Kind mit Ranger im Wald, Nationalpark Eifel — Tourismus NRW e.V.

Adventure at every turnHiking with children

Children will become true hiking fans on these trails. Whether it's a ranger tour, adventure trail or hiking with animals - these routes are fun for the whole family. A simple walk becomes an unforgettable family outing with guaranteed adventure. Even the little ones can playfully discover nature on short routes.

Various themed routes wind their way through the whole country, providing insights into the world of plants and animals or inviting you to take a flying visit to times long past - sometimes with prominent trail patrons or legendary figures. Guided tours with professional human or animal guides are particularly interesting and exciting: while trained forest guides take young and old on a journey of discovery in the Eifel National Park, animal companions are available elsewhere. With a donkey, llama or alpaca, a hike becomes a very special experience.

Alpakas als Begleiter einer Wanderung in Much, Bergisches Land — Eva-Nadine Wunderlich

Hiking with llama, donkey and alpacaOn the road with animal company

No one is alone in nature, everywhere in the meadows, fields and forests there are beetles, birds or ants, sometimes even deer or foxes. But completely different animal companions also make hikes a special experience for children.

On tour with donkeys
In Winterberg in the Sauerland region, you can go hiking with a donkey, which is very practical as the good-natured animals carry picnic provisions and rucksacks without any complaints. To get to know each other better, the donkeys are first fed and groomed extensively before the tour, then you head out into nature for three to six hours - with a special hiking guide on request. Incidentally, this is not just great fun for children: adults can learn a good deal of serenity from these relaxed animals. Donkeys can also be used for hiking in the Siebengebirge - high up to Drachenburg Castle on the Drachenfels. It is Europe's most climbed mountain. While children can ride up on donkeys, adults have to conquer the mountain on foot or take a leisurely ride up on a rustic cog railway.
www.big-mountain.eu | www.siebengebirge.com

Let's go with llamas and alpacas
Unlike donkeys, llamas and alpacas belong to the camel family, but are just as good-natured and patient. Llamas accompany children and adults on various tours through the Wittgenstein forests, for example on the Rothaarsteig trail or to the Wisent World. Children and adults get to know the region and the animals with their big eyes up close along the way. Experiencing nature with a llama is also possible in the Ruhr region: families can go hiking with Kasimir, Dancer, Diego and Co. amidst the green coal slag heaps of the Ruhr area. By the way, nobody needs to be afraid of spit: If llamas are kept in a species-appropriate manner, they only spit on each other. Families can spend time with alpacas in the Eifel - whether on a hike, a cosy picnic or a children's birthday party.
www.rothaar-lamas.de | www.prachtlamas.de | www.obstwiesen-alpakas.de

With native wildlife in the forest
The Vosswinkel wildlife forest in Arnsberg is home to a wide variety of animal inhabitants, including eagle owls, red deer and wild boar, which roam freely without enclosures and can be seen during daily feedings. However, encounters can be expected at any time on the two 4.5-kilometre circular trails through the red deer and wild boar enclosures. And after dark, the adventure can continue, as the Vosswinkel Wild Forest also offers overnight accommodation. Here, wood is used for heating and candles provide light. The smartphone has little reception and the conventional toilet is usually replaced by an outhouse.

Fairytale characters and real adventuresAdventure trails and themed routes

Out and about in the Bergisches Land region
The mouse known from television, for example, marks the six Bergisch rambles, which are specially designed for families with children of primary school age and are easy to master as a half-day or day tour. The hiking trails through the Bergisches Land, which are between four and 13 kilometres long, are equipped with information boards and audio stations where children and adults can learn a lot about the region. Along the forest myth trail, for example, characters such as Robin Hood talk about themselves and their history, while information boards on the four-kilometre-long water trail inform hikers about the function of a dam and the longest stage, the farm trail around Lohmar, provides insights into life on a farm.
www.bergisches-wanderland.de

Out and about in Siegen-Wittgenstein and Sauerland
There are sometimes surprising encounters and experiences to be had in the forests of the Sauerland: Tree telephones, forest adventure trails and swings as well as mythical creatures such as goblins and fairies provide variety along paths specially designed for children. In Brilon, a magical creature accompanies hikers on the two-kilometre forest fairy trail and invites them into the world of the forest at nine adventure stations.

Hikers of all ages will encounter a red-haired goblin with a ranger's hat on the Rothaarsteig, the first of the "Top Trails of Germany" to have its own family hiking map with a total of twelve adventure points. One of these is the "Little Rothaar" fairytale hiking trail, which leads to secret places and treasure chests over almost two kilometres. Forest and water are the focus of the Siegquelle forest adventure trail, with exciting stations and informative information boards along the way that invite you to discover and marvel. A total of almost 300 adventure trails await young and old in Sauerland and Siegen-Wittgenstein.
www.sauerland.com | www.siegen-wittgenstein.info

Out and about in the Teutoburg Forest
In the Teutoburg Forest Nature Park, you can take the family over hill and dale and, of course, through the forest. The Leistruper Forest route, for example, leads past 3,000-year-old cairn graves and sacrificial stones, deciduous and coniferous trees. The family version of the Paderborn High Trail offers encounters with animals and other discoveries in the beech forest. There are also six discovery maps under the heading "Family Time Nature", which invite you to explore various corners of the nature park in more detail. Near Detmold, for example, a GPS trail takes you around five kilometres around the Hermann monument. Along the way, interesting information, short quizzes and other forest-related activities await you at eight virtual stations. A detour to the Hermann Monument is definitely worthwhile, as there is a treasure chest and an extra rally around the monument.
www.naturpark-teutoburgerwald.de

Waldfeenpfad in Brilon im Sauerland — Tourismus NRW e.V.

Eifelblick "Schöne Aussicht" in Nideggen-Schmidt — Tourismus NRW e.V.

Out and about in the Eifel
The Eifel National Park offers various tours for children. On the family days, for example, which take place on the first Sunday of every month, children go on guided three-hour hikes through the forest. A search for animal tracks, plant puzzles and lots of smells, colours and shapes make the four-kilometre tour a special experience.

The EifelSpuren and EifelSchleifen circular hiking trails are all about exploring nature and history. For example, the EifelSpur Silberschatz trail leads you on the trail of Roman history, while the EifelSchleife Adlerblick trail takes you to the Oleftalsperre dam and the Hellenthal bird of prey station.

The dandelion adventure trail in Nettersheim in the Eifel offers 20 hands-on stations. The trail is around six kilometres long and leads past an adventure playground and in the footsteps of the ancient Romans, as well as to even older finds: On a fallow field, once a coral reef in the Devonian Sea, there are fossils that are 380 million years old. How long it takes everyone to complete the circuit therefore depends less on how good hikers are on foot.
nordeifel-tourismus.de | www.eifel.info | www.eifel.info/loewenzahnpfad

Out and about in the Bonn region
For children, the Wildwiesenweg trail near Eitorf is a safari - or rather a photo safari. Many different animals live here, from bumblebees to black storks and from butterflies to wood lizards. Anyone who gets four different animals in front of their lens and takes a photo to prove it can take part in a prize draw every year. The robber trail in Wissen takes children and adults on a 5-kilometre circular hike over hill and dale - and finds out along the way who has what it takes to be a crook. A total of ten children's adventure trails along the Sieg provide great hiking fun for the little ones.

The Siebengebirge Nature Park offers two adventure trails on the topic of sustainability: a voyage of discovery around Himberger See lake, for example, allows visitors to discover why people extract such large quantities of material from the ground that huge holes are created and entire mountains disappear. The Zeitsprung discovery trail invites you on a journey into the past at ten stations: How did people live here in the past? What impact did this have on nature? On the two-kilometre trail, families learn how people treated their environment in different eras.
naturregion-sieg.de | www.naturpark7gebirge.de