the dark Eickhoff tunnel. Bus route R72 runs regularly from Bestwig station to the visitor mine in Ramsbeck; the “Ramsbeck-Ziegelwiese” stop is right outside. This gives you a specific reference point for travelling by bus without requiring you to rely on a journey time or timetable.
The Old Grain Mill in Ramsbeck also tells the story of traditional technology. It is the only surviving mill in North Rhine-Westphalia with three millstones and medieval technology. Every year on Whit Monday, International Mill Day, it opens to visitors. The mill festival offers free guided tours; during the milling demonstrations, you can watch water power grind grain into flour. In Ostwig, the historic flue-gas chimney recalls the hopes once invested in mining. Its features include a spiral staircase and an observation platform.
Days out with children
The Ostwig Swing Trail combines a nature experience with fun for the whole family. Six different swings are spread along its 1.7 km route. At FORT FUN Abenteuerland in Bestwig-Wasserfall, children and adults can enjoy attractions including a roller coaster, log flume, summer toboggan run, flying dragons, Ferris wheel, indoor playground and a show programme. The address is Aurorastraße 50, 59909 Bestwig-Wasserfall. Another attraction there is the Trapper Slider, a 1.3 km-long toboggan run.
The excursions offer a variety of experiences: the waterfall and panorama trail are all about nature and hiking, while the visitor mine and mining trail focus on mining history; the swing trail and FORT FUN add family-friendly activities to the mix. When looking for a holiday apartment in Bestwig, you can start by considering which of these activities you would like to shape your holiday. The trails and attractions mentioned offer a range of reasons to take a closer look at Bestwig as a travel destination.
If you would like to visit more town pages, you can find Berlar, Andreasberg, Wasserfall and Valme here.
For the higher-level travel overview: Hochsauerlandkreis.
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