Discover Schalksmühle: Volmepark, hiking trails and 8Giebel

Schalksmühle offers several different ways to experience a trip: a redeveloped multigenerational park, hiking routes and cultural venues exploring themes from community life to local history. You can plan your stay around your interests and choose between nature, local history and culture.

Park and hiking trails in Schalksmühle

Volmepark in Schalksmühle was redeveloped as part of REGIONALE 2013 and opened as a multigenerational park in 2015. Its development links a specific place with a chapter in the town’s recent history. For planning your trip, the park offers a distinct point of interest alongside the hiking routes. If you are planning a trip for several generations, the multigenerational park can provide a shared theme.

The hiking trail network in Schalksmühle is well developed and clearly signposted. The Schalksmühler Rundweg and the Volme-Höhen-Weg are among the longer hiking routes in Schalksmühle. When planning, you can choose between exploring the network as a whole and focusing on a specifically named, longer route. This gives you both the hiking network and two particular routes to consider.

Culture between community life and local history

Kreuzkirche became the “8Giebel” Third Place, a venue for culture, education and community life. Bauernhaus Wippekühl offers a different perspective: as a museum, this listed cultural monument brings rural life in the past vividly to life. The two venues have distinct emphases—the first on culture, education and community life, the other on rural life and local history.

The Bauernhaus Wippekühl Museum comprises the building itself and a substantial permanent exhibition of objects relating to local history, both indoors and outdoors. Group visits can be arranged by appointment. If you would like to visit as a group, please arrange your visit in advance. This gives you the option of comparing a cultural venue with a clear thematic focus against a visit centred on the local hiking network or Volmepark.

Culture and nature in the wider destination of Märkischer Kreis

The wider destination of Märkischer Kreis offers its own cultural and nature-focused attractions. Burg Altena is a monument of national importance and was the site of the world’s first—and therefore oldest—permanent youth hostel. The German Wire Museum explores wire production, past and present. As an interactive museum, it has hands-on experiment stations; in addition to the history of the technology, it also covers the social, economic and cultural aspects of wire.

At Felsenmeer Hemer, rock formations have been shaped over centuries by 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 panoramic trail leads to the viewpoints. Check the route and safety restrictions before your visit.

The Sauerländer Kleinbahn offers a different kind of experience. On certain days between May and October, its museum train carries passengers back and forth between Hüinghausen and Köbbinghauser Hammer in restored carriages. On operating days, the journey passes through the landscape of the Else valley. If you plan to include this experience in your trip, check the operating days and timetable in advance.

Choose the right focus for your trip

If Volmepark, Schalksmühle’s hiking trails and the two local cultural venues are your main focus, look specifically for accommodation in Schalksmühle. If you are also planning to visit places elsewhere in Märkischer Kreis, factor in their locations, visiting arrangements and operating days.

Discover more destinations: Meinerzhagen, Altena, Kierspe, Balve, Plettenberg, Halver, Lüdenscheid, Iserlohn.

View the wider travel guide: Märkischer Kreis.