Water Quintet Hiking Trail

Water shapes the region: Six large dams along the upper reaches of the Wupper River serve partly for water regulation and partly for drinking water supply. Five of them lie entirely within the municipalities of Radevormwald, Hückeswagen, and Wipperfürth, as well as the municipality of Marienheide. The 108-kilometer long-distance hiking trail encircles them in seven stages, offering profound insights into a landscape that is as charming as it is steeped in history.

Stage 1: Radevormwald - Wasserfuhr

Start: Parking lot at Radevormwald Town Hall (Hohenfuhrstraße 13, 42477 Radevormwald)
Destination: Water transport near Wipperfürth
Length: 14,1 km
Duration: about 4,5 hours
From Radevormwald, the town on the hill, the first leg of the hike leads down to the Bever Dam, the oldest part of which was built in the 1890s for water regulation. Passing through Egen, the most remote of Wipperfürth's seven church villages, the trail continues into the Neye Valley, where a dam was built between 1907 and 1909 to supply the city of Remscheid with drinking water. It also receives water from the Schevelingen Dam via an underground tunnel, which the hiker reaches next, before the trail climbs one last time over a ridge to Wasserfuhr in the Hönnige Valley.

Stage 2: Water transport - Brucher Dam

Start: Water transport near Wipperfürth
Destination: Brucher Dam near Marienheide
Length: 13,8 km
Duration: about 4,5 hours
From Wasserfuhr, the second stage leads up to the Kerspe Reservoir, which lies mostly within the Märkischer Kreis district and supplies Wuppertal, among other places, with drinking water. The following village, Rönsahl, was once known as the "Village of Millionaires," as some residents amassed considerable wealth through the production of gunpowder. One of the first gunpowder mills was located in the Lingese Valley, which has also been dammed since 1899. The route continues over the reservoir's dam, past Moosberg and Griemeringhausen, to the young Wupper River, which is still called the "Wipper" from its source in Marienheide-Börlinghausen to the confluence with the Kerspe near Ohl. Finally, the Brucher Reservoir, a popular water sports and camping destination, marks the end of this stage.

Stage 3: Brucher Dam - Marienheide-Gimborn

Start: eastern end of the Brucher Dam
Destination: Marienheide-Gimborn
Length: 22,9 km
Duration: about 7 hours
The challenging stage, at just under 23 kilometers, leads to the highest point of the Water Quintet region, the Unnenberg. From the Brucher Reservoir, the route climbs through old sunken lanes to Dannenberg. While a brisk wind usually blows across its heights, the view from up there is impressive. The summit of the Unnenberg, with its 45-meter-high observation tower, lies in the forest. A viewing platform, accessible via a detour from the long-distance hiking trail from Obernhagen, offers fascinating insights into a vast greywacke quarry. The trail then continues via Kalsbach and Kotthausen into the Leppe Valley, before a final climb awaits on the way to the side valley where Gimborn Castle marks the stage's end. The origins of this former moated castle, which now houses an international training center for police officers, date back to the Middle Ages.

Stage 4: Marienheide-Gimborn - Kürten-Junkermühle

Start:Marienheide-Gimborn
Destination: Kürten-Junkermühle
Length: 19,3 km
Duration: about 5,5 hours
The pilgrimage site of Ommerborn, with its former monastery and three prominent white processional crosses, is arguably the most striking point of this challenging 19-kilometer stage. From Gimborn, the route leads past the Kümmel forester's lodge to the upper reaches of the Lindlarer Sülz river, which you follow until you reach Hintermühle. In Vordermühle, a charming chapel invites you to stop for a break before the trail climbs to Fähnrichstüttem and continues over the ridge to Ommerborn. From there, the path zigzags down to Junkermühle in the Kürtener Sülz valley.

Stage 5: Kürten - Junkermühle-Hückeswagen

Start: Kürten-Junkermühle
Destination: Hückeswagen
Length: 14,1 km
Duration: about 4,5 hours
From the reservoir of the former Junkermühle mill, the fifth stage leads through a wildly romantic stream valley to the edge of Wipperfeld, then crosses the main thoroughfare of the medieval military road (today the B506), before descending into the valley of the Große Dhünn. This stream feeds the Große Dhünn reservoir, which, with a storage capacity of 81 million cubic meters, is Germany's second-largest drinking water reservoir. It supplies drinking water to approximately one million people. The trail then leads through secluded valleys up to the watershed between the Dhünn and Wupper rivers, from where there is a charming view of the stage's destination: the castle town of Hückeswagen.

Stage 6: Hückeswagen - Radevormwald-Krebsöge

Start: Hückeswagen
Destination: Dam of the Wuppertal reservoir in Radevormwald-Krebsöge
Length: 12,8 km
Duration: about 4 hours
From Hückeswagen Castle, which has also been referred to as a "castle" since 1189, the path leads down to the banks of the Wupper River, which has been dammed here since the mid-1970s to form the pre-dam of the Wupper Reservoir. The hiking trail, which coincides with the Water Quintet cycle route, follows the left bank to the pre-dam's dam and then crosses its crest to the other side of the valley. The path then continues uphill and downhill along the reservoir, which was built in the mid-1980s to regulate the water level of the Wupper. The reservoir can store up to 25,6 million cubic meters of water. At Krebsöge, the 320-meter-long dam is reached, along with a bus stop from which the center of Radevormwald can be reached in just a few minutes.

Stage 7: Radevormwald-Krebsöge - Radevormwald-Zentrum

Start: Dam of the Wuppertal reservoir in Radevormwald-Krebsöge
Destination: Parking lot at Radevormwald Town Hall (Hohenfuhrstraße 13, 42477 Radevormwald)
Length: 10,9 km
Duration: about 3 hours
Architecture from the industrial era, hydroelectric power generation, and old railway lines characterize the towns and villages along the Wupper River, through which the Water Quintet hiking trail leads below the Wupper Dam. At the Dahlhausen train station, historic railway vehicles can be admired, while in Dahlerau, the buildings of a textile factory with its own housing estates, shops, and a kindergarten await. The "Textile Town" of Wülfing even boasts its own museum. A visit is worthwhile before the tour leads from the Wupper Valley to the Uelfe Valley. There, the recreational area around the former open-air swimming pool invites hikers to rest before the final climb up to Radevormwald.