Höhenroute Odenthal

Today was the Odenthaler Höhenroute. A path with many beautiful views. A real drawback for me is the 80% asphalt content. And from Voiswinkel to Blecher it is a total of 9 km almost exclusively through towns and over streets. My conclusion: You can do it, but I don't have to have it again.

This time, a short loop near me. The Odenthal High Route was on the agenda. The route started at a hiking parking lot in a wonderful hiking area. The trail's designers planned the tour according to the motto "hiking trails are lava," and thus managed to ensure that less than 5 kilometers were hiking trails; everything else was asphalt and sidewalks. The area is actually great for hiking, with beautiful views, and the last few kilometers were also pleasing, especially since the shady forest by the stream provided wonderful refreshment after the many kilometers of fields and sunshine. Overall, however, due to the almost 90% asphalt, it might be acceptable for a bike, but a rather poor trail for hiking. It's a shame, as the area is actually great, and I've done many tours there.

On Labor Day we wanted to climb high and work our way over the three Odenthal ridges, which are separated from each other by the Dhünn, Eifgenbach and Scherfbach valleys. We started from the small hiking car park in Erberich, on the first of the three ridges, from which we soon descended into the Eifgenbach valley. We only followed the Eifgenbach for a short time today, but crossed it shortly before the Schöllerhof hiking car park. The first climb of the day took us up to the Groß-Grimberger path, which takes you towards the Dhünn dam with great views. Without seeing the dam, we stayed on the ridge path for a few kilometers, crossing oak wood and bush, before descending through the "Kingdom" to the Scherfbach. The climb to Hochscherf was sweetened by a great panorama and the rest of the path on the second ridge also offered beautiful views time and again. The subsequent descent then extends moderately over 6 kilometers, until you have to hike uphill for the last time after crossing the Dhünn. The path up to Glöbusch then led us past flowering rapeseed fields again and gave us a clear view of the brewing thunderstorm. Shortly before Glöbusch we were hit by a real cloudburst, but the hiking god had mercy on us and gave us a covered bus stop. After 15 minutes the nightmare was over, the thunderstorm front had moved on and we were able to walk the last two kilometers to the parking lot with dry heads. A hike that didn't really "blow our socks off" - it was too much asphalt with too little distraction and too few real highlights. But sometimes you need a hike like this to ground yourself again and to remind yourself that it's ultimately about spending time together in nature and not about chasing highlights. And in the end, that's exactly what it was. We had a beautiful day in nature, were able to enjoy the spring weather, had a special weather experience and in the evening had the good feeling of having done something good for our bodies and our health. So it was another perfect day and a hike that we didn't regret :)

Start & 🅿️: Voiswinkel Hiking Car Park, Oberborsbacher Straße High-Altitude Route, the name says it all. Once you've climbed the heights, there are always magnificent views and many beautiful vistas 🤩! More info 👇 https://www.dasbergische.de/tour/hoehenroute-odenthal

Today it was the Höhenweg of the Odenthal circular routes. The name sounded promising, but unfortunately the route was not. Mainly on asphalt, sometimes without sidewalks on the street and in the last third almost exclusively through residential areas or through towns. In school grades, the path would get a 4- from me, not recommended, as it is signposted. Too bad. But there were also a few nice sections.

https://youtu.be/HPh2sOF0weE Tour: 2601 Date: March 12, 2026 Guide: Municipality of Odenthal Region: Bergisches Land Length: 28.4 km Net hiking time: 5 hrs 13 mins (5.44 km/h) Gross hiking time: 5 hrs 55 mins (4.80 km/h) Difficulty: Challenging Weather: Sun, clouds, wind Elevation gain: 165 m Elevation gain: 531 m Rating: 3/5 points

Today we went to Odenthal again after a long time. I had really liked the Odenthal themed trails that I had walked so far. The region anyway (Altenberg Cathedral on the other side, Eifgenbachtal in the other direction). The weather today: T-shirt temperature. Great. There was also one or the other view. The repetition factor is still at zero. Way too much tar. And in addition, the beautiful region is more likely to be hiked around here than hiked through. If you still want to do it: I followed the track at about kilometer 8. Unfortunately, I had to ignore the "private" sign. Here the path was probably changed and led around it. Well - luckily we're not in America... Of course there were "nevertheless" beautiful sections, views and therefore photos. Unfortunately, the view of Cologne with the cathedral does not come across as well on the picture as "live".

A really nice round with many views to Cologne, Leverkusen and Remscheid over the Bergisches Land. Partly very asphalt-heavy, but then again surprisingly alpine. That's the way I like it.