Discover Schalksmühle: Hiking Trails, Park and Culture

In Schalksmühle, you can plan your trip around a range of interests: hiking, park history and culture offer different ways to shape your stay. The local hiking trails and cultural venues are just as much a focus as specific, clearly defined topics.

Hiking and the Park in Schalksmühle

Schalksmühle has a well-developed, clearly signposted network of hiking trails. The longer routes include the Schalksmühler Rundweg and the Volme-Höhen-Weg. If you are planning longer hikes, you can consider these two routes as specific options. The signposting is a useful point of reference when planning, while the two names identify the longer routes.

Volmepark also has its own history: it was redesigned as part of REGIONALE 2013 and opened as a multi-generational park in 2015. The timeline runs from its redesign as part of REGIONALE 2013 to its opening as a multi-generational park. The park therefore adds another aspect of local development to the hiking trails.

Cultural Venues and History

Schalksmühle’s Kreuzkirche was transformed into the Dritter Ort “8Giebel,” a place for culture, education and meeting others. This is a specific cultural venue whose stated functions go beyond a single event theme.

As a museum, the Wippekühl Farmhouse, a listed cultural monument, offers a vivid insight into life on a farm in the past. The museum includes the building itself and an extensive permanent exhibition of local-history objects, both indoors and outdoors. If you are interested in everyday life and local history, a visit brings together the historic building and the exhibition. Group visits can be arranged by appointment.

In the wider destination of Märkischer Kreis

History and technology are also a focus in the wider destination of Märkischer Kreis. Altena Castle is a monument of national importance. It was the site of the world’s first and therefore oldest permanent youth hostel. The German Wire Museum is an interactive experience museum about wire production in the past and present, with hands-on stations that invite visitors to take part. The museum’s subject matter ranges from the history of technology to the social, economic and cultural history of wire.

The Hönne Valley gorges are among the nature reserves described as representative of the limestone areas in the northern Märkischer Kreis. At Felsenmeer Hemer, impressive rock formations have been shaped over centuries by the effects of wind, water and people; the site is also home to one of the oldest iron ore mining areas in Westphalia. Felsenmeer can only be visited via designated paths. The designated panoramic trail leads to the viewpoints. Check the latest information about the paths before visiting.

The Sauerländer Kleinbahn offers a different perspective on Märkischer Kreis. On certain days, the museum train takes visitors in restored carriages between Hüinghausen and Köbbinghauser Hammer. On operating days between May and October, the trains travel through the Elsetal landscape. Special steam or diesel trips can be booked outside the published operating times. Check the latest operating days and booking options before making plans.

Discover more destinations: Altena, Plettenberg, Hemer, Iserlohn, Neuenrade, Kierspe, Nachrodt-Wiblingwerde, Herscheid.

Back to the wider travel overview: Märkischer Kreis.