Bad Lippspringe – Garden Show, Lippe Spring and Forest Trails

Garden Show, Play and Seasonal Experiences

The Bad Lippspringe Garden Show is a year-round destination for families and nature lovers. Its 30-hectare grounds feature ten different playgrounds. Colourful blooms and woodland scenery shape the experience; seasonal highlights include the Sparkassen Forest Lights in spring, the Sand Worlds in summer, the Pumpkin Festival in autumn and numerous after-work concerts during the summer months. When planning your holiday, you can choose from a variety of activities and events, with different focuses on play, nature and seasonal happenings.

The Westfalen Therme also offers several ways to enjoy time together in the water: these include waterslides measuring 75 and 125 metres, a pirate land, a toddler area with water features, and diving platforms at heights of 1 and 3 metres. If you’d like to focus on wellness, you’ll find sauna and wellness areas covering 6,000 m², with up to 20 infusions using pure essential oils. The Salinarium offers another wellness experience, with a floating bath in the saltwater brine pool, a salt sauna and a relaxation area with its own saltworks.

Forest Trails with a Range of Themes

The KlimaErlebnisRoute (Climate Experience Trail) in the Lippspringe Forest is a 7.5-kilometre circular walking trail, marked with a red “K” sign. You can start at the Noaks Pumpe hiking car park or, alternatively, at the Prinzenpalais in Arminius Park in Bad Lippspringe. The route explores different perspectives on climate: it provides information about the past, the characteristics of today’s climate, and the future climate and its effects.

The Planet Trail has a different focus. Its ten stops begin at the central Sun station in Arminius Park; after around 7 kilometres, the trail ends there, too. If you’re more interested in edible wild plants, you can explore the 1.5-kilometre circular “Genussweg – wild & lecker” (Food Trail – Wild & Delicious). It runs through Arminius Park and Jordan Park in the town centre, introducing edible wild plants at 14 stops. VitalWanderWelt adds another option with its approximately 4-kilometre “ZUTRAUEN – Kleine Kurwaldrunde” (CONFIDENCE – Short Spa Forest Loop). The varied lengths and themes make it easier to choose an outing to suit the day, without suggesting that the trails all offer the same experience.

History and Quiet Places

The Lippspringe Castle is considered the spa town’s oldest landmark and a stone testament to its past. It was probably built by the Paderborn cathedral chapter in the early 14th century; the first documentary mention dates from 1312. The local history museum offers a broad look at the history of Bad Lippspringe: its five historical periods range from the geological history of the Lippspringe area and evidence of settlement from the Stone Age to the present day, through medieval and more recent history, to the history of the spa.

The “Faszination Senne” (Fascination Senne) exhibition at the NABU Senne Nature Information Centre covers the geological formation of the Senne, its settlement and cultivation, as well as its current use and future prospects. The Peace Chapel offers a quieter setting—a place for stillness, prayer, meditation and meeting others. From there, visitors enjoy a lovely view of a dune valley, the Mersmann ponds and a woodland backdrop.

A Yearly Event

Every year at Whitsun, the Park Festival takes place in Arminius Park, drawing several thousand visitors to Bad Lippspringe. Along with the garden show’s seasonal offerings and the year-round destinations described here, it is another factor to consider when planning the timing of your stay. Whether you and the children prefer play and water, a themed trail, insights into local history or wellness, Bad Lippspringe offers a range of options that you can prioritise according to your interests.

More places to discover: Delbrück, Bad Wünnenberg, Hövelhof, Borchen, Lichtenau, Paderborn, Salzkotten, Herbram.

Back to the main travel overview: Paderborn.