Arnsberg, Hochsauerlandkreis — crosses into Märkischer Kreis

Biebertal und die Dicke Berta

Distance11.2 km
Elevation gain216 m
DifficultyEasy
Estimated time2 h 36 min

Overview

A signed circuit of 11.2 km through the Bieber valley. It starts and finishes in Arnsberg, in the Hochsauerlandkreis, and spends its middle stretch across the boundary in Menden, in the Märkischer Kreis — so the district depends on where you are standing, and the one that matters for parking is Arnsberg. It is waymarked A6 — a white A6 on a black rectangle — and maintained by the Sauerländischer Gebirgsverein. The line closes on itself, so it can be joined at any point on it and walked in either direction.

Underfoot it is mostly forest and field track: about 4.1 km of gravel, 2.7 km of narrow way and 1.2 km of footpath. Around 3.0 km of the line is sealed, but most of that is surfaced track rather than public road — 919 m of the loop runs on roads of any kind, and 35 m of that has no pavement of its own. Height lies between 179 m and 301 m, and the 216 m of ascent comes in short pulls between the valley floor and the ridge tops rather than in one sustained climb.

Near the halfway point the route passes Lürbke, a hamlet of 97 people at about 200 m. Further on it comes within a few metres of the Dicke Berta, a sessile oak protected as a natural monument since 1974, and towards the end it crosses the Hensenberg at 292 m before dropping back to the start.

No publisher has written this walk up. The signs on the ground and the OpenStreetMap relation behind them are the only record that it exists, which is worth knowing before relying on it for navigation.

Points of interest

  • Lürbke — A hamlet of 97 people at about 200 m, standing some 86 m off the line at roughly the halfway point. It is one of Menden's outlying settlements, and the lane through it is one of the few made-up surfaces on this part of the walk.
  • Dicke Berta — A sessile oak (Quercus petraea) about 37 m from the track, protected as a natural monument in 1974. OpenStreetMap records it as probably the oldest and stoutest oak in the Märkischer Kreis and puts its origin at around 1300; it is a single tree in the open, not a signed viewpoint, so it is easy to walk past.
  • Hensenberg — A wooded top of 292 m, 17 m off the line, on the last rise before the route drops back to the start. There is no clearing at the summit and no view from it.

Trail alerts

  • Seasonal closures and forestry access bans are unchecked: no closure dataset for this area is in our source registry, and no publisher covers the route. Read the notice boards at the trailhead before setting out.
  • Short road sections: 919 m of the loop runs on roads carrying traffic, and 35 m of that has no pavement of its own. Take those links facing oncoming traffic.

More routes nearby

  • Vom Hennesee über den Lannenberg
  • Around the Hennesee by the hillside
  • Ramsbeck Miners' Round

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