Urwaldsteig Edersee - a week of hiking in Sauerland

Are you looking for a region to really get away from it all for a few days? Preferably in a quiet and enchanting environment? Then go hiking in the German Sauerland. Less than a three-hour drive from Arnhem is the Urwaldsteig, a multi-day walking route around the Edersee reservoir. This almost thirty kilometers long reservoir was created in 1914 and is actually part of the meandering river Eder.

Per stage you ascend and descend about 200 meters on average, so that the route is easy to walk, even for inexperienced hikers. While walking you have beautiful views of the Edersee, the old Waldeck Castle and the green valleys in the area. Ideal for a picnic on the go. There is rarely food or drink for sale along the route, so make sure you set off with enough supplies!

You regularly walk through quiet and extensive deciduous forests where mainly oaks and beeches grow. The streams that flow through these low mountains (with peaks of about 500 meters) provide a welcome coolness on hot days. Part of the route takes you through Kellerwald National Park. You walk here through one of the last primeval forests in Europe where the very old beeches have taken on whimsical shapes. A unique experience.

The 68 kilometer long Urwaldsteig starts and ends in the town of Waldeck. There are several villages along the route where you can spend the night, so that you can set the number of walking days to your own liking. The entire main route is well signposted in both directions via a blue marking with a white logo.