Discover the Westerwald: Nature, Hiking Trails and Culture
Accommodation in Westerwald
The Westerwald combines extensive hiking trails with distinctive basalt landscapes and a culture shaped by clay and regional craftsmanship. You can choose different focuses for your trip: long-distance hikes, insights into geological history and industrial heritage, or discoveries in historic town centers. Which holiday apartment makes the right base depends on the experiences you want to put at the heart of your trip.
Hiking with a range of focuses
The WesterwaldSteig runs for 235 kilometers through the Westerwald and is divided into 16 stages. Certified as a “Quality Trail: Hiking in Germany,” it is also one of the “Top Trails of Germany.” Its length and number of stages give you a clear guide when planning a trip with several days of hiking. The Druidensteig offers a different focus: it runs for 94 kilometers in seven daily stages through seven river valleys and features more than 30 geo-information points. If you are interested in geological topics as well as hiking, you will find dedicated stops here.
The “Weltende” nature trail in the Kroppacher Schweiz offers a different kind of route. There, narrow paths and natural trails wind through the landscape; some sections are secured with wire ropes. Views over the Nister Valley are among the experiences described. These narrow, sometimes secured sections are a useful point of difference from the long-distance trails divided into stages when choosing day trips based on the type of route.
Basalt, ponds and river valleys
One of the Westerwald’s distinctive heights is the Fuchskaute: at 657 meters, it is the region’s highest elevation. The Holzbach Gorge shows basalt in a different form. The narrow gorge valley is about one kilometer long, and its basalt walls reach up to 30 meters high. These specific landscape features offer nature lovers different themes for their outings without describing the same landscape experience.
Water also shapes some of the region’s natural attractions. The Westerwald Lake District is a nature area with seven ponds. Along the Wied, you can enjoy idyllic views and unspoiled nature. When choosing your accommodation, consider whether heights, a gorge, ponds or a river landscape best match the experiences you are looking for. The Hoher Westerwald Tourist Information Office provides information on sights, day-trip destinations, and hiking, cycling and Nordic walking routes. It can also advise you on guided hikes and winter sports.
Geological history, ceramics and historic townscapes
The Stöffel-Park covers around 140 hectares of a former basalt quarry site. Here, industrial heritage, geological history and nature come together. The TERTIÄRUM displays fossils, including the famous “Stöffel mouse,” which document around 25 million years of geological history. This brings together the history of a former quarry and evidence of geological history in one place.
The Westerwald Ceramics Museum presents the history of working with clay. The objects on display mostly originated in a Westerwald clay pit. Visitors can get creative themselves in the well-equipped museum workshop under expert guidance. This offers a different way to engage with regional ceramics than viewing the exhibition: here, making your own creations takes center stage alongside the history of the material.
In Hachenburg, restored half-timbered houses around the Alter Markt shape the historic town center; the Lion Fountain is also part of its historic atmosphere. The Hachenburger Erlebnis-Brauerei offers another way to explore regional brewing culture, with beer experience tours and brewing courses. Individual appointments can be arranged by telephone. Further afield in the region, annual events hosted by Naturgenuss Rhein-Westerwald include Westerwald Beef Weeks, “Advent on the Farms,” nature and culinary walks, and the Naturgenuss regional market. The Tourist Information Office also sells admission tickets for the “Herbstlabyrinth” stalactite cave, among other things.
When choosing a holiday apartment, it helps to first decide on the kind of trip you want: should hiking be the main focus, would you like to explore landscapes, or are you especially interested in ceramics, geological history and local culture? You can then take a closer look at specific places. This way, your accommodation search is guided by the experiences that matter to your trip, rather than by a general idea of the Westerwald.
Places in the Westerwald
Discover the places in the Westerwald too: Höhn, Kroppach, Luckenbach, Pottum, Winnen, Bilkheim, Hellenhahn-Schellenberg, Höhr-Grenzhausen, Westernohe, Nisterau, Höchstenbach, Molsberg, Moschheim, Wallmerod, Mörsbach, Holler, Stahlhofen Am Wiesensee, Meudt, Hachenburg, Helferskirchen, Bad Marienberg, Eitelborn, Kölbingen, Guckheim, Heiligenroth, Oberelbert, Hillscheid, Ellenhausen, Niederelbert, Ötzingen, Nauort, Niedererbach, Limbach, Langenhahn, Staudt, Dreisbach, Freilingen, Sessenbach, Heilberscheid, Niedersayn, Maxsain, Westerburg, Ransbach-Baumbach, Liebenscheid, Lautzenbrücken, Brandscheid, Neuhochstein, Steinen, Oberhaid, Gehlert, Goddert, Kadenbach, Atzelgift, Welschneudorf, Görgeshausen, Ebernhahn, Gackenbach, Astert, Rennerod, Kundert, Elbingen, Krümmel, Alpenrod, Dehlingen, Selters, Girod, Nentershausen, Nordhofen, Wahlrod, Stockum-Püschen, Alsbach, Hundsdorf, Caan, Seck, Berod Bei Wallmerod, Hartenfels, Dernbach, Rehe, Kaden, Giesenhausen, Nistertal, Neuhäusel, Willmenrod, Nister, Wied, Lochum, Neustadt/Westerwald, Steinebach An Der Wied, Wirges, Oberahr, Nomborn, Montabaur, Korb, Mudenbach and Dreifelden.
For the broader travel overview: Rhineland-Palatinate.
