Hiking in the border triangle – GrenzRouten Aachen
Hiking Collection by Städteregion Aachen
7
Tours
29:12 h
65.7 mi
5,625 ft
Aachen is Germany's westernmost city, located where the borders of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet. Rather than being separated, the region knows how to recognise and promote the diversity of its location, languages and cultures. After all, borders are little more than imaginary lines on a map. When you wander here, you may lose track of which country you’re in. And that's the beauty of it: it doesn't really matter.
The Eifel foothills and Limburg’s rolling landscapes around the border triangle are a fantastic place to hike. Despite the proximity to Aachen city, you can spend hours in untouched, diverse nature. The GrenzRouten project overcomes many borders.
All routes start from right outside Aachen so they’re easy to reach from across Germany. The region is well connected to the rail network and local buses take you directly to the starting points.
The routes are numbered and well signposted. Some of them overlap. Tours 2 to 6 are circular walks of varying length, while the first route connects all of them. You can be flexible and combine different Tours or make a long multi-day hike out of the entire thing. A wonderful landscape is waiting to be discovered.
On The Map
Tours
- 07:3017.0 mi2.3 mph1,250 ft1,475 ftExpertExpert Hiking Tour. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
Route 1 acts as an axis that connects all of the border routes' circular tours. The main purpose of it is to combine the other tours with each other, but of course it can also be done as an independent tour. If you want to do it in one go, you should either leave early or - even better - split it into…
- 05:1812.1 mi2.3 mph900 ft900 ftExpertExpert Hiking Tour. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
Did you know that the border triangle near Aachen was once a four-border triangle? This strange story has to do with natural resources, political intrigue and the defeat of Napoleon. From 1816 to 1919 the territory of Neutral Moresnet existed. On this hike you will follow in the footsteps of this political…
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- 04:159.55 mi2.2 mph875 ft875 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
Plombières (officially called Bleyberg until 1919) looks back on a more than eventful history. Not only do borders that have been changing for centuries meet here, but also different language areas. The community was shaped by the interests of those in power due to its rich zinc and lead deposits.
After…
- 02:586.43 mi2.2 mph775 ft775 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
The Landgraben is an important testimony to Aachen's city history, which you can still see today in some places in the Aachen Forest. This fortification was built between the 14th and 17th centuries to protect the external borders of what was then the Aachen Empire. Where roads and paths broke through…
- 03:147.20 mi2.2 mph725 ft725 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.
In earlier centuries, the Aachen city forest, called Öcher Bösch by the locals, was primarily used for hunting and timber harvesting. Nowadays it is protected and is a popular and valuable local recreation area. Here you can hike for kilometers without having to leave the extensive forest area. On this…
- 04:189.62 mi2.2 mph850 ft850 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
The focus of this round is the Dutch border town of Vaals and its beautiful surroundings. You can easily get to Vaals by bus from Aachen, Maastricht or Eupen, for example. Magnificent buildings and panoramic views await you along the way. Both in Vaals and in the Lemiers district you will discover some…
- 01:413.77 mi2.2 mph275 ft275 ftIntermediateIntermediate Hiking Tour. Great for any fitness level. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.
Orsbach is a district of Aachen, even if you would never suspect how close it is to the big city if you didn't know that. The small town is so quiet and agricultural. It is surrounded by wide fields and also framed on three sides by the Netherlands. A large part of the hike runs directly along this border…
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Collection Stats
- Tours7
- Distance65.7 mi
- Duration29:12 h
- Elevation5,625 ft
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