Schmallenberg: Discover the Old Town, Forest Trails and Culture

Schmallenberg offers a variety of themes to help you plan your trip: a historic townscape, trails with stops about forests and nature, insights into forestry, and a regional cycling route. If you are looking for a hotel, these different highlights can help you decide what you would like to focus on during your stay.

Schmallenberg’s Old Town and History

Schmallenberg’s old town has a uniform Neoclassical architectural style and many restored half-timbered houses. Two clearly identifiable features therefore define the historic town center: its Neoclassical design and its half-timbered houses. If you are interested in the town’s history, you can also plan a historical town tour. It offers insights into Schmallenberg’s history and introduces local characters such as Floigenkasper and Breybalg. Check the current dates and booking arrangements for the tour in advance.

The Forestry Museum in Schmallenberg-Latrop offers another perspective on the region’s history. It displays historical tools and pictures of life in the forest and village in the past; the collection also includes historical forestry records and information on the development of the chainsaw. The town tour focuses on history and local characters, while the museum’s collection centers on forestry and life in the forest and village in the past.

Trails with Different Forest Themes

Schmallenberg has a family adventure trail that is about three kilometers long and has 13 stops. Its themes are forests, animals, wood and birds. In Schmallenberg-Latrop, the Forestry Workers’ and Foresters’ Trail runs for 4.5 kilometers and passes 17 stops; topics covered there include forest ecology and timber use. The two trails therefore differ both in length and number of stops, as well as in their stated themes.

The Kyrill Trail is also one of the trails mentioned in Schmallenberg: it is in the district of Schanze and starts at the newly built ranger station. This gives you several different forest-related options when planning your trip—from the themed stops on the family adventure trail to forest ecology and timber use, and the Kyrill Trail in Schanze.

Cycling on the SauerlandRadring

The 84-kilometer SauerlandRadring connects Finnentrop, Eslohe, Schmallenberg and Lennestadt and runs along former railway lines. Schmallenberg is therefore one of the towns linked by the route; the ring is a regional cycling route, not simply a trail within the town. When planning your trip, you can distinguish this cycling route from the local adventure trails: the SauerlandRadring focuses on connecting several towns and the total route length, while the trails in Schmallenberg focus on individual stops and themes.

Regional Context: the Hochsauerland District

Kahler Asten is part of the wider travel destination of the Hochsauerland district. At 841 meters, it is one of the highest elevations in North Rhine-Westphalia. The Bruchhauser Steine near Olsberg-Bruchhausen are also part of this regional context: the formation consists of four large porphyry rocks and is designated as a nature reserve, an FFH site and a bird sanctuary.

The Hochsauerland district is a member of the Sauerland-Rothaargebirge Nature Park, which is one of the largest nature parks in Germany. Its membership includes the areas that were previously located in the Homert and Rothaargebirge nature parks.

Plan Your Stay Around Your Interests

For a history-focused stay, the old town, town tour and Forestry Museum each offer different points of interest. If you would rather compare trails and their themes, their approximate lengths and number of stops can help you distinguish between the family adventure trail and the Forestry Workers’ and Foresters’ Trail. For a cycling trip, the SauerlandRadring—with its connected towns and 84-kilometer length—offers a different scale for planning. First choose the theme that matters to you for your trip, then find a hotel for your stay in Schmallenberg.

Discover more destinations: Nordenau, Gellinghausen, Bad Fredeburg, Bödefeld, Oberkirchen, Sellinghausen, Altenilpe, Dorlar, Menkhausen, Niederberndorf, Westfeld, Oberrarbach, Schanze, Arpe, Rehsiepen, Lenne, Oberhenneborn, Gleidorf, Werntrop, Kirchrarbach, Niederhenneborn, Kirchilpe, Fleckenberg, Winkhausen, Obringhausen.

For the wider travel overview: Hochsauerland district.