Berlar: Farming Village, Forest Trails and Riding School

Berlar is a rural community where everyday life is shaped by farming and horses. There are five full-time farms here, including three dairy farms, as well as a chicken farm and a horse boarding stable. At the same time, hiking trails lead through the forests around the village. This gives the area a distinct profile for a stay, combining village life, hiking and equestrian sports, complemented by a chapel with a long history and a local baking tradition.

Hiking between a local loop and a panoramic trail

The Berlar circular trail BL9 is rated moderate, is 6.5 kilometres long and has 180 metres of ascent and 183 metres of descent. It leads through the forests around Berlar. The similar ascent and descent figures add a more detailed profile to the distance; together with the difficulty rating, you can weigh up these details when planning your own hike.

The Bestwig Panorama Trail (B), which leads to Berlar via Raviele and Ostfeld, covers a different scale. In the wider Bestwig destination, the panorama trail is around 60 kilometres long and runs along the ridges of the municipality; it can be joined from any of Bestwig’s districts. It has received the “Quality Trail Hikable Germany” award from the German Hiking Association four times in a row. The Bestwig BestWege are also varied circular hiking trails in the wider Bestwig destination. They run around Andreasberg, Heringhausen, Nuttlar, Ostwig, Ramsbeck and Velmede-Bestwig. These half-day hikes are listed as taking two to four hours. This lets you distinguish the local BL9 loop from the longer hiking options in the wider Bestwig area by distance and time.

Horse riding with specific conditions

Berlar also has a clear connection to equestrian sports: it is home to a nationally renowned Icelandic horse riding school with a riding stable. At the Berger Riding School, beginner lessons in the indoor round arena can be booked on request and subject to the availability of school horses, alongside any course. A limited number of riding helmets can be borrowed. Check the current availability of school horses and loan helmets before booking. This gives you a specific riding option to consider when planning, with conditions you can clarify in advance.

Chapel and baking tradition

The village’s history also offers different points of interest. The foundation stone for St. Peter and Paul Chapel in Berlar was laid in 1882. At the Stehling-Witthöfer farm, bread is baked in the old bakehouse several times a year. The chapel adds a historic touch, while bread baking is a recurring tradition. Both details give this farming community a cultural side, without requiring your trip to focus solely on one attraction.

Practical information for planning your outing

There is a free public hiking car park in front of the riding stables in Bestwig-Berlar. As local conditions may change, it is advisable to check shortly before setting out. In addition, a new shelter was built in 2026 at the “Dorf” bus stop in Berlar, in the direction of Velmede. Both details offer practical guidance for planning your visit.

Berlar and the wider Bestwig destination

The wider Bestwig destination also offers nature and cultural experiences in other places. The Plästerlegge, the only natural waterfall in North Rhine-Westphalia, is near Bestwig-Wasserfall. Its water drops almost vertically about 20 metres over a rock ledge and then continues for around 500 metres as a torrent. In Ramsbeck, the electric mine train at the Sauerland Visitor Mine travels around 1.5 kilometres through the dark Eickhoff tunnel. Bus route R72 runs regularly from Bestwig station to the visitor mine; the “Ramsbeck-Ziegelwiese” stop is right in front of it. Check the timetable before travelling.

If you would also like to include longer hikes or destinations such as the Plästerlegge and the visitor mine, factor them into your plans for the wider Bestwig destination. This will help you decide whether your stay should focus mainly on Berlar itself or also include other places and themes in Bestwig.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Waterfall, Andreasberg, Valme.

Go to the overview of the wider destination: Bestwig.